Lab Operations Manager

tl;dr

General Proximity is a seed-stage startup developing the next generation of induced proximity medicines (IPMs). Our OmniTAC drug discovery engine furnishes molecules that co-opt existing cellular machinery to overcome therapeutic challenges, which have remained unapproachable to other modalities for decades.

We are seeking a first-rate Lab Operations Manager to help us pioneer this uncharted frontier of drug discovery.

Our Story

A long-standing challenge in drug discovery is the development of molecules capable of modulating difficult or "undruggable" targets. Disease-causing proteins can be dysfunctional in many different ways, but our armamentarium for fixing them is quite limited. The most common mechanism of action for FDA-approved drugs is inhibition [1] , but there are many other possible perturbation types whose potential remains unrealized.

General Proximity is a seed-stage drug discovery company developing a novel platform technology to solve this problem. We make bifunctional drugs that induce the modification of drug targets by existing cellular machinery (rather than through direct modulation by the drug, the classical approach).

Historically, the development of technologies that allow one to push new buttons in biology has been an incredibly fertile field for the discovery of new medicines[2 , 3 , 4], and our technology holds the same promise.

The Position

We are seeking an experienced Lab Operations Manager to support our Biology, Chemistry, and Platform teams. In this position, you will work at the intersection of lab management, operations, and biological research. This job requires strong skills and demonstrable experience in all three areas: lab management, operations, and cell/molecular biology .

Your responsibilities will include 1) general lab management: maintaining lab stocks, inventories and ordering, registering and preparing compound stocks, preparing buffers/media, and receiving supplies; 2) operations: procurement, vendor and service relationships, equipment acquisition and maintenance, and EHS compliance and lab safety; and 3) biological research: maintaining cell lines and performing cell-based assays alongside our scientists. You will also train new team members on our assays and lab systems, or coordinate that training.

This is a full-time, onsite role in San Francisco. 

About You

High Agency. Initiative, independence, and self-accountability are some of our most valued traits.

Systems-Minded. You build processes that keep running when you're not in the room and can scale with company growth.

Enthusiastic. We love people who are excited about what they are doing and are generally attempting to build a high-energy team.

Intensity and Grit. Early-stage startups are hard. Drug discovery is doubly so. We are looking for candidates who have a demonstrated ability to stick with complex problems for the long haul, with a team that has your back along the way.

Prosocial. We are here to create life-saving medicines for the patients who need it most. You should be, too.

Qualifications & Nice-To-Haves

• BS in Biology or related life sciences field, with a minimum of 2 years of experience maintaining laboratory operations, ideally supporting a group of 10+ scientists.
• Excellent attention to detail, strong organizational and problem-solving skills, and clear written and interpersonal communication.
• Track record of building lab systems and processes that run reliably and scale as the company grows.
• Experience managing sample inventories, vendors, EHS compliance, and lab safety.
  
• Proficiency in:
  • Lab inventory management, ordering, and receiving for reagents and consumables across multiple teams
  • Procurement and vendor management, including quotes, purchase orders, and pricing negotiations
  • Equipment maintenance and troubleshooting (biosafety cabinets, incubators, LN2 storage), including service contracts and preventive maintenance
  • EHS programs, including chemical and biological waste, hazardous materials tracking, and safety training
  • Registration of inventory and compound stock preparation
  • Mammalian cell culture, including passaging, seeding, and cryopreserving cell lines

• Nice to have:
  • Experience with Quartzy, Benchling, Science Exchange, Ramp, and Happilabs is a bonus
  • Experience setting up or administering LIMS/inventory database systems
  • Experience leading or coordinating a lab move or new lab build-out
  • Experience operating liquid handlers or other lab automation
  • Experience with compound management
  • Experience running cell-based assays in multi-well plate formats
  • Plasmid design/cloning and PCR
  • Transient/stable protein expression and characterization, and immunoprecipitation assays
  • Any computational or programming skills (e.g., Python or R) would also be a bonus

You don't need to check every box. If this role excites you, we'd like to hear from you.

• Strong equity incentives. We are looking for candidates who will bring a strong sense of ownership to drive their project areas forward, and we believe that you deserve to be compensated accordingly.
• Top tier medical, dental, and vision coverage + One Medical membership.
• 401(k) retirement plans.
• Education and health/fitness incentive programs.
• Meditation retreats—do a ten-day Vipassana retreat without counting towards vacation days. 
• Reading budget! We will buy you books.
• Located in the MBC BioLabs at 135 Mississippi Street, an entrepreneurial hub full of the best scientists and operators the Bay Area has to offer. Our lab is a very short walk from the 22nd St Caltrain Station and a number of wonderful restaurants and cafés.

About Us

Work Hard/Play Hard. We believe time is our most valuable commodity, so we strive to create a culture that reflects this. We won’t drag you through unnecessary meetings or email you at 7 PM on a Saturday. When we're at work, we're there to get things done, and when we're off, we're really off.

Strong Communication. We like well-written documents over PowerPoints, OKRs over vague mission statements, and weekly one-on-ones over yearly reviews.

Writing First. We have a "writing-first" culture. We believe that clarity of writing reflects clarity of thinking and that the benefits of well-written documentation in a scientific environment are innumerable: democratization of ideation and decision-making, increased reproducibility, quicker scaling and onboarding, and better company-wide alignment, to name a few.

Growth. As an early-stage startup, we value scientists with an independent, can-do attitude. The more hats you can wear, the better. Our job as employers is to put you in positive feedback loops so you can grow in the direction of your choosing.

Title and compensation commensurate with experience. Applications from candidates of diverse backgrounds, women, and members of underrepresented minority groups are particularly welcomed. We look forward to hearing from you. :)

More info at jobs.generalproximity.bio