Senior / Principal Scientist:
Analytical Chemistry (Oligonucleotides)

Pay: $100,000 – $160,000 per year
Location: Rockville, MD (on-site)

About Us:

Founded in 2017 by scientists from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Autonomous Therapeutics is developing first-in-class nucleic acid medicines across infectious disease and oncology indications.

Our platform fuses synthetic biology and chemistry to achieve a simple goal: target-activated (precision) medicines that only activate in diseased cells. Imagine a chemotherapy that spares your healthy cells.

You would join a team of 25 in-house PhD scientists and engineers across synthetic biology, synthetic chemistry, formulation, in vivo biology, and AI in our 20,000 sq ft R&D facility outside Washington, D.C.

The Role:

We are looking for an exceptional analytical chemist to develop rigorous methods to probe the identity, purity, and in vivo biodistribution of our first-in-class oligonucleotide therapeutic candidates. You will play a central role in advancing next-generation medicines through preclinical development.

Your role will span both analytical and bioanalytical method development, with a particular focus on LC-MS and HPLC methods for oligonucleotide identity, purity, and quality assessments, as well as candidate pharmacokinetics (PK) and tissue biodistribution.

You will report directly to the Associate Director, Oligonucleotide Chemistry, with close mentorship from the CSO.

About You:

You have a PhD in Analytical Chemistry, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field and demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following:

Oligonucleotide Analytical Chemistry:
Development and application of analytical methods for RNA or DNA oligonucleotides (e.g. siRNA, ASOs), including methods for product characterization, purity, and quality.

Chromatographic Methods:
Hands-on experience developing and applying HPLC or other chromatographic methods for oligonucleotides and conjugates, including ion-exchange, reversed-phase, SEC, or related approaches to enable oligonucleotide purity assessments, impurity profiling, and stability testing.

LC-MS Bioanalysis for PK / Biodistribution:
Hands-on experience developing and applying LC-MS-based quantitative workflows to detect and quantify oligonucleotides and related analytes in biological matrices such as plasma, BALF, liver, lung, or other tissues to support in vivo PK and biodistribution studies.

Nice to Have (But Not Required):

  • Chemical synthesis experience (e.g. solid-phase synthesis) with oligonucleotides or oligonucleotide conjugates—including peptide, lipid, polymer, or carbohydrate constructs

  • Experience with sample preparation workflows for biological matrices, including tissue homogenization, extraction, cleanup, or related bioanalytical methods

  • Experience supporting external CDMOs, CROs, or analytical method transfer for IND-enabling studies

Experience with oligonucleotide therapeutics is strongly preferred, but excellent candidates from adjacent analytical chemistry fields willing to rapidly learn oligonucleotide chemistry are encouraged to apply.

What You’ll Do:

  • Develop rigorous analytical and chromatographic methods (e.g. LC-MS, HPLC, ion-exchange, reversed-phase, SEC) to characterize synthesized oligonucleotides—and quantitatively assess product identity, purity, stability, and related quality attributes

  • Develop bioanalytical methods to track the in vivo pharmacokinetics (PK) and tissue distribution of oligonucleotides, including analyses in biological matrices such as plasma, BALF, liver, and lung

  • Work closely with synthetic chemistry, formulation, immunology, and in vivo biology teams to accelerate candidate advancement through preclinical development and IND-enabling studies

  • Collaborate with external partners, including CDMOs, to support GLP method qualification, transfer, scale-up, and clinical translation

Why Join Us:

  • Impact:
    Help develop first-in-class cancer and infectious disease medicines.

  • Compensation:
    Highly competitive salary and equity (stock option) packages.

  • Benefits:

    • Health, dental, and vision insurance

    • 401(k) with employer matching

    • Paid time off

  • New Skills: 

    Opportunity to learn therapeutic development or cutting-edge robotics and AI: our engineering team designs custom high-throughput systems to accelerate your workflows.

  • Culture:

    Work alongside a highly collaborative team of scientists and engineers in a fast-moving biotech startup & help build the next generation of precision medicines.

Hiring Info:

  • Work Authorization:

    Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

  • Merit-Based:

    Autonomous Therapeutics is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Hiring decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs.