---
title: 'Associate Scientist/Scientist I, Protein Science Developability at Lila Sciences'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/associate-scientist-scientist-i-protein-science-developability-lila-sciences-bzhw910jp69j'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-04'
---

# Associate Scientist/Scientist I, Protein Science Developability at Lila Sciences

- **Company:** Lila Sciences
- **Location:** Cambridge, MA
- **Compensation:** $88k–$144k
- **Posted:** 2026-07-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-04
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lilasciences/jobs/4299967009

## Job description

## Your Impact at LILA

Lila Sciences is seeking an Associate Scientist/Scientist I specializing in high-throughput protein purification and analytics to join the Protein Sciences team within the Autonomous Science Platform. In this role, you will design, optimize, and execute protein purification workflows using chromatography systems, develop and validate bioassays, and apply mass spectrometry techniques to support protein characterization across Lila's autonomous laboratory platform. You will work at the intersection of protein sciences and laboratory automation, partnering closely with AI scientists, automation engineers, and cross-functional research teams to accelerate scientific workflows. Your expertise in protein analytics, method development, and data interpretation will directly contribute to the development of Lila's Scientific Superintelligence platform.

## What You'll Be Building

- Design, develop, and optimize high-throughput protein purification workflows using AKTA chromatography systems (affinity, ion exchange, size exclusion) across diverse protein classes (antibodies, bi-specifics, multi-specifics, enzymes, etc.).
- Perform mass spectrometry-based analyses to confirm protein identity, assess purity, and characterize post-translational modifications.
- Develop and validate bioassays (binding, activity, and stability) to assess protein function and quality, ensuring assay robustness and reproducibility at scale.
- Identify opportunities to improve throughput, yield, and reliability of purification and analytical methods, and drive implementation of those improvements.
- Partner with automation engineers to integrate purification, bioassays, and analytical workflows into automated workcells and high-throughput platforms.
- Ensure data quality, documentation, and reproducibility in all experiments; actively contribute to knowledge sharing and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Collaborate with computational scientists to support data analysis pipelines, data processing, and the development of predictive models for protein characteristics.

## What You'll Need to Succeed

- MS in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Bioengineering, Molecular Biology, or a related field with 4+ years of relevant experience, or PhD in a related discipline with 0-2 years of postdoctoral or industry experience.
- Experience operating AKTA chromatography systems for protein purification with proficiency across a wide range of chromatographic techniques (e.g. affinity, SEC, HIC, IEX, etc.), and the ability to develop, optimize, and troubleshoot purification workflows.
- Hands-on experience in LC-MS techniques for protein characterization, including intact mass analysis, peptide mapping, PTM identification, and glycosylation profiling, with exposure to interpretation of complex mass spectral data and troubleshooting instrument performance.
- Familiarity with assay development, optimization, and data analysis for bioassay techniques such as ELISA, AlphaLisa, SPR/BLI, and functional activity assays.
- Strong laboratory data analysis, digital recordkeeping (e.g., Benchling), and collaborative scientific workflows.
- Outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills with meticulous attention to data quality and reproducibility.
- Effective communication skills and an eagerness to collaborate within a fast-paced, cross-functional team.

Bonus Points For

- Experience working with laboratory automation platforms and high-throughput screening workflows.
- Familiarity with additional protein characterization techniques such as CE-SDS, SEC-MALS or DSF.
- Experience with data analysis tools (e.g., Python, R, or equivalent) and automating data workflows.

## Compensation

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

U.S. Benefits. Full-time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer-paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.

International Benefits. Full-time employees outside the U.S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region. USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.

Expected Base Salary Range $88,000—$144,000 USD

## About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence™ to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI. Rather than hard-coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.

LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory™ instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy. Learn more at www.lila.ai.

Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you don't meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

We’re All In

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our [Candidate Privacy Policy](https://www.lila.ai/candidate-privacy-policy-notice).

