Septerna is a biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, CA on a mission to develop life-changing medicines for patients with the vision to become the industry-leading G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-focused drug discovery company. The company’s Native Complex Platform™ recapitulates GPCRs with their native structure, function, and dynamics outside of the cellular context. This approach enables novel access to modern structural and screening technologies used in industrial-scale drug discovery for the entire class of GPCRs. Septerna has an emerging pipeline of GPCR-targeted small molecule programs with potential for growth to target many GPCRs that have been undruggable and unexploited to date.

We are excited to expand our multidisciplinary team of individuals focused on creating revolutionary medicines to address the unmet needs of patients. At Septerna we strive to embrace diversity of thought, expertise, and background through collaboration. To join our ambitious team, be prepared to bring your real self to work every day; grow and learn from a talented team of drug hunters, scientists, and business professionals; and contribute your passion, creativity, and energy to accomplish our mission. We share a fearless pursuit of ground-breaking innovations and cultivate an environment where our employees succeed by learning from each other and working as a team.

We are committed to the development of meaningful therapeutics for patients with indications of high unmet need. This is a tremendous opportunity to work with talented individuals on the frontlines of therapeutic discovery and development. You will directly help move therapies through preclinical research, positioning them for success in the clinic. The successful candidate will add their passion, unique talents, and expertise to a dynamic team motivated to discover new disease-modifying therapeutics for patients in a fast-paced environment.

For more information see: www.septerna.com.

 

THE ROLE
We are seeking an experienced drug development scientist and dynamic leader.  Reporting to the VP, Disease Biology & Translational Science, this individual will be responsible for helping to establish and expand the company’s capabilities for preclinical in vitro and clinical ex vivo disease pathobiology establishing in vitro/ex vivo models to interrogate complex disease models to rank and screen our therapeutic candidates and establish the drug’s mechanism of action for multiple indications.  The Director will lead cell based therapeutic characterization and development efforts defining the compounds mechanism of action and efficacy in complex in vitro models of disease.  They will lead from the bench managing internal scientists as well as external CROs to execute strategies and be responsible for the development and conduct of in vitro, and/or ex vivo studies to support and advance Septerna’s drug discovery pipeline. They will work both independently and collaboratively as part of a matrixed inter-disciplinary team to establish the therapeutic mechanism of action of Septerna’s novel and differentiated drug candidates.  The successful candidate will be responsible for writing and reviewing reports as well as regulatory documents.  They will establish pharmacodynamic and efficacy relationships as appropriate to determine the potential clinical impact of Septerna drugs.  The successful candidate will serve as the Disease Biology lead on cross-functional research and development teams and have opportunities to lead programs from discovery through early development.  They will have the opportunity to demonstrate their scientific leadership within the R&D organization, contributing biological, disease area, and clinical insights to projects as well as ideas for new therapeutic programs.
 
The position is based in South San Francisco, CA. Title and compensation commensurate with experience.
 
Key Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 
  • Design and execute in vitro and ex vivo studies to advance therapeutic programs
  • Generate, analyze, and interpret complex data to establish functional PK/PD and efficacy relationships and elucidate therapeutic mechanism of action for leads drug.
  •  Serve as Disease Biology lead on multiple project teams, conduct and trouble-shoot experiments, analyze and interpret data and work cross functionally with colleagues to identify and mitigate risks and effectively advance therapeutic programs
  • Help build complex in vitro and ex vivo research and development capabilities
  • Author and review protocols, study reports, and regulatory documents to enable IND and other regulatory filings
  • Follow all company policies/practices, and maintain accurate records and notebooks
REQUIRED EDUCATION, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
  • PhD Endocrinology, Physiology, Diabetes/Obesity, Immunology / Inflammation, or Metabolic Disease, or related biological science (MSc/BSs with relevant years of experience)
  • At least 12 years direct hands-on experience in therapeutic development leveraging indication specific functional disease models in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries (MSc with at least 15 years, BSc with at least 20years)
  • Experience with cell-based assays, ELISA, MSD, qPCR, RNA-seq, microscopy, histology/pathology (e.g. IF/IHC/ISH), and/or flowcytometry
  • Ability to be hands on and working in the lab, manage scientists, write protocols, execute studies leveraging Septerna in house capabilities or working with CROs
  • Direct experimental experience with complex disease biology of diabetes, obesity or other metabolic disease
  • Demonstrated expertise in building PK/PD and efficacy relationships with complex 2D/3D functional cell-based and tissue-based assays
  • Leverage complex data sets to characterize therapeutic leads and establish a drug’s therapeutic mechanisms of action
  • Experience working on/leading project teams with functional responsibility to propose strategy, analyze, interpret, and present complex data to inform decisions
  • Ability to collaborate in writing protocols, reports, and regulatory documents
  • Experience working with vendors and CROs to execute studies, analyze data, and generate reports in a timely manner
  • Experience authoring study protocols, reports, and/or regulatory documents including IBs, IND filings, CSRs, and/or NDAs
  • Outstanding communication skills with demonstrated ability to make effective presentations in a broad range of settings
  • Detail-oriented and organized, with strong interpersonal skills for clear and effective communication
PREFERRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
  • Experience with therapeutics programs which have yielded drugs entering clinical development in one or more of the following therapeutic areas:  endocrinology, diabetes / obesity, immunology / inflammation, or metabolic disease
  • Experience with microscopy, confocal imaging, or similar a plus
  • Experience working as a subject matter expert with complex cell-based 2D/3D culture systems or ex vivo tissue models or patient derived samples a plus
  • Ability to generate, analyze and interpret multi-omic data sets
  • Establish workflows, use Jupyter notebook or other platform to perform bioinformatics analysis and interpret and visualize complex data sets a plus
  • Previous work leading a program in therapeutic discovery/development
  • Strong statistical analysis skills and an ability to articulate findings and make recommendations from complex study results
  • Experience mentoring scientists, leading cross-functional project teams, and a track record of successful management of external teams 
The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in South San Francisco, CA is $220,000 - $240,000. Individual pay may vary based on additional factors, including, and without limitation, job-related skills, experience, work location and relevant education or training. Septerna's compensation package also includes benefits, stock options, and annual target bonus for full-time positions.

 

 
Note to Employment Agencies: Please do not forward any agency resumes. The company will not be responsible for any fees related to resumes that are unsolicited.  We are an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.  Septerna participates in the E-Verify program.  California Consumer Privacy Act Privacy Notice For Job Applicants.  If you are a California resident, click here for our CCPA Notice.

 

Apply for this Job

* Required
resume chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
cover_letter chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review
+ Add another education

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Septerna’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Enter the verification code sent to to confirm you are not a robot, then submit your application.

This application was flagged as potential bot traffic. To resubmit your application, turn off any VPNs, clear the browser's cache and cookies, or try another browser. If you still can't submit it, contact our support team through the help center.