Scientist, mRNA/cDNA/Cell-Free Display

<div><strong>Manifold Bio is a platform biotechnology company pioneering AI-guided protein design and massively multiplexed in vivo screening to unlock tissue-targeted medicines and organism-scale models of living systems.</strong><span style="color: #262626;"> Using proprietary molecular barcoding technology, we screen hundreds of thousands of protein designs simultaneously in living systems, producing in vivo-validated datasets at a scale no one else can match. The datasets power our computational models, which leads to better drug designs, creating a flywheel that gets stronger with every campaign. Our team of protein engineers, biologists, and computational scientists works</span><span style="color: #262626;">&nbsp;across this full stack to pursue programs both internally and with leading pharma companies.</span></div> <p><strong>Position</strong></p> <p><strong>Manifold Bio is seeking a scientist to build and own a high-throughput, automated cell-free display platform for screening computationally designed protein binder libraries against hundreds of therapeutic receptor targets.&nbsp;</strong>This platform will be a cornerstone of Manifold's closed-loop AI-driven molecule discovery engine, generating the large-scale, high-quality binding data needed to train and improve our design models. The ideal candidate is a hands-on scientist with deep expertise in cell-free display technologies and a drive to build automated systems that can operate at scale. You will work at the intersection of protein engineering, laboratory automation, and ML-guided drug discovery, collaborating closely with our binder discovery, ML, and automation teams.</p> <p><strong>Responsibilities</strong></p> <ul> <li>Design, develop, and validate a cell-free display platform (cDNA display or similar) compatible with diverse binder formats&nbsp;</li> <li>Work with automation team to scale and automate the platform to enable routine, high-throughput screening against large panels of therapeutic targets</li> <li>Collaborate with ML and computational teams to ensure screening outputs feed effectively into model training pipelines</li> <li>Work with the protein engineering team to support discovery campaigns and affinity maturation as platform capacity allows&nbsp;</li> <li>Stay current on advances in cell-free display, laboratory automation, and computational protein design</li> </ul> <p><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li>PhD or equivalent experience in protein biochemistry, molecular biology, biological engineering, or a related field</li> <li>Hands-on experience with cell-free selection systems (cDNA display, mRNA display, ribosome display, or similar)</li> <li>Strong molecular biology fundamentals and demonstrated ability to develop and troubleshoot complex, multi-step workflows</li> <li>Experience with or strong interest in laboratory automation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li>Track record of successfully automating complex laboratory workflows</li> <li>Background in therapeutic antibody discovery or protein engineering&nbsp;</li> <li>Experience with computational protein design</li> <li>Familiarity with how high-throughput screening data feeds into ML and computational pipelines</li> <li>Experience with complex or non-traditional binder formats and biochemical intuition to adapt selection workflows accordingly</li> </ul> <p><strong>Why you might be a good fit</strong></p> <ul> <li>Building systems that generate data at a scale previously impossible excites you</li> <li>You thrive in fast-moving environments where you own a problem end-to-end</li> <li>You are energized by working at the intersection of wet lab science, automation, and AI-driven biotherapeutic discovery</li> <li>You are a collaborative scientist who communicates well across teams with different technical backgrounds</li> </ul> <p><strong>Base Salary Range: </strong>$118,000-138,000</p> <p>This reflects the typical offer range for this role, based on experience, role scope, and internal equity. Final compensation decisions are made using a consistent leveling framework and consider the candidate’s experience, interview performance, and expected impact.</p> <p>This role is eligible for:</p> <ul> <li>Annual performance-based target bonus</li> <li>Stock options</li> <li>Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage</li> <li>401(k) plan</li> <li>Flexible paid time off and holidays</li> <li>Perks including on-site gym, onsite lunch, and commuter support</li> </ul> <p>Our compensation ranges are reviewed annually to ensure alignment with market trends and internal equity.</p><div class="content-conclusion"><p><em style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">We value different experiences and ways of thinking and believe the most talented teams are built by bringing together people of diverse cultures, genders, and backgrounds.</span></em></em></p></div>