Scientist I

Wave seeks Scientist-I for Cambridge, MA location. Duties include: 

Research Leadership & Competitive Intelligence

• Conduct competitive intelligence research to evaluate targets for novel RNA therapies. Analyze scientific literature, industry reports, and competitive landscapes to identify novel disease targets and assess feasibility for antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) intervention. (10%)
•  Lead target discovery and validation programs by designing and overseeing experiments that investigate target biology, mechanism of action, and therapeutic potential of ASO candidates. Work closely with cross-functional teams to prioritize and advance promising targets. (10%)

Cross-functional & Strategic Leadership 

• Lead and manage multifunctional teams by driving collaboration between Chemistry, Biology, DMPK, and Toxicology teams to develop comprehensive preclinical strategies to advance ASO candidates. Serve as the scientific lead for target programs. (10%)
•  Participate in strategic decision-making with senior leadership on ASO program viability, target selection, and competitive positioning. Present findings to executive stakeholders to shape research priorities. (5%)

Preclinical & Translational Research 

• Independently lead and direct preclinical research programs to advance ASO therapeutics for rare and severe neurodegenerative diseases including Ataxias and other CNS indications. Define project scope, experimental strategy, and key milestones. (10%)
•  Manage and prioritize multiple in vivo pharmacology studies by defining study designs, analyzing PK/PD relationships, and driving strategic decision-making for candidate selection and optimization. Serve as primary point of contact for internal and external study partners. (10%)
•  Oversee development of new high-throughput in vitro assays to assess potency, efficacy, and cellular uptake of ASO therapeutics in patient-derived iPSCs, primary neurons, and astrocytes. Establish best practices and improve throughput efficiency. (8%)

Regulatory & External Engagement 

• Drive regulatory and scientific documentation, including drafting, reviewing, and finalizing study reports, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and regulatory submissions and ensure compliance with industry standard and regulatory requirements. (10%)
•  Represent company at external scientific meetings, conferences, and partner collaborations to communicate study results, scientific insights, and research milestones. (10%)

Mentorship & Innovation 

• Mentor junior scientists, research associates, and cross-functional team members by providing technical guidance, performance feedback, and professional development support. (8%)
• Drive new technology development initiatives by identifying and implementing novel methodologies for ASO delivery, target engagement, and efficacy assessment. (4%)

Laboratory Operations

• Manage procurement and evaluation of external research tools, reagents, and technologies to optimize lab workflows and support experimental execution. (5%)

Position requires MS or foreign equivalent in Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, or related field and 4 years' experience in nucleic acid therapeutic research and development of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) for central nervous system (CNS) and neurodegenerative disorders. Experience must include the following (may be gained concurrently):

• 4 years' experience in competitive early stage research and screening of therapeutic targets for RNA and nucleic acid-based medicines to address severe neurodegenerative conditions.
• 4 years' experience designing and implementing experimental models for therapeutic target evaluation and validation and designing, executing, and analyzing large-scale SAR Relationship (SAR) screens for ASOs utilizing transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to assess RNA-based interventions, optimizing SAR screening conditions across multiple cellular models, identifying lead compounds, and refining lead progression strategies for CNS and neuromuscular disorders. 
• 4 years' experience developing and performing mechanistic studies to assess oligonucleotide activity including transcript and protein-level evaluations using RNA-seq, qPCR, and hybridization-based assays. 
• 4 years' experience leading design and execution of in vitro PD, PK, and biodistribution studies and assessments in mouse models for ASO therapeutic candidates.
• 4 years' experience working with iPSCs, NPCs, and primary neurons including differentiation into disease-relevant neuronal subtypes for ASO screening and validation. 
• 4 years' experience performing quantitative protein analysis for oligonucleotide therapeutics including ELISA, Western blotting, and amplicon sequencing to measure ASO-mediated protein modulation in CNS and peripheral tissues, and generating RNA and protein analysis workflows such as BRAVO (liquid handler), qPCR and MSD to assess drug-target interactions. 
• 4 years' experience collaborating with cross-functional teams such as chemistry, toxicology, and DMPK groups to optimize lead candidate selection, analyze biodistribution results, and prepare preclinical data packages. 
• 4 years' experience investigating impact of chemical modifications on target engagement, allele selectivity, potency, and duration utilizing stereopure phosphorothioate (PN) chemistry platform.
• 4 years' experience utilizing amplicon sequencing pipelines to validate allele selectivity in ASO-treated samples including SNP phasing, detection of allele-specific expression, and validation of knockdown selectivity in preclinical disease models.
• 2 years' experience leading large-scale preclinical oligo PK/PD studies to determine IC50 values, assess drug distribution, target engagement levels, and  clearance in CNS and peripheral tissues, and generate critical dose-response data to support ASO therapies preclinical development .
• 2 years' industry experience preparing and reviewing regulatory documentation, including SOPs, preclinical study reports, and IND filings.
• 2 years' experience mentoring junior scientists in drug study design, bioassay development, and data interpretation using statistical tools such as GraphPad and JMP and implementing workflow optimizations such as KNIME workflow and ThinkCell software to enhance experimental reproducibility.
• 1 year experience presenting findings at scientific meetings, and/or external collaborations, including contributions to peer-reviewed publications. 

Pay Range External Disclosure Statement

The annual base salary range for this position is $102,000–$156,000.

The range provided is based on what we believe is a reasonable estimate for the annual base salary pay range for this position at the time of posting. Actual annual base salary will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, qualifications, position criticality, and internal equity.  This position is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus and discretionary stock-based long-term incentives.  In addition to compensation, Wave offers a comprehensive and competitive range of benefits designed to support our employees' and their families physical and financial health and overall well-being. These include, but are not limited to, company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, life, long and short-term disability insurances, generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), 401K participation with matching contributions, and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Wave Life Sciences provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Wave Life Sciences complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Wave Life Sciences expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Wave Life Sciences' employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.

We value our relationships with professional recruitment firms. To protect the interests of all parties, and given the large volume of inquiries received from third-party placement agencies, we are not able to respond to all agency inquiries. We do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates for current or future positions. Submission of unsolicited resumes in advance of a signed agreement between our company and a placement agency does not create an implied obligation and, if an unsolicited candidate represented by a placement agency is hired, we are not obligated to pay a fee. Only approved recruitment firms will be allowed to provide services to Wave Life Sciences, USA.

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