Scientist I/II, Delivery Sciences

About Seek Labs

At Seek Labs, global health is our barometer of progress. We believe strong scientific impact comes from thoughtful experimentation, collaboration, accountability and careful execution. We value curiosity, shared learning, high performance, and ownership of both the work and its outcomes.

Role Summary

• Seek Labs is seeking a Scientist I/II, Delivery Sciences to support and advance nucleic acid delivery research, with a primary focus on lipid nanoparticle formulation development, characterization, and optimization.

• The role is suited for a scientist with strong LNP R&D experience, deep formulation analytics expertise, and the ability to independently move work from experimental design through execution, troubleshooting, analysis, and clear recommendation. The successful candidate will generate high-quality, decision-ready data. move programs forward, support cross-functional teams, and drive experiments to completion with urgency and rigor. While LNP experience is essential, this role also requires pragmatic curiosity and practical creativity in developing novel delivery systems beyond conventional LNP approaches.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, prepare, optimize, and troubleshoot lipid nanoparticle formulations for RNA, DNA, or other nucleic acid delivery applications.

• Independently execute LNP formulation and optimization workflows using microfluidic and continuous mixing approaches. Perform formulation development across key parameters, including lipid composition, N/P ratio, buffer conditions, payload properties, mixing parameters, concentration, purification, and storage conditions.

• Execute and optimize downstream processing workflows for nanoparticle formulations, including concentration, buffer exchange, purification, filtration, recovery/yield assessment, and process troubleshooting.

• Perform routine and advanced formulation characterization, including particle size, polydispersity, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, RNA concentration, lipid composition, pH, osmolality, stability, and related analytical methods.

• Support formulation design and screening, DOE studies, process development and optimization to improve delivery performance and enable scale-up.

• Connect formulation parameters, process conditions, analytical outputs, and biological performance in collaboration with therapeutics, translational, and program teams.

• Contribute to the development and testing of novel delivery systems beyond conventional LNPs, including alternative lipid, polymeric, hybrid, targeted, or tissue-directed delivery approaches.

• Maintain accurate documentation, standardized protocols, formulation records, analytical methods, and data reporting templates in an electronic laboratory notebook.

• Analyze experimental data using Excel, GraphPad Prism, JMP, or related tools and communicate results, troubleshooting efforts, technical risks, and next-step recommendations clearly to project teams and leadership.

Required Qualifications

• PhD, MS, or BS degree plus relevant industry experience in pharmaceutical sciences, bioengineering, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, chemistry, biochemistry, materials science, or a related field.

  • Relevant industry experience by level:

  • Scientist I: PhD with relevant hands-on experience, MS with 3+ years, or BS with 5+ years.

  • Scientist II: PhD with 2+ years, MS with 5+ years, or BS with 7+ years.

• Direct experience developing, preparing, and characterizing lipid nanoparticles for RNA, DNA, or other nucleic acid delivery.

• Experience with both microfluidic mixing and continuous mixing approaches for nanoparticle formulation.

• Experience with formulation processing, including concentration, diafiltration, buffer exchange, recovery/yield assessment, and process troubleshooting at multiple scales (e.g. ultrafiltration, TFF etc.)

• Practical knowledge of LNP formulation parameters and standard formulation analytics, including particle size, polydispersity, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, RNA quantification, pH, osmolality, stability testing, RiboGreen, gel-based assays, fluorescence-based assays, and related lipid, RNA, and chromatographic analytical techniques.

• Demonstrated ability to independently design, execute, troubleshoot, analyze, and interpret formulation experiments, including iterative optimization, statistical analysis, data visualization, and formulation design space development.

• Strong experimental discipline, clear communication, sound scientific judgment, and ability to generate high-quality, reproducible, decision-ready data in a fast-paced startup or high-growth biotechnology environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with process development or formulation scale-up, including translation from small-scale screening to larger-scale formulation and processing workflows.

• Experience developing LNPs for extrahepatic delivery, immune cell delivery, oncology, infectious disease, gene editing, vaccines, or other challenging delivery applications.

• Experience building or refining formulation design spaces that connect formulation composition, process parameters, analytical attributes, and biological performance.

• Familiarity with in vitro delivery assessment, including mammalian cell culture, transfection or transduction workflows, reporter expression assays, dose-response analysis, viability assays, and basic potency or functional delivery readouts.

• Experience with flow cytometry sample preparation, acquisition, and basic analysis.

• Interest in exploring novel delivery technologies beyond LNPs, including targeted nanoparticles, polymeric systems, conjugates, hybrid systems, or other emerging delivery modalities.

Attributes for Success

The right person for this role is not only technically strong but also highly effective in how they work. We are looking for someone who demonstrates:

• Ownership and Tenacity: Takes responsibility for moving work forward from experimental design through execution, analysis, recommendation, documentation, and communication.

• Scientific Judgment: Balances urgency with rigor, applies sound discernment, and uses data to make clear technical recommendations.

• Enablement and Collaboration: Anticipates what teammates and programs need, raises issues early, and brings thoughtful options for resolving them.

• Practical Creativity: Brings useful new ideas to formulation challenges, especially when conventional methods fall short.

• Reliability and Multiplier Impact: Holds high standards for data quality, reproducibility, and follow-through while strengthening the people and programs around them.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Seek Labs is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse perspectives and are committed to building a collaborative, inclusive environment where strong science, thoughtful execution, and shared accountability drive meaningful impact.

Benefits

• 401(k)

• Dental insurance

• Health insurance

• Life insurance

• Paid time off

• Parental leave

• Vision insurance

Education

Master’s (Preferred)

Experience

Nanoparticle research: 3 years (Preferred)

Work Location: In person