Senior Scientist

Role

This is a full-time, onsite role in San Francisco.

You will lead the development, optimization, and scaling of advanced human tissue models to be deployed within Vivodyne’s automated experimentation platform for therapeutic discovery. 

As a Senior Scientist on the Bioengineering team, you will own a scientific program centered around a specific tissue system or disease model, driving projects from early biological hypothesis generation through mature, scalable workflows. You will work cross-functionally with bioengineers, computational biologists, AI scientists, roboticists, hardware engineers, and translational researchers to develop next-generation human tissue platforms that enable deeper understanding of human biology and drug response.

This role requires exceptional experimental rigor, deep technical expertise in complex cell culture systems, strong scientific reasoning, and the ability to make sound, data-driven decisions in ambiguous and fast-moving environments. We are looking for a scientist who combines deep biological intuition with disciplined execution and who consistently designs experiments that produce clear, actionable conclusions.

Responsibilities

Tissue Model Development with Experimental Excellence

• Lead development and optimization of complex in vitro human tissue models using primary human cells and advanced 3D culture systems - deep experience in intestine, lung or immuno-biology is a bonus.
• Design, execute, and interpret rigorous experiments with clear success criteria and proper controls to improve tissue phenotype, stability, scalability, reproducibility, and biological relevance.
• Drive mechanistic understanding of tissue behavior through multimodal characterization approaches.
• Troubleshoot difficult experimental problems systematically using first-principles reasoning and quantitative analysis.

Platform Scaling & Automation

• Partner closely with robotics and hardware teams to adapt tissue workflows for automated operation and large-scale experimentation.
• Support transfer of tissue models from exploratory R&D into reliable production-grade workflows.
• Identify sources of experimental variability and implement strategies to improve robustness and reproducibility.
• Contribute to the development of scalable assay and tissue characterization pipelines.

Requirements and Expectations

Required Qualifications

• PhD in bioengineering, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology, developmental biology, genetics, or a related field. A focus on gut, lung or immuno-biology a large plus.
• 2–4 years of industry experience following PhD and/or postdoctoral training in biotechnology, therapeutics, tissue engineering, or related fields.
• Demonstrated record of scientific achievement through high-impact publications, patents, awards, or other evidence of advancing the state of the art in your field. 
• Deep expertise in mammalian cell culture, including primary human cells and complex 3D tissue models.
• Expertise with modern biomolecular and cellular characterization techniques including:
• confocal imaging,
• flow cytometry,
• transcriptomic workflows,
• proteomic assays,
• next-generation sequencing workflows,
• and interpretation of resulting datasets.
• Proven ability to independently drive complex technical programs in fast-paced R&D environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preference given to candidates with direct experience in building complex human models of gut and lung biology or in immunology / complex models of cancer biology. 
• Experience developing organoid, organ-on-chip, or microphysiological systems.
• Experience scaling biological workflows into automated or high-throughput systems.
• Experience working with multimodal datasets integrating imaging, transcriptomics, proteomics, and functional readouts.

Vivodyne, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Vivodyne complies with all laws respecting equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate against applicants with regard to any protected characteristic as defined by federal, state, and local law.