Contract
Research Associate / Senior Research Associate
Contract
Posted on 8/15/2025
Xaira Therapeutics
51-200 employees
AI-powered protein design for therapeutics
Compensation Overview
$45 - $55/hr
San Bruno, CA, USA
In Person
 Biology & Biotech (2) |
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- B.S./M.S. in Molecular Biology, Genomics, Biotechnology, or a related field with 2+ years of laboratory experience, including direct experience in NGS workflows
- Proficient in Illumina sequencing library preparation methods for DNA and RNA, with a strong understanding of underlying biochemistry and assay design
- Hands-on experience with Illumina sequencer operation and troubleshooting
- Prepare high-quality sequencing libraries for Illumina platforms using a range of methods (e.g., TruSeq, Nextera, Amplicon, etc.)
- Operate and maintain Illumina sequencers (e.g., MiSeq, NextSeq, NovaSeq), including run setup, monitoring, troubleshooting, and basic maintenance
- Support and execute single-cell workflows, including 10x Genomics GEM-X and 10x Flex assays
- Perform QC of input material and libraries (e.g., Bioanalyzer, TapeStation, Qubit, qPCR) and assess data quality post-sequencing
- Collaborate with internal teams to support project-specific NGS needs
- Develop and optimize NGS protocols and contribute to the scaling of automated or high throughput sequencing pipelines
- Maintain detailed electronic lab notebook (ELN) records and ensure rigorous documentation for reproducibility and compliance
- Participate in group meetings and communicate experimental progress, challenges, and insights to broader teams
- Running analysis pipelines (e.g., bcl2fastq, CellRanger, etc)
- Familiarity with single-cell workflows (e.g., 10x Genomics GEM-X) and/or 10x Genomics Flex assays is strongly preferred
- Knowledge of high-throughput or automated NGS library prep platforms is a plus
- Familiarity with cloud-based Laboratory Information Management Systems or data tracking systems (e.g., Benchling, BaseSpace) is a plus
- Basic knowledge of NGS data analysis (e.g., demultiplexing, QC metrics interpretation, familiarity with sequencing file formats) is a plus
Xaira Therapeutics uses artificial intelligence to transform drug discovery and development. It builds a pipeline of protein- and antibody-based therapeutics by combining generative AI models from the IPD lab (notably RFdiffusion and RFantibody) with large, multidimensional biological data. The company designs novel proteins and antibodies from scratch to target difficult, previously undruggable biology, then validates and evolves these molecules through iterative data generation that improves its biological foundation models. Unlike many entrants that offer research services, Xaira aims to own and advance its own therapeutic pipeline across multiple modalities, rather than solely providing platforms. The goal is to deliver effective new medicines faster and with a lower chance of failure by integrating AI-driven design, expansive data, and expert leadership.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Late Stage VC
Total Funding
$1B
Headquarters
Brisbane, California
Founded
2023
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Rachel Lane closed Genentech and Sanofi partnerships at Belharra, now drives Xaira deals.
- Focus on inflammatory diseases aligns with high-priority pharma therapeutic targets.
- 73,075 sq ft San Francisco expansion by July 2025 supports rapid scaling.
What critics are saying
- Isomorphic Labs' $600M Series A in March 2025 erodes Xaira's first-mover edge.
- Xaira's $1B burn rate triggers liquidity crisis without Series B by mid-2027.
- Public X-Atlas release lets Recursion reverse-engineer models within 12 months.
What makes Xaira Therapeutics unique
- Xaira leverages RFdiffusion and RFantibody from David Baker's IPD for de novo protein design.
- X-Cell model with 4.9 billion parameters predicts perturbations on 25.6 million transcriptomes.
- X-Atlas/Pisces dataset is largest public genome-wide CRISPRi Perturb-seq resource.
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Benefits
Flexible Work Hours
Stock Options
Company Equity
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 0%1 year growth
↑ 1%2 year growth
↑ 2%Xaira Therapeutics has appointed Rachel Lane as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Operations. She will oversee business development strategy and drive partnerships integrating machine learning with therapeutic development. Lane brings over a decade of biotech leadership experience as an operator and investor. Most recently, she served as Chief Business Officer at Belharra Therapeutics, where she closed major platform partnerships with Genentech and Sanofi. She previously worked at Versant Ventures and holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology. This month, Xaira launched X-Cell, its virtual cell model trained on 25.6 million perturbed single-cell transcriptomes. The 4.9 billion-parameter model predicts outcomes of genetic perturbations, marking progress towards transforming drug discovery into a predictive engineering discipline.
With its first AI model release, xaira tests scaling laws in virtual cells. Senior biopharma correspondent. Biotech's best-funded AI startup detailed its first AI model on Tuesday, giving a glimpse at what it's been doing since launching out of stealth nearly... Get free access to a limited number of articles, plus choose newsletters to get straight to your inbox.
Xaira Therapeutics' Chief Operating Officer Jeff Jonker has revealed the AI-driven biotech is focusing its research and development efforts on inflammatory and immunological science. The disclosure marks the first detailed insight into how the company is deploying its capital since raising $1 billion in 2024. The secretive biotech has remained largely quiet about its operations since the fundraise. Jonker's comments to Fierce Biotech provide the first public glimpse into Xaira's strategic priorities as it applies artificial intelligence to drug discovery in areas the pharmaceutical industry considers high-priority therapeutic targets.
Xaira Therapeutics has launched X-Cell, its first virtual cell model, trained on X-Atlas/Pisces, the largest genome-wide CRISPRi Perturb-seq dataset ever reported. The dataset contains 25.6 million perturbed single-cell transcriptomes across seven cellular contexts, more than three times larger than Xaira's previous dataset. X-Cell uses a diffusion language model architecture with 4.9 billion parameters, making it the largest causal perturbation model to date. Unlike traditional autoregressive models, it iteratively refines predictions by progressively replacing control gene expression values with perturbed values, improving accuracy with each step. The model demonstrates state-of-the-art performance in predicting genetic perturbation outcomes, including unseen experiments across different cell types and laboratories. Xaira is making a subset of the dataset and model available to the scientific community.
Xaira Therapeutics announces the appointment of Jeff Jonker as President and Chief Operating Officer.