About Montara Therapeutics, Inc.

Montara Therapeutics, Inc. is a San Francisco-based preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing novel approaches to develop safer and more efficacious treatments for neurological diseases. Montara’s BrainOnly platform allows brain-specific pharmacology utilizing existing and novel chemical warheads, restricting deleterious on-target off-tissue peripheral activity. BrainOnly holds the potential to drug numerous targets previously considered undruggable. 

The company is backed by top-tier investors, including SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, Two Bear Capital, KdT Ventures, and Dolby Family Ventures. For more information, visit montaratx.com.

At Montara, we prioritize employee growth and well-being, fostering an environment of education, innovation, collaboration, and resilience. Our core values are Drive, Attention to Detail, Data Focus, and Empathy.

About the Position

Overview:

The mission of Montara Therapeutics is to develop innovative therapies for diseases of the brain by leveraging our proprietary BrainOnly platform to enhance drug safety and efficacy and enable the drugging of targets previously considered undruggable. Many promising drug candidates for neurological or neurodegenerative diseases fail to advance due to dose-limiting, off-tissue peripheral toxicities, which impede both safety and efficacy. BrainOnly is a breakthrough platform that aims to prevent peripheral adverse events associated with neuroscience drugs. It holds the potential to deliver a new generation of brain-targeted therapeutics.

The Senior Research Associate, Discovery, will play a pivotal role in both our biomarker and discovery efforts at Montara. This position offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research and help shape the future of medicine.

Job Requirements:

• Develop, optimize, and execute assays to test compounds for potency and target engagement in in vitro screening assays.

• Develop, optimize, and execute assays to test for potency and target engagement in tissues of animals dosed with our compounds.

• Work closely with the in vivo and chemistry teams in animal experiments and screening efforts.

• Stay up-to-date with new developments in the biomarker, cell-based assays, and screening field, and implement new technologies.

• Design and execute biomarker strategies to support clinical programs.

• Create clear and concise presentations summarizing the data generated.

• Write experimental reports in the electronic lab notebook.

• Be an advocate for the company's work culture and core company values.

Qualifications:

• BS in a relevant scientific field with three years of full-time work experience in biomarker and drug screening assays or MS with one year of full-time work experience.

• Experience in optimizing and conducting a variety of cell-based and cell-free screening assays. Examples include plate-based colorimetric, luminescence, or fluorescence assays, microscopy/immunofluorescence, FACS analysis, Western Blotting, etc.

• Experience with mammalian cell culture is required.

• Experience with ELISAs.

• Ability to generate consistent data daily, for example, in cases where the same assay is used daily.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

• Excellent organizational and documentation skills are a must-have.

• Experience with Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, and GraphPad Prism.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Salary & Benefits

Salary:

• $95,000 - $140,000 - based on experience, education, and qualifications

• Annual and spot bonus opportunities

Benefits:

• Stock options (amount TBD)

• Full medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their dependents  

• Matching 401k plans

• Flexible PTO

• Weekend work compensation