Head of Immunology

Parallel Bio - using the immune system to cure disease

Harness an army of immune cells to cure cancer. Eradicate infectious diseases from the face of the planet. Curb autoimmune disease and allergy with a cellular switch. Identify the root causes of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Let’s discover the future of immunotherapy, together.

Impact

Our immune systems are master regulators of health and disease. Current tools used to discover drugs that target the immune system are wildly inadequate. To fix this critical gap, Parallel Bio created a human ‘immune system in a dish’ to rapidly accelerate the development of new drugs and immunotherapies more likely to work in patients. This is the first step on our journey to build a new type of biopharma by reimagining the way we cure disease. Our mission is to design and engineer breakthrough tools inspired by human biology, starting with replacing ineffectual mouse and synthetic platforms. 

The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated immunologist to join our team in Los Angeles. You’ll drive our immunology thought leadership, working closely with the CEO and CSO to define the direction of the company in this area, help with ideation, new project development, strategies, and priorities. You’ll be expected to produce high quality and consistent data that complies with pharmaceutical laboratory standards. You’ll participate in our internal drug discovery efforts, helping to establish, characterize, and develop our platform, participate in executing existing partnerships, help with hiring, and have the opportunity to decide on your growth trajectory as the company grows. 

About You 

Must have

• Education. PhD and 2+ years of work experience or postdoctoral fellow in immunology or related field. 
• Experience. Strong familiarity with numerous in vitro or in vivo research approaches to study disease.
• Past success. Proven track record of successfully designing and completing multiple scientific projects.
• Technical expertise. Strong expertise in flow cytometry and immunological assays. Experience developing and troubleshooting assays to characterize immune cell function. 
• Leadership. Tend towards ownership, leadership, and mentorship. You will be working with more junior scientists that we want you to lead, mentor, and help them develop.
• Reliability. High personal standards and a track record of meeting deadlines and reaching milestones. 
• Organizational skills. Excellent lab and organizational skills. Detail oriented.
• Collaborative. Unafraid to ask questions and participate in discussions. Quick to jump in and help where needed.
• Communication. Strong communication skills. We are building a cross-functional team, excellent communication and a deep desire to learn from others is key. 
• Impact driven. You’re motivated by real-world problems, and want to see your work actively change the way we cure disease.

Nice to Have

• Experience working at a startup
• Experience working in preclinical development
• Experience designing and executing screening to evaluate immunomodulator candidates
• Experience developing preclinical models of autoimmune disease or cancer (e.g. in vitro, mice, non-human primates)
• Experience developing biologics

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity in a rapidly growing, well-funded startup
• Excellent health, dental, vision, and life coverage
• 401k plans with matching
• Top-tier vacation policy
• Opportunities for growth, development, and promotion

Our Team, Values, and Culture

We are building a diverse, interdisciplinary team of dreamers and doers. Forget incrementalism and leave low-risk ideas at the door. We’re looking for fellow visionaries hungry for real impact in reimagining every facet of how we cure disease. Some of our values: first principles thinking, burning passion, and a drive to work with like-minded people; thinking outside the box and the ability to envision that which has not yet been built; listen, then talk; don’t forget to have fun; cooperation, trust, ethics, and transparency.  

An exciting opportunity

As experts in human drug discovery, we have worked hard to position the company for success and to expand our team. We are funded by some of the world’s best investors: Y Combinator, Refactor Capital, Breakout Ventures, leaders from pharma, tech, and government, and more. You’re joining an incredibly ambitious team at an early enough time to help us define our culture, choices, and success. We will have the highest expectations of you, just as we do of ourselves. Join us in re-imagining what’s possible with immunotherapy!