Scientist - Cell Culture

JOB DESCRIPTION

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Laboratory Setting, Some degree of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) required (safety glasses, gowning, gloves, lab coat, ear plugs etc.)

Job Description

This is a fully onsite role based at our customer’s site in San Diego, CA (Torrey Pines area). We welcome applicants from all locations within the US. Please note that relocation assistance is not provided for this position, and any relocation costs will be the responsibility of the candidate.  

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship. 

Must be able to pass a comprehensive background check, which includes a drug screening. 

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, you’ll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life - enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while taking science a step beyond through research, development and delivery of life-changing therapies. With clinical trials conducted in 100+ countries and ongoing development of novel frameworks for clinical research through our PPD clinical research portfolio, our work spans laboratory, digital and decentralized clinical trial services. Your determination to deliver quality and accuracy will improve health outcomes that people and communities depend on – now and in the future.

Thermo Fisher's clinical research business is a leading global contract research organization and world leader in serving science. We are passionate, deliberate, and driven by our mission – to enable our customers to make the world healthier, safer, and cleaner.

Our Laboratories Functional Service Partnership (FSP) team plays a direct role in advancing drug development by creating sustained groups of talent within our customers’ organizations to provide long-term support. Through this collaborative approach, our professionals bring their commitment to excellence, industry knowledge, and operational strength directly into customer environments, helping to enhance capabilities and advance the delivery of life-changing therapies.

The Formulation Development at our client site seeks a dedicated scientist to join a team whose goal is to discover, develop, and commercialize therapies for patients with serious diseases. As a member of Formulation Development team, this role will support early research activities through mammalian cell culture, physicochemical characterization, and formulation-related studies of small-molecule drug candidates. The successful candidate will perform high-quality laboratory experiments, contribute to method development and troubleshooting, maintain thorough documentation, and collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary project teams.

Key responsibilities:

• Culture, maintain, and characterize mammalian cell lines using aseptic laboratory techniques.
• Conduct preliminary physicochemical property assessments of small-molecule drug candidates, including solubility and stability in biorelevant media.
• Perform relatively advanced experimental troubleshooting and contribute to method development, optimization, and implementation.
• Design, execute, analyze, and communicate experimental results in support of project objectives.
• Source, review, interpret, and apply relevant scientific literature within the field and broadly across related disciplines.
• Maintain accurate, complete, and contemporaneous laboratory notebooks capturing protocols, results, observations, and deviations in real time.
• Comply with all applicable ethical, safety, quality, and training procedures.
• Collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams and manage multiple activities within defined timelines.
• Clearly communicate experimental plans, data, findings, risks, and recommendations verbally and in writing.
• Holiday work is mandatory.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in lab sciences such as Chemistry, Biochemistry, Material Science, Immunology, Biology, Molecular Biology or similar
• Scientist: Previous experience that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job (comparable to 2+ years’)
• OR Masters degree

In some cases, an equivalency, consisting of a combination of appropriate education, training and/or directly related experience, will be considered sufficient for an individual to meet the requirements of the role.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Experience working with Caco-2 cell cultures, including culture, maintenance, and assay execution.
• Experience plating and working with Transwell plates for permeability, transport, or related cellular assays.
• Experience conducting physicochemical characterization, including solubility and stability assessments in biorelevant media.
• Familiarity with in vitro drug absorption, permeability, or transport studies
• Demonstrated hands-on experience culturing and maintaining mammalian cells.
• Experience with experimental design, laboratory troubleshooting, and method development.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to data integrity and quality laboratory documentation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple experimental activities in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to maintaining a safe, compliant, and collaborative laboratory environment.

Working Environment:

Below is listed the working environment/requirements for this role:

Able to communicate, receive, and understand information and ideas with diverse groups of people in a comprehensible and reasonable manner.

Able to work upright and stationary and/or standing for typical working hours.

Able to lift and move objects up to 25 pounds

Able to work in non-traditional work environments.

Able to use and learn standard office equipment and technology with

proficiency.

May have exposure to potentially hazardous elements, including infectious agents, typically found in healthcare or laboratory environments.

Able to perform successfully under pressure while prioritizing and handling multiple projects or activities.

Benefits

We offer competitive remuneration, annual incentive plan bonus, healthcare, and a range of employee benefits. Thermo Fisher Scientific offers employment with an innovative, forward-thinking organization, and outstanding career and development prospects. We offer an exciting company culture that stands for integrity, intensity, involvement, and innovation!

Compensation and Benefits

The hourly pay range estimated for this position based in California is $34.00–$38.00.

This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes:

• A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs

• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement

• At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy

• Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan

• Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount

For more information on our benefits, please visit: