Scientist Apprentice

COMPANY

Octant is a clinical-stage drug discovery company developing correctors for protein misfolding diseases. Octant’s platform, The Navigator, combines high-throughput synthetic biology, generative chemistry, and AI/ML to discover and develop therapeutics against complex cellular mechanisms in human cells.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Octant is looking for the class of 2027-2028 Apprentices! You're close to graduation and excited to train in Octant's core technologies before your next professional step. Whether you're excited about startups, working in industry, or planning on going to graduate school, you're motivated by Octant's mission to engineer breakthrough medicines. As part of the Octant team, you'll learn from some of the top scientists in drug discovery, synthetic biology, HT ADMET, and chemistry to directly contribute to our therapeutic programs and platform. You love working in the lab, are organized, love learning, and take pride in all of your work. You thrive on getting things done, are eager to troubleshoot random tasks that arise in startups, and can navigate the uncertainty of an ever-changing and fast-paced environment.

Most of the OAs use the program as a gap year before entering graduate school, medical school, or continuing in industry. However, many OAs continue on at Octant at the conclusion of the program.

AS AN OCTANT APPRENTICE (OA) AT OCTANT, YOU WILL:

• Work closely with a scientist mentor to support and expand Octant's platform technologies to develop novel therapeutics. This includes synthetic biology, multiplexed assays, chemistry, HT ADMET and drug discovery.
• Learn technical skills relevant to your Octant work such as mammalian cell engineering, cutting edge molecular cloning techniques, high-throughput chemical synthesis, automation, cell-based assays, assay development, cutting edge HT mass spectrometry methods, and more.
• Experience the multiple facets of a startup, including recruiting and discussing scientific and commercial strategy.
• Expand your network with other startups, academic programs, and investors during network events and monthly fireside chats.
• Have regular brunches with our founders, Sri Kosuri and Ramsey Homsany

THIS JOB MIGHT BE GREAT FOR YOU IF YOU HAVE:

• Education background: You are about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, biological engineering, chemical engineering, computation biology/chemistry or related field by August 2027. 
• Experience: Participated in undergraduate research experience involving biology, biochemistry, engineering, chemistry, or other STEM fields.
• A Detail-Oriented Approach: Attention to detail in experimental design, data collection, and analysis.
• Flexibility & Adaptability: Flexibility to rapidly changing priorities and project needs, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• A Drive to Innovate and Build: As a startup, there are many ways to contribute to Octant’s success. As an Octant Apprentice, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to high impact projects to build the company. 

Apply by January 15th, 2027. Check out our Octant Apprenticeship blog posts here and here to hear more about the apprenticeship experience!

As part of the application process, please indicate whether you are interested in the biology or chemistry roles. Candidates will be evaluated for a role focused on their technical area selection(s). Please note, cross-functional students are invited to apply to up to 2 roles (i.e., if you have a biology background, but want to learn more in chemistry, feel free to apply!). 

The expected annual salary for this role is in the range of $70,000 to $80,000. We offer health benefits (medical, dental, vision), equity, and 401(k) matching.

Octant is located in Emeryville, California and we work onsite.

Octant is an equal opportunity company that values applicants of all backgrounds. We’re committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment. We value less traditional backgrounds, and may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. We know that confidence-gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates, so please don’t hesitate to apply — we’d love to hear from you.