LILA has created the world's first Operating System for Science powered by Scientific Superintelligence™. Backed by General Catalyst.
About the role
We are seeking a Senior Principal Scientist, Small Molecule Therapeutics to lead the protein science and structural biology strategy supporting small molecule therapeutics across Lila’s discovery platform. This individual will oversee recombinant protein construct design and engineering, expression and purification, and structural biology workflows that enable screening, hit validation, and structure-guided drug design.
What they're looking for
- Deep expertise in recombinant protein expression and purification across multiple expression systems, such as bacterial, insect, and mammalian systems
- Demonstrated experience designing and engineering protein constructs for biochemical assays, biophysical characterization, crystallography, and/or Cryo-EM
- Strong track record supporting small molecule drug discovery programs through high-quality protein reagents and structural biology
- Hands-on and strategic experience with protein purification workflows, including affinity, ion exchange, size-exclusion, analytical characterization, and stability optimization
- Experience managing external CROs or partners for protein production, purification, crystallography, or related structural biology activities
- Strong understanding of X-ray crystallography workflows, including construct design, protein-ligand complex preparation, crystallization, data collection, structure determination, and structure interpretation
More about this role
We are seeking a Senior Principal Scientist, Small Molecule Therapeutics to lead the protein science and structural biology strategy supporting small molecule therapeutics across Lila’s discovery platform. This individual will oversee recombinant protein construct design and engineering, expression and purification, and structural biology workflows that enable screening, hit validation, and structure-guided drug design. Working closely with Lila’s screening, assay development, and chemistry teams, this role will help define, build, and scale internal capabilities for protein expression, purification, and structural enablement. The ideal candidate is a highly experienced protein scientist and drug discovery leader who can operate strategically while remaining deeply engaged in experimental design, vendor selection, data interpretation, and cross-functional program execution.
- Lead the protein science strategy for small molecule programs, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality protein reagents for screening, assay development, biophysics, crystallography, Cryo-EM, and downstream validation.
- Oversee recombinant protein expression and purification efforts across external partners...
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