Scientist, Drug Discovery

Job Type: Full-time, On-site 

Scientist, Drug Discovery? 

Palo Alto, CA? 

About GondolaBio 

GondolaBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing breakthrough therapeutics for genetic diseases. GondolaBio is an independent sister company to BridgeBio, originally carved out in 2024 after securing $300M in private financing from external investors. GondolaBio aims to leverage cutting-edge biological research to discover, create, test, and deliver transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from genetic diseases. Located on the Stanford Life Sciences campus, GondolaBio fosters a unique hybrid environment where top scientists from around the world collaborate with senior leadership and advisors, blending industry expertise with academic innovation. 

Who You Are 

• A deeply motivated scientist with a strong sense of urgency, dedicated to designing creative, high-impact experiments to solve complex problems in drug discovery. 
• Detail-oriented and execution-focused, with a strong foundation in molecular and cellular biology techniques, and a compelling publication record demonstrating scientific rigor and independence.
• Productivity-driven: you naturally like multi-tasking and getting more done. 
• Comfortable partnering tightly with chemistry/computational biology/structural biology/DMPK/tox to interpret SAR biologically, and drive hit-to-lead decisions.
• A crisp communicator and pragmatic operator who can lead internally and through CROs/academic collaborators with high standards. 
• You approach experimental failures with a growth mindset, and embrace changing directions and priorities based on project and company needs  

Key Responsibilities 

• Engineering and optimizing transgenic mammalian in vitro cell models for therapeutic screening and characterization. 
• Quantitative assay development using flow cytometry, microscopy, transcriptomics, proteomics and microplate readers. This is a hybrid experimental and computational role. You will generate high-throughput data and then set up computational workflows for analyzing these data. 
• Stay super-organized with experimental protocols and data; ready to deliver presentations to key stakeholders and leadership on short notice. 
• Contribute to IP and publications, and help shape program direction with leadership.

 Education & Experience 

• Ph.D. in cell biology, genomics, genetics, molecular biology, pharmacology, or a related field is strongly preferred. 
• 2+ years of post-doctoral research or industry experience in drug discovery or early development preferred. 
• Significant experience in building one or more projects up from ground zero, demonstrating the capability to troubleshoot high-throughput biology experiments and computational analyses in a highly independent and driven manner. 
• Significant experience in driving or being a key contributor in one or more collaborative projects. 
• Strong experience with mammalian cell culture and cell engineering. Proficiency with generating stable cell lines using lentiviral transduction is required; experience with pooled lentiviral-based genetic screens is preferred. 
• Strong direct hands-on experimental experience with at least four of the five key readouts: flow cytometry, microscopy, transcriptomics, proteomics and microplate readers, in addition to standard cell and molecular biology techniques (qPCR, RT-PCR, cell viability assays, cloning, western blotting, co-IP experiments, etc.). Capability to design custom next-generation sequencing assays is preferred. 
• Deep conceptual understanding and practical know-how of pharmacological and biochemical experiments relevant to in vitro characterization and optimization of a therapeutic (e.g., dose response curves, potency and efficacy measurements).  
• Experience with programming in Python and working in AWS for analysis and interpretation of the data you generate. Required to have conceptual understanding of each standard step within routine imaging, genomics and proteomics analysis workflows.  
• Familiarity with in vivo experimental design for rodent models is preferred. 
• Excellent data analysis, visualization, and scientific communication skills. 

Nice-to-Haves 

• Experience working with polarized epithelial cell models. 
• Experience with the biology of proteins that transport nutrients and electrolytes across the cell membrane. 
• Experience with target ID using proteomics. 
• Experience with protein expression and purification. 

No matter your role at GondolaBio, successful team members are 

• Patient Champions, who put patients first and uphold strict ethical standards 
• Entrepreneurial Operators, who drive toward practical solutions and have an ownership mindset 
• Truth Seekers, who are detailed, rational, and humble problem solvers 
• Individuals Who Inspire Excellence in themselves and those around them 
• High-quality executors, who execute against goals and milestones with quality, precision, and speed 

What We Offer 

• Patient Days, where we are fortunate to hear directly from individuals living with the conditions we are seeking to impact throughout the year and learn how we can improve our efforts 
• A culture inspired by our values: put patients first, think independently, be radically transparent, every minute counts, and let the science speak 
• An unyielding commitment to always putting patients first 
• A de-centralized model that enables our program teams to focus on advancing science and helping patients. Our affiliate structure is designed to eliminate bureaucracy and put decision-making power in the hands of those closest to the science 
• A place where you own the vision – both for your program and your own career path 
• A collaborative, fast-paced, data-driven environment where we inspire ourselves and each other to always perform at the top of our game 
• Access to learning and development resources to help you get in the best professional shape of your life 
• Robust and market-competitive compensation & benefits package (Base, Performance Bonus, Equity, health, welfare & retirement programs) 
• Flexible PTO 
• Rapid career advancement for strong performers 
• Potential ability to work on multiple GondolaBio programs across multiple therapeutic areas over time?  
• Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

The base pay range for this position is $135,000 to $175,000 per year. The actual compensation offered will be determined based on a number of job-related factors, including experience, skills, qualifications, and location. A bonus plan and equity will also be offered.