Raven StealthCo - Scientist/Senior Scientist, Biology and Pharmacology
About Raven:
We are Raven, RA Capital’s healthcare incubator. From discovery to delivery, whether we incubate, accelerate or rejuvenate, Raven’s goal is to turn scientific breakthroughs into transformative therapies and get them quickly, safely and efficiently to the patients that need them most. Raven’s experienced scientists, operators, and healthcare innovators have deep sector expertise across therapeutics, diagnostics, devices and services. They have brought hundreds of therapeutics into development, managed hospital systems, optimized clinical trials and navigated payor and regulatory systems to deliver patient impact - and they are ready to work with you.
About RA Capital:
Founded in 2004, RA Capital Management is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare, life sciences, and planetary health companies. RA Capital creates and funds innovative companies, from private seed rounds to public follow-on financings, allowing management teams to drive value creation from inception through commercialization and beyond. RA Capital's knowledge engine is guided by our TechAtlas internal research division, and Raven, RA Capital’s company building team, offers entrepreneurs and innovators a collaborative and comprehensive platform to explore the novel and the re-imagined. RA Capital has more than 150 employees and over $10 billion in assets under management.
Company Background
We are a well-funded, stealth-mode biotechnology focused on next generation oligo-based modalities targeting tissues beyond the liver, muscle, and kidney. We are building a platform to deliver oligos with high precision to previously untargeted cells, while focused on “undruggable” genes, alone or in combination with previously validated targets. Many of our targets carry "pipeline-in-a-drug" potential: a single gene or protein with meaningful biological effects across multiple disease areas. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was incubated in RA Capital’s venture group (Raven) and is led by an experienced CEO. After a robust incubation and vetting process, Raven StealthCo was launched and funded by RA Capital. The company’s therapeutic areas of interest lie outside commonly targeted cells and tissues, and represent multi-billion-dollar markets that are continuing to grow as the population ages. Our initial focus is creating transformational therapies to treat diseases, but given the platform potential, we have longer-term ambitions to address healthy aging. These targets are backed by strong biological and genetic evidence but have historically resisted small molecule and biologic approaches. Raven StealthCo is moving quickly to address multiple disease indications at scale and with significant market potential.
The Opportunity
We are in the discovery stage and will invest heavily in our emerging platform for oligonucleotide delivery. Our disease focus is supported by highly predictive animal models with strong translatability to humans, offering a potentially rapid and efficient path to the clinic. Given our recent funding and commitment to building a first-in-class platform, we are recruiting a Scientist / Senior Scientist, Biology and Pharmacology to lead and execute in vitro and in vivo pharmacology across our programs.
The Position
The Scientist / Senior Scientist reports to the Director of Biology and Pharmacology and will carry scientific ownership of pharmacology on assigned projects across in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo work. The role balances analysis of tissues from in vivo studies, cell-based assay development, and management of CRO-run in vivo studies, with the mix shifting as project needs evolve. We hold a high bar for scientific rigor and execution across a broad, fast-moving platform.
Specific responsibilities for the Scientist / Senior Scientist:
- Lead pharmacology for early-stage programs, from research planning and study design through data interpretation, helping shape experimental strategy and go/no-go decisions.
- Design rigorous in vivo studies that deliver decision-quality data, with thoughtful dosing, appropriate controls, and adequate statistical power.
- Serve as the day-to-day sponsor contact for CRO-run in vivo studies and analytical vendors, overseeing qualification, scope, budget, timelines, pre-study alignment, in-life monitoring, and troubleshooting, while holding partners to high standards and building strong, productive relationships.
- Manage in vivo sample logistics end to end, including receipt, cataloging, storage, chain of custody, and shipment between CROs and analytical partners.
- Process and analyze tissue samples from in vivo studies to generate target engagement, pharmacodynamic, and efficacy readouts.
- Provide sponsor-side oversight of data integrity, documentation, and animal welfare for external studies, and maintain in vivo records, protocols, and SOPs.
- Develop and run biochemical, molecular, and cell-based assays in cell lines and primary cell models across a range of tissue types, adapting established methods and creating new ones as needed.
- Compile, QC, and interpret
Key Qualifications Include:
● B.S./M.S. or Ph.D. in pharmacology, physiology, cell and molecular biology, or a related discipline. Scientist: B.S./M.S. with 8+ years of relevant biopharmaceutical industry experience. Senior Scientist: Ph.D. with 5+ years, or B.S./M.S. with 10+ years, of relevant biopharmaceutical industry experience. Title will be commensurate with level of qualifications and experience
● Demonstrated scientific leadership of in vitro and in vivo pharmacology projects in discovery and/or preclinical research and development, including study designs and interpretation that informed project decisions
● Exceptional scientific aptitude: sharp critical thinking, sound experimental judgment, and the agility to learn new biology quickly across disease areas
● Strong hands-on skills in tissue processing and analysis (RNA and protein extraction, RT-qPCR, immunoassays, histology/IHC/ISH), mammalian cell culture in cell lines and primary cell models, and cell-based assays, with a record of establishing new methods
● Track record managing CRO-executed in vivo studies: vendor qualification, protocol alignment, budget and timeline management, and critical evaluation of external data; non-human-primate study experience is a plus
● Hands-on rodent experience (dosing, in-life assessment, terminal collection) sufficient to design realistic protocols and challenge a CRO
● Sound professional judgment: works independently, prioritizes across concurrent studies, and knows when to escalate
● Strong quantitative and statistical fluency, including study powering and appropriate analysis of in vivo data
● Clear scientific writing and communication: protocols, study reports, and data presentations to project teams and leadership
● Highly organized and detail-oriented, with a record of consistently delivering robust, decision-quality in vitro and in vivo data
● Experience with oligonucleotide or other nucleic acid therapeutics (tissue exposure, target modulation, PK/PD) and exposure to IND-enabling studies are a plus.
We are seeking someone mature, curious, and committed, who holds themselves to an exceptionally high standard, makes decisive, data-driven calls, and is collaborative, trustworthy,
and humble. As one of our earliest hires, they will help shape a culture built on psychological safety, respect, and mentorship, where good ideas can come from anyone and failure is a
chance to learn, not a cause for blame. We move with urgency because we are committed to rigorous science and to the patients who need it. This person will have real influence on how we
run pharmacology and room to grow as the company advances.
The base salary range reflects our good faith estimate at the time of posting. Final compensation will depend on factors like experience, skills, and location. The role may also be eligible for an annual bonus and long-term incentives. Compensation and benefits may be updated in the future.
