DirectorSenior Director, Antibody Discovery

Key Responsibilities

• Lead BigHats antibody discovery and display functions setting the scientific technical and strategic direction
• Oversee the routine execution of display-based selection campaigns to enhance and diversify affinity developability and function across diverse antibody formats and antigen types in support of BigHat and BigHat-partnered therapeutic programs
• Manage and mentor a team of scientists responsible for antibody library design generation screening selection and early optimization
• Shape and expand BigHats antibody discovery technologies and capabilities including new display and selection methods library design strategies and technical approaches that leverage and enhance the companys integrated experimental and computational platform
• Provide scientific leadership across discovery and early optimization efforts ensuring antibodies emerging from selections possess strong functional and developability characteristics
• Work closely with leaders in Protein Sciences Data Science/Machine Learning Engineering and Platform groups to ensure seamless progression from discovery through characterization and optimization
• Collaborate with biology and therapeutic research leads to ensure display outputs align with and advance program objectives
• Foster a collaborative and high-performance culture within the discovery organization

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

• Ph.D. in molecular biology biochemistry protein engineering or related discipline with 12 years of experience in antibody discovery and engineering within academia biotechnology or pharmaceutical industries
• 8 years of managerial experience leading scientific teams
• Strong expertise with protein display systems such as yeast phage mammalian or mRNA display
• Demonstrated experience with antibody library design construction screening and selection analysis
• Deep understanding of antibody structure-function relationships and mechanisms of antigen recognition
• Experience integrating antibody discovery workflows with downstream characterization and developability assessment including functional screening and biophysical evaluation of antibody candidates
• Familiarity with computational or ML-enabled approaches to protein design and optimization
• Experience advancing biologics from early discovery through lead optimization stages
• Knowledge of diverse antibody modalities including multispecific antibodies antibody fragments and other advanced formats
• Strong leadership skills with experience building and mentoring scientific teams
• Strategic thinker capable of aligning discovery activities with broader company goals
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Self-motivated and comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment
• Must be willing to work onsite 5 days per week

Total Rewards

• Range of health insurance plan options through Anthem and Kaiser (monthly credit if benefit waived)
• Dental and vision coverage through Guardian
• Additional well-being benefits through Nayya OneMedical Wagmo Rula and more
• 401(k) with company match
• DTO two weeks of company-wide shutdown and 12 company holidays
• Paid parental leave