Associate Director / Director, Preclinial Development - Immunology

Company Overview: Terray Therapeutics is a venture-backed biotechnology company where scientists and engineers build together to transform how small-molecule drugs are discovered and developed. By combining our nanotechnology, experimental science, machine learning, and automation, we leverage Terray’s ability to generate and learn from scale proprietary chemical data to discover novel medicines for patients in need.

At Terray, you will work alongside pioneers and experts in artificial intelligence, chemistry, drug discovery, automation, and nanotechnology in deeply interconnected workflows where computational and experimental teams continuously learn from one another. Our platform, EMMI (Experimentation Meets Machine Intelligence), powers iterative cycles of molecular design and wet-lab experimentation that rapidly improve our understanding of biochemical interactions and guide the next generation of discoveries.

Our teams support both an internal immunology pipeline and partnerships across a broad range of therapeutic areas. The work here is highly collaborative, fast-moving, and grounded in the belief that breakthroughs happen when strong science, thoughtful technology, and great people work closely together.

Position Summary: Terray Therapeutics is seeking a highly motivated, creative, and experienced immunologist to join our biology team. This is a strategic role working closely with the CSO and other leads in the preclinical team and across the company to support our small-molecule pipeline. In this role, the Associate Director / Director will lead the team responsible for all cell-based assay development and execution, including hit validation, structure-activity relationships, and lead optimization. The candidate will provide immunology expertise to evaluate new targets and expand our internal pipeline programs. They will be a pivotal collaborator within a multidisciplinary team. The successful candidate will have a strong background in assay development for inflammation targets in the context of small molecule drug discovery. This role will be full-time, onsite, and will report to the CSO.

The core responsibilities of this position are:

• Lead a small, highly motivated team of assay scientists who develop and run cell assays in support of internal and partner pipeline programs
• Work closely with scientists across the company in biology, chemistry, platform, screening, data, and computational teams to efficiently advance projects from hit validation through hit-to-lead and lead optimization to lead candidate selection
• Develop cell-based assay funnels to support structure-activity optimization for our inflammation target portfolio as programs progress to hit-to-lead and lead optimization
• Expert understanding of inflammatory pathways as they relate to the target and disease mechanism
• Analyze and interpret experimental data and communicate results in project team meetings

Experience and Qualifications: Part of Terray’s success is nurtured by a hands-on work environment where everyone is accountable, vested in a vision of excellence, and actively taking part in the success of the business. Terray supports a positive work environment where employees can feel engaged, recognized, and empowered to be creative. They will exhibit the ability to work well under pressure to provide results in a short timeframe. The company is looking for a highly responsive, goal-oriented individual who will bring significant energy and drive to solve complex technical problems and help us achieve our mission to advance human health.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in the small-molecule field of immunology with 10+ years of small-molecule drug discovery industry experience
• Deep expertise in immunology, with a strong understanding of immune signaling pathways, disease mechanisms, and immune modulation strategies
• Extensive experience with small-molecule drug development from target validation through lead optimization
• Expertise in evaluating novel targets for drug development, including developing a robust screening approach and desired target product profile
• Strong leadership and mentorship skills with demonstrated experience managing a small team of highly motivated scientists
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team and drive program progress; comfortable working on multiple projects in parallel and operating within a matrixed structure
• Hands-on experience in developing and optimizing a range on immunological assays (Flow cytometry, cytokine profiling, ELISA, Luminescence/fluorescence-based, Western blot, immunoprecipitation, etc.) and measuring small molecule inhibition (IC50) is required
• Demonstrated technical proficiency, attention to detail, ability to troubleshoot and solve problems, and to deliver high-quality data
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills, and can thrive in a highly collaborative research environment

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with lab automation, high-throughput screening (384-well format), or liquid handling systems is preferred

Compensation Details: Associate Director: $180,000 - $263,000 (annually) / Director: $235,000 - $312,000. Level and position will be dependent on skill level and experience.

Terray’s salary ranges are designed to be competitive and are benchmarked against market base salary plus bonus within our industry and market. We align pay to role scope, skill level, and impact.

We invest heavily in benefits because taking care of our people matters. Our programs are benchmarked at the top of the Southern California market and designed to provide meaningful support across every stage of life. Benefits include participation in the Company’s stock option plan, a 3% retirement safe harbor contribution, fully paid health, dental, vision insurance for our employees, spouse, partner and families as well as above-market life insurance, disability coverage, and much more to explore during the offer process.