Scientist II, Peptide Drug Discovery in Cambridge

As a member of the Parabilis Medicines team, you will be a part of an organization dedicated to creating extraordinary medicines for diseases with urgent unmet needs, harnessing our proprietary peptide platform to transform treatment possibilities for patients. Parabilis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to unlocking high-impact protein targets long-considered undruggable.

The company has developed a new class of stabilized, cell-penetrant alpha-helical peptides – Helicons™ – capable of modulating intracellular proteins that are inaccessible to traditional drug modalities. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Parabilis is advancing a focused pipeline of multiple first-in-class therapies across both rare and common cancers.

What’s the opportunity? We are seeking a Scientist with a chemical biology mindset and strong experimental skills to help advance and scale our AI-driven peptide discovery programs. Parabilis has built a powerful high-throughput mass-spec driven multiplexed screening platform that enables us to navigate chemical space and optimize our Helicons to target undruggable proteins.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Develop and improve experimental screening assays: design, optimize, and productionize biochemical and cell-based assays that allow us to measure drug-like properties at scale across multiple programs.
• Advance automation in practice: implement automation for existing assays, and construct new assays with laboratory robotics in mind, troubleshooting and iterating workflows to achieve consistent performance and to facilitate integration with digital and AI/agent-driven automation.
• Build script-based tools to scale execution: develop reusable scripts and lightweight tools that reduce manual steps and improve experiment setup, tracking, QC, and reporting for broad team use.
• Drive decision-quality data and learning: apply quantitative rigor to assay performance and data QC and translate outputs into insights that inform next experiments and, over time, Helicon optimization.

What you’ll need to be successful:

• PhD in Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, or a related discipline, with 2-4 years of postdoctoral and/or industry experience.
• Strong hands-on experience developing, optimizing, and executing experimental assays (biochemical, biophysical, and/or cell-based), with demonstrated ability to translate complex biological questions into robust, scalable assay formats.
• Quantitative approach to assay quality and performance, including comfort with controls, variability, robustness, and data QC to produce decision-quality readouts.
• Demonstrated scripting and tool-building experience beyond ad hoc “vibe coding,” with examples of using code to automate analyses, streamline workflows, or solve recurring operational problems.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and communicate clearly with chemistry, biology, and data-focused colleagues.
• Demonstrated use of AI tools in your current role and responsibilities is required; advanced or innovative use is a plus.

• Experience improving lab throughput through automation or semi-automation, or strong aptitude and interest in learning and applying automation technologies in a screening environment.
• Familiarity with high-throughput screening concepts and scaling assay workflows to support large sample numbers.
• Working knowledge of peptide chemistry and/or peptide discovery concepts is a plus but not required.

Ways of working that matter here:

• A builder mindset with strong scientific judgment: you identify bottlenecks, choose the least-resistant path to improvement, and execute with urgency.
• Curiosity for emerging technologies and a practical approach to evaluating what could improve workflow robustness, automation, or assay quality.
• Highly collaborative, low-ego, can-do attitude with consistent follow-through and strong ownership of results.

Core Values:

• Growth-Minded: We’re inventing a new class of medicines—one applicable to therapeutic targets that have been dreamt about, but always considered impossible to drug.
• In(ter)dependent: We are fiercely independent as a leader in defying the limitations of current therapeutic modalities, and interdependent as a team as we work collaboratively to shift drug discovery paradigms and provide patients with better treatment options.
• Patient-focused: We are deeply focused on patient outcomes, and all energy in the company is focused on science as it translates to patient impact.
• All-In: We’re All-In on solving some of the hardest scientific challenges and delivering one of the most effective new classes of drugs in history.

The base salary range for this position is [$120,000–$145,000] per year, depending on experience, qualifications, and internal practices. Parabilis’s total compensation package also includes an annual target bonus, equity, and a comprehensive suite of competitive benefits designed to support our employees’ overall well-being.

As an equal opportunity employer, Parabilis values an inclusive workplace and welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and experiences. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.