At RayzeBio, every day is an opportunity to ignite meaningful change. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, RayzeBio blends the nimble, pioneering spirit of an emergent biotech with the global expertise and resources of a leading innovator in oncology. Our mission is to develop transformative radiopharmaceutical therapies that offer new hope for patients living with cancer. Here, you’ll join a multidisciplinary team where your ideas are valued, your expertise is amplified, and collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. From day one, expect to make an immediate impact—on our science, on our teams, and most importantly, on patients. Learn more about RayzeBio: https://careers.bms.com/rayzebio/

Sr. Associate Scientist I, Biology

Background

RayzeBio is a dynamic biotechnology company headquartered in San Diego, CA. Launched in late 2020 and recently acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) as a wholly owned subsidiary, the company is focused on improving survival of people with cancer by harnessing the power of targeted radioisotopes. RayzeBio will operate as a standalone entity within the BMS organization, maintaining its biotech culture with the opportunity to leverage the best-in-class oncology capabilities of BMS.

RayzeBio is developing innovative drugs against targets of solid tumors. The lead asset, RYZ101, is in Phase 3 testing for patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), as well as earlier stage testing for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).  Led by a successful and experienced entrepreneurial team, RayzeBio aims to be the global leader in radiopharmaceuticals.

Job Description

The laboratory-based role offers an opportunity to help advance novel radiopharmaceutical therapies from laboratory into clinical testing. The candidate is responsible for developing, optimizing, and transferring biochemical and cell-based assays, including equilibrium binding assays, to support target validation, compound screening, and mechanism of action studies for various pipeline projects. A strong foundation in mammalian cell culture is essential. The ideal candidate will be a critical thinker and a technical problem solver who enjoys working in interdisciplinary drug discovery teams. The role requires an ability and willingness to work with radioactive isotopes.

Job Responsibilities

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following.  Other duties may be assigned.

• Maintain and expand mammalian cell lines, including the generation of overexpressing and knockout lines, for use in screening and functional assays. Validate reagents to characterize target expression and ensure cell line quality and consistency.

• Develop, optimize, and run biochemical and cell-based assays to support the screening, characterization, and lead-identification of novel RPT agents.

• Support assay transfer and qualification activities, including documentation of protocols, acceptance criteria, and reproducibility assessments across teams or sites.

• Work with radioactivity in various assays in strict adherence to the radiation safety protocols.

• Work under the guidance of project team leaders to support the overall biology screening and evaluation plan. Work closely with chemists, DMPK, imaging, and in vivo teams to ensure implementation of screening funnel and appropriate prioritization of experiments.

• Generate, organize, and maintain meticulous records on all conducted experiments.

• Independently analyze and interpret data and present experimental plans and results at project team meetings, group meetings, and company meetings.

• Actively contribute to the experimental design and planning efforts to help achieve project goals under tight timelines.

• Collaborate with colleagues in other functional areas including translational research and chemistry.

• Assist in laboratory operation management duties.

Education and Experience

• BS with 3–10 years of experience or MS with 2–4+ years of experience within Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Pharmacology, or a related discipline with hands-on laboratory experience including cell culture and assay development.

• Prior experience working on drug discovery projects in an industrial or an academic setting is preferred.

Skills

• Demonstrated expertise in mammalian cell culture with strong aseptic technique, and in vitro assay development and optimization, including equilibrium binding assays (saturation and competition formats). Experience with assay transfer, qualification, and troubleshooting across laboratories is highly desirable.

• Proficiency in techniques such as ELISA, MSD, flow cytometry, western blot, qPCR, and immunohistochemistry.

• Experience with cell line engineering techniques (e.g., CRISPR, lentiviral transduction, stable transfection) for generating tool cell lines.

• Proficiency with data analysis and visualization software (e.g., GraphPad Prism) for dose-response curve fitting and statistical evaluation of assay data.

• Understanding of receptor-ligand binding theory and basic pharmacological concepts.

• Excellent written and oral communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic, and collaborative environment.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to work with radioisotopes with strict adherence to radiation safety protocols.

• Experience applying AI and computational tools to enhance data analysis, automate routine workflows, and support data-driven decision-making is desirable.

• Uses AI tools to enhance individual productivity and quality of work

Physical Demands:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and distance vision. 

 

This is a position that requires working in a laboratory environment, protective clothing, gloves, and safety glasses are required while working in a laboratory environment with radioactive materials.

Work Environment:

 

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

San Diego - RayzeBio - CA: $95,505 - $115,730

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience. 

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.
 

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.

• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).

• Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.

​Work-life benefits include:

Paid Time Off

• US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)

• Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays

Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.

All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

*Eligibility Disclosure: The summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program.

RayzeBio and Bristol Myers Squibb

RayzeBio was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) in 2024 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMS; however, RayzeBio will continue to operate as a standalone organization.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS and RayzeBio are dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS and RayzeBio will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection/

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at TAEnablement@bms.com. Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response.

R1601379 : Senior Research Associate 1- Cancer Biology