Senior Scientist, Assay Research

Pattern Bioscience•Austin, TX

About The Position

At Pattern Bioscience, we’re tackling antibiotic resistance, one of the biggest public health challenges of our time. Our platform combines machine learning with single‑cell digitization to identify pathogens and predict drug responses in hours instead of days. Unlike traditional molecular diagnostics (PCR/NGS) that rely on detecting genetic signatures, we build live‑cell, direct‑from‑specimen biochemical assays on our proprietary microfluidic platform. We’re looking for an experienced Assay Research Scientist to help shape the next generation of our diagnostic capabilities. This is a hands-on role with a balanced focus, split approximately 50% between wet-lab bench work and 50% toward design, analysis and strategic collaboration. In this role, you’ll collaborate across disciplines while driving the scientific vision behind innovative, high‑impact technology.

Requirements

Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Bioengineering, or Chemistry with 5+ years of experience in assay research and development.
Are an Innovator: You’ve built assays or biological measurement strategies from scratch and enjoy creating what didn’t exist before.
Like to Tinker: You’re comfortable formulating your own reagents, buffers, or micro-environments when off-the-shelf solutions fall short.
Understand Live Microbe Behavior: You bring deep expertise in microbial metabolism, enzymology, or cell-based signaling and know how to translate biology into measurable outputs.
Follow the Data: You are relentlessly analytical and data-driven; you are comfortable working outside of Excel to manipulate and interpret complex datasets.
Thrive on First-of-a-Kind Problems: You’re energized by challenges at the intersection of microfluidics, physical chemistry, and microbiology.
Tell Clear Scientific Stories: You plan, execute, and analyze complex experiments—then distill the data into crisp, actionable insights.
Sweat the Details: You care about accuracy, reproducibility, and the small factors that make experiments succeed.
Embrace the Unknown: You’re comfortable stepping into unfamiliar territory, learning quickly, and solving problems with first-principles thinking.

Nice To Haves

Single-Cell/Droplet Expertise: Hands-on experience with droplet microfluidics, flow cytometry, or other single-cell "digitization" technologies is highly preferred.
Proven Innovation: Significant evidence of original contribution to the field through publications or patents.
Clinical Awareness: You understand the rigor of Design Control (ISO 13485/FDA 21 CFR 820) and how to build a design that is "manufacturable" without compromising performance.
Microbiology Expertise: Experience working with a broad range of pathogens and infectious disease matrices.

Responsibilities

Architect & Execute Novel Assays at the Bench: Lead the hands-on creation of biochemical assays, focusing on single-cell metabolic activity and phenotypic responses within picoliter-scale environments.
Engineer Stable Chemistries for Raw Samples: Create robust sample-prep and assay chemistries designed to maintain high signal-to-noise and assay stability when working directly with unrefined, high-interference clinical samples.
Translate Inventions into Patentable Products: Identify and mature novel assay concepts and chemistries that are both patentable and scalable, collaborating closely with engineering to move bench-top breakthroughs into production-ready solutions.
Turn Single-Cell Data into Biological Insight: Apply deep data analysis to characterize single-cell behavior, providing the high-quality datasets that power our machine-learning models for rapid pathogen ID and drug susceptibility testing.