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

## About Lila Sciences

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Lila Sciences is building the world’s first Scientific Superintelligence platform and autonomous lab, using AI to autonomously generate hypotheses, design and run experiments, and learn from results in real time across life sciences, chemistry, materials, energy, and defense.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Privately Held) – Series A, Seed, and Grant funding rounds
- **Headquarters**: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available (first funding round was Seed in March 2025)
- **Founders**: Not publicly available (founded within Flagship Pioneering’s ecosystem)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: AI-powered scientific discovery and autonomous laboratory platforms
- **Target customers**: B2B – research organizations, biotech, pharmaceutical, energy, materials, aerospace, and defense companies
- **Mission**: “Scientific Superintelligence to solve humankind’s greatest challenges” – accelerating discovery across medicine, materials, energy, and defense

## Products & Services
- **LILA Platform (Scientific Superintelligence)**: An AI model and operating system that autonomously executes the entire scientific method – generating hypotheses, designing experiments, running them in physical labs, and learning from results in real time.
- **AI Science Factory™ Instruments**: Proprietary hardware and robotics that serve as the “body” of the platform, enabling automated experimentation at scale.
- **Domain-specific applications**: Tailored solutions for biotech (drug discovery, protein engineering), therapeutics (mRNA, antibodies, cell therapies), energy & environment (clean fuels, catalysis, critical minerals), advanced materials, chemicals, aerospace & defense, and oil & gas.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – USD $550.7M (as of LinkedIn data)
  - Seed Round (March 2025): $200M led by Flagship Pioneering
  - Series A (September 2025): $235M led by Braidwell and Collective Global Management
  - Series A (November 2025): $115M led by NVentures (NVIDIA)
  - Grant (January 2026): $671,400 led by ARIA
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Flagship Pioneering, NVIDIA (NVentures), Braidwell, Collective Global Management, ARIA
- **Growth Signals**: Named #25 on the 2026 CNBC Disruptor 50 List; headcount of 308 employees (monthly growth +10.6%); 122 active job postings; operates in 6 countries (US, UK, Canada, Poland, Spain, Germany)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary AI model** that consistently outperforms other models across scientific domains in complex analysis and reasoning.
- **Autonomous physical labs** that close the loop between AI hypothesis generation and real-world experimentation.
- **“Team of Teams” operating model** enabling startup speed at scale while maintaining radical transparency and high trust.
- **General platform approach** (inspired by Rich Sutton’s “Bitter Lesson”) rather than narrow domain-specific tools, allowing broad applicability.

## Strategic Focus
- Accelerating discovery across medicine, materials, energy, and defense
- Scaling the autonomous science platform to more industries and use cases
- Building “Scientific Superintelligence” that can tackle humanity’s greatest challenges
- Continued investment in AI research, robotics, and lab automation

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Emphasizes velocity, trust, curiosity, truth, and grit. “Think freely, prove precisely.” A high-trust, mission-driven environment where scientists and engineers work side by side.
- **Remote/Hybrid/Office**: Roles are listed in Cambridge, MA; San Francisco, CA; and London, UK. Physical lab presence suggests significant on-site work, but some roles may offer flexibility. Policy not explicitly stated.
- **Notable perks/engineering culture**: Opportunity to work at the frontier of AI and scientific discovery; collaboration with world-renowned experts; access to cutting-edge robotics and AI infrastructure; strong emphasis on learning and teaching (“generous teachers and eager learners”).

## Sources
1. [lila.ai](https://www.lila.ai/)
2. [lila.ai/about](https://www.lila.ai/about)
3. [lila.ai/open-roles](https://www.lila.ai/open-roles)
4. [LinkedIn - Lila Sciences](https://www.linkedin.com/company/lila-sciences)
5. [Greenhouse Job Board](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lilasciences/jobs/4246302009)

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- [Senior Data Engineer, Bioinformatics, Cheminformatics, Materials](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-data-engineer-bioinformatics-cheminformatics-materials-lila-sciences-san-kp5d4nbn38vz) — San Francisco, CA
- [Associate Director, App](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-app-lila-sciences-cambridge-46qgd5hp866e) — Cambridge, MA / San Francisco, CA
- [Maintenance Engineering Technician II](https://feeny.ai/job/maintenance-engineering-technician-ii-lila-sciences-cambridge-qgp4st6zk9gw) — Cambridge, MA
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