Senior Scientist, Biochemistry

About the role

The Senior Scientist, Biochemistry will lead development and implementation of high-throughput biochemical assays to discover and characterize aminopeptidases with properties relevant to next-generation protein sequencing. The role will focus on screening diverse aminopeptidase candidates for activity, selectivity, kinetics, robustness, and performance across a broad range of substrates. The successful candidate will combine strong expertise in enzymology, protein biochemistry, assay development, and quantitative data analysis to advance enzyme reagents.

Core Responsibilities

• Develop workflows and progression criteria for primary screening, hit confirmation, characterization, ranking, and advancement of enzyme candidates.
• Integrate screening assays into enzyme-evolution pipelines and coordinate the advancement of promising candidates into downstream development and sequencing-assay evaluation.
• Develop clear, reusable reporting tools to communicate screening results, candidate recommendations, and pipeline status.
• Purify and characterize proteins to support assay development and candidate evaluation.
• Use laboratory automation and data-analysis tools to increase screening throughput, consistency, and traceability.
• Contribute to a culture of scientific rigor, execution, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing.
• Document and transfer selected assays to downstream QC teams to support the release of production enzymes.

Required Qualifications

• M.S. with 7+ years or Ph.D. with 3+ years of relevant academic or industry experience in protein biochemistry, enzymology, biophysics, biotechnology, chemical biology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to independently and creatively design, optimize, and troubleshoot biochemical assays for challenging enzymology applications.
• Strong foundation in enzyme kinetics, protein-substrate interactions, assay controls, and quantitative interpretation of biochemical data.
• Experience developing enzyme-activity assays using fluorescence, absorbance, polarization, chromatography, or related readouts.
• Ability to analyze large experimental datasets and use computational or statistical tools to support assay optimization and candidate selection.
• Ability to learn, set up, and operate complex instrumentation and laboratory automation.
• Ability to plan and execute multiple scientific workstreams while maintaining high standards for experimental design, documentation, and data quality.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, communication, collaboration, and presentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing and scaling high-throughput enzyme-screening workflows, including assay miniaturization and automation.
• Expertise in aminopeptidases, proteases, exopeptidases, or other proteolytic enzymes.
• Experience evaluating enzyme activity across diverse peptide substrates and sequence contexts.
• Experience with rapid-kinetics methods and instrumentation, including stopped-flow or quench-flow systems.
• Hands-on experience with protein expression, purification, and characterization using chromatography systems such as AKTA and HPLC.
• Experience with fluorescence polarization, fluorimeters such as Fluoromax, LC-MS, or other orthogonal methods for enzyme characterization.
• Experience with peptide synthesis, peptide conjugation, protein labeling, or single-molecule assay development.
• Experience with labeling and evaluation of proteins using ensemble and single-molecule assays.

Pay and benefits

The estimated base salary range for this position in the United States is $135,000- $165,000. In addition to base salary, full-time employees are eligible to participate in Quantum-Si's discretionary annual bonus program and may receive equity awards as part of the total compensation package.

Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the position level, relevant skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications, geographic location, internal equity, and market data.

Quantum-Si also offers a competitive benefits package designed to support employees' health, well-being, work-life balance, and family needs. Benefits include:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options, where applicable
• Company-paid life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources to support personal and professional well-being
• Discretionary paid time off and company-paid holidays
• Parental leave to support employees welcoming and caring for a new child
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with both pre-tax and Roth contribution options

Additional Information

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. Quantum-Si does not provide employment-based immigration sponsorship of any kind for this position, including support for applicants currently pursuing permanent residency (Green Card sponsorship).