Director, Lab Automation

Job Description

Job Description

About Parabilis Medicines  

Parabilis Medicines is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to creating extraordinary medicines for patients with serious diseases by unlocking biologically important targets long considered undruggable. The company has pioneered a new class of alpha-helical peptides – Helicons™ – capable of modulating intracellular proteins that have historically been beyond the reach of conventional medicines. The company's lead investigational medicine, zolucatetide, is the first and only direct inhibitor of the β-catenin:TCF interaction, a central node in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway that has eluded drug developers for decades. Zolucatetide is being evaluated in the clinic across multiple Wnt/β-catenin-driven diseases, including desmoid tumors, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and a range of other solid tumor indications. Beyond zolucatetide, Parabilis is advancing additional Helicon-based programs focused on other challenging targets where we believe our medicines could have life-altering impact. For more information, visit or follow us on LinkedIn. 

What's The Opportunity?

You will be the leader of our internal laboratory automation platforms, and will play a key role in the development of autonomous science capabilities. This on-site position encompasses two primary areas of responsibility: owning a sophisticated, fully-automated robotics system that will serve as the core experimental foundation for discovery programs, and collaborating with members of all our research departments on developing and implementing automation across all other aspects of our experimental science. This is an opportunity to build and lead a critical component of our future discovery platform, and to work closely with a diverse group of engineering, AI/ML, data science, and discovery teams to develop a next-generation, AI-driven discovery paradigm and apply it to discover high-impact medicines for patients with severe disease.

Key Responsibilities

• Own our core HighRes-based automation platform, leading its installation and configuration, and working with experimental groups from across discovery to develop and productionize methods and to organize its routine operation
• Serve as the primary technical resource and strategic partner for laboratory automation across all research functions, identifying opportunities to automate manual workflows and improving experimental consistency, scale, and reproducibility
• Collaborate closely with our AI/ML, data science, and experimental teams to develop and implement increasingly AI-driven scientific capabilities, with the ultimate goal of creating highly autonomous scientific discovery systems to enable and accelerate our discovery of new medicines
• Build and lead a small team that operates, evolves, and expands our automation platforms and autonomous science systems
• Evaluate emerging automation technologies and vendors, and build and maintain external relationships to continue to advance our capabilities and to stay on the cutting edge

What you'll need to be successful:

• Bachelor's or graduate degree in life sciences, bioengineering, or a related field
• 10+ years of hands-on experience with laboratory automation systems in a drug discovery or pharmaceutical R&D environment, with direct experience operating high-throughput liquid handling platforms
• Demonstrated ability to independently develop and troubleshoot complex automated assay workflows from concept through routine operation, covering all technical aspects of both software and hardware
• Experience working cross-functionally with experimental and data science teams; comfortable translating scientific requirements into automation specifications and vice versa
• Familiarity with HighRes, Benchling platforms, and AI-driven / autonomous scientific systems is a strong plus
• A curious and growth-oriented mindset, with openness to learning new tools and approaches, and an ability to adapt modern AI tools as a part of everyday work
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and prioritize effectively in a fast-moving environment
• Ability to recruit, manage, and develop technical talent
• Comfortable working in a small-company environment where scope is broad and self-direction is expected

Core Values

Parabilis Medicines is a team of passionate pioneers who are trailblazing the future of precision medicine with the aim of making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients. The company is committed to promoting an inspiring and flourishing working environment for all employees across the business, in all departments, and driving innovation for patient benefit.

• Growth-Minded . We're inventing a new class of medicines—one applicable to therapeutic targets that have been dreamt about, but always considered impossible to drug. Our work requires us to be curious, humble and adaptable.
• In(ter)dependent. We are fiercely  independent as a leader in defying the limitations of current therapeutic modalities, and  interdependent as a team as we work collaboratively to shift drug discovery paradigms and provide patients with better treatment options.
• Patient-focused. We are deeply focused on patient outcomes, and all energy in the company is focused on science as it translates to patient impact.
• All-In. We're All-In on solving some of the hardest scientific challenges and delivering one of the most effective new classes of drugs in history.

The base salary range for this position is $200,000-$240,000, depending on experience, qualifications, and internal practices. Parabilis's total compensation package also includes an annual target bonus, equity, and a comprehensive suite of competitive benefits designed to support our employees' overall well-being.

As an equal opportunity employer, Parabilis Medicines values an inclusive workplace and welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and experiences. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.

30 Acorn Park Drive    |     Cambridge, MA 02140    |