(Senior) Development Scientist - Preanalytical Development

As a Senior/Development Scientist you will be responsible for characterizing the impact of preanalytical variables on Freenome’s multiomic tests and establishing robust, standardized protocols to improve preanalytical workflows. In addition to executing at the bench as a subject matter expert in preanalytics, you will also contribute to leveraging preanalytical datasets to generate biological insights that directly inform Freenome’s biomarker discovery studies and product development efforts. Finally, you will collaborate with the Clinical Development, Lab Operations, and Computational Research teams to ensure that preanalytical considerations are represented in every aspect of Freenome’s research platform and product development process.

How you’ll contribute:

• Carry out methods development towards products that serve patients.
• Provide technical leadership on assays for the isolation and characterization of blood fractions by applying expert knowledge of analytical chemistry, protein chemistry, blood biochemistry, cell biology, and/or molecular biology.
• Design and execute studies to evaluate the impact of preanalytical variables (including blood collection, shipping, and storage conditions) on sample integrity and analyte stability.
• Optimize sample collection, transportation, and processing workflows, including selecting blood collection devices, identifying shipping conditions, and developing fractionation protocols.
• Contribute to biomarker discovery efforts by generating large-scale datasets on clinical sample quality for downstream analytical characterization. 
• Identify, evaluate, and integrate new sample collection, fractionation, and characterization technologies into preanalytical workflows.
• Work cross-functionally with Clinical Trial Managers, Clinical Lab Scientists, and Process Engineers to implement best sample handling practices in Freenome’s clinical studies.
• Partner with Software Engineers to build data infrastructure for preanalytical data generation, ingestion, and processing.
• Collaborate with Computational Biologists and Machine Learning Scientists to incorporate preanalytical datasets into data analysis pipelines.

What you’ll bring: 

• PhD (or equivalent industry experience) in biochemistry, protein chemistry, molecular biology, or a related field.

• 2+ years post-PhD experience in characterizing blood or blood-derived products or in developing blood-based assays for biomarker discovery or clinical testing.

• Extensive experience working with a variety of blood collection devices, especially those designed for robust stabilization and/or separation of whole blood.

• Broad, expert-level knowledge of blood and/or blood-derived products. 

• Hands-on experience with assays used to characterize blood fractions at both the cellular and molecular levels, such as flow cytometry and ELISA.

• Familiarity with the stability profiles of a diverse set of analytes, including DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites. 

• Proven track record of establishing or evaluating methods for understanding analyte stability.

• Ability to perform basic data analysis, enabling experimental iteration independent of external support.

• Clear communications skills and ability to work with team members in the same and adjacent disciplines.

• Experience developing novel blood collection devices, such as ambient blood collection tubes or point-of-collection plasma isolation devices.

• Experience working in a regulated laboratory environment (CLIA, GLP/GCLP, IVD development).
• Ability to design assays for automated platforms and experience working with liquid handlers.Senior/Development Scientist - Preanalytical Development

Freenome has adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees. As a condition of employment, our employees working on-site are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a reasonable accommodation is approved or as otherwise required by law.

About Freenome

Freenome is on a mission to empower everyone with the tools they need to detect, treat, and ultimately prevent cancer.  

We have pioneered the most comprehensive multiomics platform for early cancer detection through a routine blood draw.  By combining deep expertise in molecular biology with advanced computational biology and machine learning techniques to recognize disease-associated patterns among billions of circulating, cell-free biomarkers, we are developing simple and accurate blood tests for early cancer detection and integrating the actionable insights into health systems to operationalize a machine learning feedback loop between care and science. 

Our recent $270 Million Series C brings our financing to over $500 million from investors, including;  Bain Capital, Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital, Polaris Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., GV (formerly Google Ventures), Roche Venture Fund, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, American Cancer Society’s BrightEdge Ventures, Data Collective Venture Capital, Novartis and Verily Life Sciences. 

Our Science

Freenome is building technology to advance the understanding of cancer through multiple analytes derived from blood. These signals include cell-free DNA, methylation of cell-free DNA, cell-free RNA, circulating proteins, and immune profiling derived from thousands of prospective samples. By developing novel statistical learning methods and applying them to integrate various -omics datasets, Freenome is a leader in modeling specific biological mechanisms to capture disease-dependent signatures, including gene expression, immune response, tumor burden, the tissue of origin, and 3D chromatin structure. 

By building comprehensive discovery datasets and modeling critical biological systems, Freenome is learning what biological changes are present within the blood between a variety of different disease states, including cancer, autoimmune disorders, infections, drug response, and aging. The synthesis of Freenome’s datasets, cross-functional technical expertise, and audacious mission to discover biological truth, we seek to improve the lives of millions through early detection and early treatment of disease.  

Our Culture

Freenomers are technical, creative, visionary, grounded, empathetic, and passionate. We build teams around divergent expertise, allowing us to solve problems and ascertain opportunities in unique ways. Freenomers are some of the most talented experts in their fields, joining together to advance healthcare, one breakthrough at a time. 

We value empathy, integrity, and trust in one another, and we respect the diverse perspectives of our colleagues and those we serve.  We assume positive intent and give each other the benefit of the doubt with the firm belief that we are a team working toward the same objectives.  We believe in empowering and supporting each other in a collaborative and dynamic environment. 

What does a successful person look like at Freenome?

Those who thrive at Freenome prioritize, manage, and execute their own goals with ownership and alignment with those of the company. They embrace our values of empathy, integrity, striving for greatness, servant leadership, trust, and holding themselves and their team accountable to these values. They crave collaboration with brilliant minds from disparate fields of study and believe that hiring and mentorship are fundamental to our success. Above all, they welcome and provide constructive feedback and criticism, trusting in others’ good intentions, and being secure in knowing that embracing mistakes is the best way to learn and grow. For those who pursue challenges, understudied problems, and want the opportunity to see their work impact the lives of millions of people affected by cancer every year, there’s no better place to be than Freenome.

Freenome is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity. Freenome does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law.

Notice to agencies:

Our in-house Talent Acquisition Team manages all employment opportunities at Freenome.  Agencies and independent recruiters must be approved as a vendor by Freenome’s Talent Acquisition team before submitting candidates to any Freenome employee. 

We do not accept unsolicited resumes or biographies from agencies under any circumstances. Any unsolicited resumes sent to Freenome, including those sent to a Freenome email address or directly to Freenome employees, will be considered Freenome property. Freenome will NOT pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume. Freenome will consider any candidate for whom an Agency has submitted an unsolicited resume to have been referred by the Agency free of any charges or fees. 

Please do not contact Freenome employees directly. Compliance with this request will impact our decision to work with you.