---
title: 'Scientist I/Senior Engineer I, Pilot Lab Lead at Sail Biomedicines'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/scientist-i-senior-engineer-i-pilot-lab-lead-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-ahbj1nnnh3aj'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-17'
---

# Scientist I/Senior Engineer I, Pilot Lab Lead at Sail Biomedicines 

- **Company:** Sail Biomedicines 
- **Location:** Cambridge, MA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/sendabiosciences/jobs/8855654002

## Job description

The Scientist I/Senior Engineer I, Pilot Lab lead will oversee a pilot laboratory responsible for producing engineered RNA (eRNA) and targeted lipid nanoparticles (tLNPs). A primary responsibility is the regular execution and delivery of gram-scale eRNA and/or tLNP manufacturing campaigns.  This individual will manage direct reports while remaining actively involved in laboratory operations. They will create an organized, efficient, and scalable working environment; introduce and improve processes; and ensure that manufacturing activities are completed safely, consistently, on schedule, and with accurate documentation. The role requires independent judgment, strong scientific or engineering acumen, and effective cross-functional collaboration.

Key Responsibilities:

- Plan, execute, and deliver recurring gram-scale eRNA and tLNP manufacturing campaigns for large in vivo studies.
- Lead and participate in eRNA and/or tLNP manufacturing activities, including IVT, chromatography, T-mixer lipid formulation, conjugation or targeting operations, normal (NFF) and tangential flow filtration (TFF), and fill-finish, as applicable.
- Manage, coach, and develop a small team of scientists and/or engineers by setting priorities, assigning work, providing technical guidance, and supporting professional development.
- Oversee daily pilot laboratory operations, including production scheduling, capacity planning, equipment coordination, material readiness, inventory, and laboratory organization.
- Develop, implement, optimize, and transfer scalable eRNA and tLNP processes into routine pilot-laboratory manufacturing.
- Provide technical leadership for upstream and downstream eRNA production, including synthesis, purification, filtration, concentration, and buffer exchange.
- Troubleshoot complex process, equipment, and manufacturing issues using scientific or engineering principles and independent judgment.
- Identify bottlenecks and implement improvements that increase throughput, process robustness, consistency, and ease of execution.
- Author and review protocols, batch records, SOPs, technical reports, equipment procedures, and process-development documentation, ensuring records are accurate, complete, and traceable.
- Analyze process and analytical data, communicate recommendations, and collaborate with Process Development, Analytical Development, Research, Quality, Operations, Facilities, EHS, and in vivo study teams.
- Promote a culture of safety, accountability, collaboration, technical rigor, and attention to detail.

Requirements for Either Level:

- Demonstrated experience leading, supervising, or developing technical personnel.
- Experience in biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, bioprocessing, or biologics manufacturing.
- Hands-on experience executing pilot-scale or gram-scale manufacturing processes.
- Experience developing, scaling, transferring, or routinely executing biological production processes.
- Experience with relevant unit operations such as TFF, chromatography, filtration, concentration, or buffer exchange.
- Strong technical writing, documentation, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and deliver manufacturing campaigns on schedule.

Qualifications:

Scientist I

- PhD in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline; MS with at least 6 years of relevant industry experience; or BS with at least 8 years of relevant industry experience.

Senior Engineer I

- Master’s degree in engineering or a related discipline with at least 4 years of relevant industry experience; or BS in an engineering discipline with at least 6 years of relevant industry experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Direct experience producing LNPs or tLNPs at gram scale for in vivo studies.
- Experience with RNA or eRNA synthesis, purification, and drug-substance manufacturing.
- Hands-on experience with T-mixer formulation and TFF process development or execution.
- Experience operating in a pilot-scale, process-development, GLP, or GMP-adjacent environment.
- Experience introducing new equipment or processes into an active manufacturing laboratory.

Salary Range: $100,000 - $150,000

Sail Biomedicines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Sail does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

## About Sail Biomedicines 

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Sail Biomedicines is pioneering a fully programmable RNA medicines platform by combining proprietary circular RNA technology (eRNA) with targeted nanoparticles and generative AI to treat autoimmune, metabolic, infectious, and rare diseases.
- **Entity Type**: Private (backed by Flagship Pioneering, formed in October 2023)
- **Headquarters**: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- **Founded**: October 2023 (formed from the combination of first-in-category technologies within the Flagship Pioneering ecosystem, bringing together more than eight years of combined data)
- **Founders**: The company was formed by Flagship Pioneering; key leadership includes John Mendlein, J.D., Ph.D. (Executive Chairman), Gene Marcantonio, M.D., Ph.D. (Chief Medical Officer), Amy Espeseth (SVP, Platform), and others.

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Biotechnology / RNA Therapeutics / Drug Discovery
- **Target customers**: B2B / Biopharma partnerships; ultimate customers are patients with chronic and serious diseases (autoimmune, metabolic, infectious, rare)
- **Mission statement**: "We work at the frontier of programmable medicines. We power our bioplatform and product candidates by harnessing evolution and AI. We operate with purpose and urgency on behalf of people everywhere. We aim to generate life-changing impact for the world."

## Products & Services
- **Sail Platform (Endless RNA™ / eRNA™)**: A novel class of translatable, stable circular RNA. Unlike conventional linear mRNA, eRNA is protected from exonuclease degradation, leading to prolonged protein expression in vivo (days vs. 1-2 days for mRNA). This enables less frequent dosing and opens the door for treating chronic diseases requiring intracellular or transmembrane protein replacement.
- **Targeted Nanoparticles (TNPs)**: A modular, clinically validated lipid nanoparticle core conjugated with disease-specific targeting ligands. These TNPs enable precise, extra-hepatic delivery of eRNA cargo to specific cell types, minimizing off-target exposure. The same core can be rapidly adapted with different ligands.
- **Generative AI & Data Platform**: Proprietary AI algorithms integrated with high-throughput prototyping to design both the RNA sequence and the nanoparticle delivery system in an integrated manner, aiming to program medicines to spec.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Funding**: Not publicly disclosed. As a Flagship Pioneering portfolio company, it benefits from substantial, long-term venture funding typical of Flagship’s "venture creation" model. The company was formed in 2023, so it is in an early-stage, pre-revenue R&D phase.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding is not publicly available; the company is privately held and was formed through an internal combination of assets from Flagship’s ecosystem (including Laronde and Senda Biosciences).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Flagship Pioneering is the founding and primary backer. The company's leadership includes experienced executives from the Flagship network.
- **Growth Signals**: The company is actively hiring across multiple senior roles (Senior Director of Delivery, Director of Translational Biology, Associate Director of Clinical Supply Chain, Senior Scientist in Data Science), indicating a ramp-up from platform development toward preclinical and early clinical activities.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Most Complete Toolkit**: Sail claims to have the industry's only platform that integrates programmable pharmacology (eRNA) with programmable deployment (TNPs) and AI-driven design, all in one system.
- **Durable eRNA**: The circular RNA technology offers significantly longer protein expression than linear mRNA, a major differentiator for chronic disease applications.
- **Modular Nanoparticle Platform**: The TNP core is clinically validated and can be rapidly re-targeted by swapping ligands without reformulating the core, enabling faster path to IND for multiple indications.
- **AI-Powered Integration**: The company generates proprietary functional data at high throughput to train AI models that design both the RNA and the nanoparticle in an integrated manner, a capability few competitors have.
- **Flagship Ecosystem Backing**: Deep resources, long-term capital, and a history of building category-defining biotechs (Moderna, etc.) provide a strong foundation.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**: Advancing the eRNA-TNP platform toward the clinic; building out the AI/digital sciences team; expanding the pipeline in autoimmune, metabolic, infectious, and rare diseases; demonstrating in vivo proof-of-concept for extra-hepatic targeting with TNPs.
- **Direction for growth**: Moving from platform R&D to IND-enabling studies and first-in-human trials; establishing partnerships with larger pharma for specific indications; scaling the manufacturing process for eRNA and TNPs.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: "We work at the frontier of programmable medicines. We operate with purpose and urgency on behalf of people everywhere." The company emphasizes a culture of excellence, shared dedication, and groundbreaking science.
- **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Roles are listed in Cambridge, MA, suggesting an on-site or hybrid model at the headquarters (140 First Street, Cambridge, MA 02141).
- **Notable Perks** (from careers page):
    - Generous salary and employee stock option plan
    - Competitive health, dental, and vision benefits
    - Retirement savings program
    - Paid parental, adoption, and caregiver leave
    - Long- and short-term disability and life insurance
    - Employee assistance program
    - Free parking, monthly subway pass, or subsidized commuter rail pass
    - Free lunch every week and a kitchen stocked with healthy snacks
- **Engineering/Science Culture**: The company is building a "bioplatform" that integrates AI, data science, and high-throughput experimentation. This is an ideal environment for scientists and engineers who want to work at the intersection of computational biology, machine learning, and RNA therapeutics. The team includes leaders in AI and digital sciences, pharmacology, and nanoparticle delivery.

## Sources
1. [sail.bio](https://www.sail.bio/)
2. [sail.bio - About Us](https://www.sail.bio/about-us/)
3. [sail.bio - Our Science](https://www.sail.bio/our-science/)
4. [sail.bio - Careers](https://www.sail.bio/careers/)
5. [Greenhouse Job Board](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/sendabiosciences)

## Other roles at Sail Biomedicines 

- [Senior Research Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-research-associate-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-hfxr0tc7bh9a) — Cambridge, MA
- [Senior Scientist I, Analytical Sciences](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-scientist-i-analytical-sciences-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-q6g73xan4h2f) — Cambridge, MA
- [Scientist I](https://feeny.ai/job/scientist-i-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-e9n5yhd2xeak) — Cambridge, MA
- [Research Associate I/Research Associate II, Preclinical Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/research-associate-i-research-associate-ii-preclinical-manufacturing-sail-49vd1degc0y1) — Cambridge, MA
- [Senior Research Associate, Platform RNA Sciences](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-research-associate-platform-rna-sciences-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-c0n3by59f31b) — Cambridge, MA
- [Senior Research Associate, High-Throughput RNA Production](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-research-associate-high-throughput-rna-production-sail-biomedicines-ytr4fcfv77pt) — Cambridge, MA
- [Scientist, Platform RNA Sciences](https://feeny.ai/job/scientist-platform-rna-sciences-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-x5e3e1ccssb8) — Cambridge, MA
- [Senior Research Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-research-associate-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-11ngttpwsden) — Cambridge, MA
- [Associate Scientist, Pilot Lab, tLNP Drug Product](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-scientist-pilot-lab-tlnp-drug-product-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-v21s80qjbt2a) — Cambridge, MA
- [Associate Project Manager / Project Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-project-manager-project-manager-sail-biomedicines-cambridge-mwz44mhbz3pz) — Cambridge, MA