---
title: 'Principal Scientist, Biologics Cell Line Development at Asimov'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-scientist-biologics-cell-line-development-asimov-boston-zc098zf7xer4'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Principal Scientist, Biologics Cell Line Development at Asimov

- **Company:** Asimov
- **Location:** Boston, MA
- **Compensation:** $170k–$190k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-04-13
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/asimov/f27c8759-5ebf-4605-a30c-dd6da318ad97

## Job description

Our mission at Asimov is to advance humanity's ability to design living systems, enabling biotechnologies with outsized benefit to society. We're developing a mammalian synthetic biology platform––from cells to software––to enable the design and manufacture of next-generation therapeutics.

We are seeking a Principal Scientist to join our Biologics Cell Line Development team in Boston, MA and help push the boundaries of biotherapeutic cell line development. This role is for a scientific innovator and a manager of junior scientists. The successful candidate will conduct & supervise CHO-based cell line development for biologic therapeutics moving into clinical development. Significant effort designing complex experimental approaches to improve expression systems and workflows through innovation and implementation of new technology is also an important part of this role.

The successful candidate will also work cross-functionally with Asimov’s synthetic biology, modeling, process development and analytical teams. This is a unique opportunity to work at a nimble, forward-thinking synthetic biology startup and help build the future of biological engineering.

About the Role:

- You’ll perform CHO cell line development processes including transfection, cloning, characterization, and cell banking using state-of-the-art equipment.
- You’ll drive innovation through the development of improved genetic components, host cell line engineering and cell line development process optimization.
- You’ll identify emerging practices for biologics cell line development and manufacturing to shape scientific strategies and continued innovation.
- You’ll represent the cell line development team on cross-functional projects, making decisions for cell line activities and effectively communicating results, progress and plans.
- You’ll represent Asimov externally, contributing to industry conferences, industry forums, filing patents, and publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts.
- You’ll manage and mentor a team of 3+ scientists focused on CHO-based biologics CLD, providing technical direction and supporting them in their professional development.

About You:

- 8+ years of experience in CHO-based cell line development is a must, stemming from expressing IgGs and bispecifics in an industrial CLD environment.
- You have a Ph.D. in Biological Engineering, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, or a related field.
- You’re a creative problem solver never satisfied with the status quo and get excited about the opportunity to drive the creation of disruptive technology.
- Minimum 1 year experience managing direct report(s) and providing technical guidance.
- Don’t let this stop you from applying, but it’s a plus if you are familiar with any of the following: vector optimization to improve titer and product quality attributes for complex bispecific scaffolds; CLD process optimization; or development of automated high-throughput screening for CLD workflows.
- Experience working with a global customer base isn’t a requirement for this role but bonus points if you have it.

We're fueled by a vision to transform biological engineering into a fully-fledged engineering discipline. Should you join our team, you will grow with a constantly evolving organization and push the frontiers of synthetic biology. Company culture is key to Asimov, and ours is a culture of recombination; we believe that our mission can only be achieved by bringing together a diverse team with a mixture of backgrounds and perspectives.

## About Asimov

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Asimov builds an integrated platform of cells, genes, and software to program living systems, enabling the design and manufacture of advanced therapies.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, raised $175M in January 2023)
- **Headquarters**: Boston, Massachusetts, USA (with a second office in Boulder, Colorado)
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Alec Nielsen (CEO), Chris Voigt, Doug Densmore, Raja Srinivas

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Synthetic biology, biotechnology, therapeutics manufacturing
- **Target customers**: B2B – biotech startups, mid-size biotechs, and large pharmaceutical companies (partnered with over 25 companies)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “To radically advance humanity’s ability to design living systems, enabling biological technologies with outsized societal benefit.”

## Products & Services
- **Design Software**: Cloud-based CAD platform to design, simulate, and optimize genetic systems in different cell types.
- **Genetic Parts Library**: Over 1,000 experimentally validated genetic parts (transposases, expression vectors, inducible systems, tissue-specific promoters, etc.).
- **Host Cell Lines**: Engineered, highly characterized GMP host cells for therapeutic production (CHO, HEK293, etc.) with regulatory documentation.
- **LV Edge**: Stable cell lines and software tools for lentiviral titers up to 1E9 TU/mL.
- **AAV Edge**: End-to-end payload design and production achieving titers up to 6E15 vg/L.
- **RNA Edge**: Sequence design through wet-lab validation in weeks.
- **CHO Edge**: Genetic tools and data-driven models delivering titers of 8–12 g/L across modalities.
- **Platform Transfer & Full Service**: Two engagement models – customers use the platform in-house, or Asimov performs cell line development and process development at its Boston lab.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $205M; annual revenue of ~$4.0M (LinkedIn estimate)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Andreessen Horowitz (seed lead), Horizons Ventures (Series A lead), CPP Investments (Series B lead), DARPA (research support). Partners include 25+ biotechs and pharma companies.
- **Growth Signals**: 95 employees (25.8% YoY growth); raised $200M in Series B (Jan 2023); launched AI-driven 4th generation CHO Edge System with increased titer guarantee; expanding into RNA and cell therapy tools.

## Competitive Advantages
- Only company offering an end-to-end platform that integrates mammalian synthetic biology, computer-aided design, and machine learning.
- Proprietary library of 1,000+ well-characterized genetic parts and GMP-banked host cells.
- “We use our own platform every day” – internal R&D teams validate improvements before releasing to customers.
- Strong regulatory support (GMP documentation for host cells) that de-risks therapeutic development.

## Strategic Focus
- Deepen AI/ML integration into genetic design and cell line development.
- Expand platform to cover more therapeutic modalities (cell therapy, RNA therapy, biologics).
- Scale partnerships with large pharma while continuing to support early-stage biotechs.
- Build out the “first CAD platform for biology” to transition genetic engineering into a fully-fledged engineering discipline.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “A culture of recombination” – interdisciplinary team of biologists, engineers, and ML scientists. Values include mission first, urgency, continuous learning, thoughtful communication, and avoiding local optima.
- **Work model**: Hybrid – employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work (Cambridge, MA and Boulder, CO).
- **Perks & growth**: Built In profile highlights career growth, compensation & benefits, work-life balance, and stability. The company is actively hiring across roles (Staff Software Engineer, Principal Scientist, Sr. Scientist, Associate Director).
- **Impact**: Work at the cutting edge of synthetic biology, directly contributing to the design and manufacture of life-saving therapies.

## Sources
1. [asimov.com](https://www.asimov.com/)
2. [asimov.com/about](https://www.asimov.com/about)
3. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/asimov)
4. [Built In](https://builtin.com/company/asimov)
5. [Careers Page](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/asimov)

## Other roles at Asimov

- [Senior Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-program-manager-asimov-boston-9pe8sjrfnxdw) — Boston, MA
- [Senior Scientist, Biologics Cell Line Development](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-scientist-biologics-cell-line-development-asimov-boston-5ypxr524ze78) — Boston, MA
- [Staff Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-asimov-boston-mjcjghmjdzhj) — Boston, MA