Senior Scientist

AltPep Corporation is a biomedical startup based along Seattle's Lake Union focused on developing early disease-modifying treatments and detection tools for amyloid diseases by targeting one of the earliest molecular triggers – toxic soluble oligomers. These toxic oligomers are associated with many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and type 2 diabetes. AltPep draws its origins to Dr. Valerie Daggett's lab at the University of Washington's Bioengineering Department.

About This Role

We are seeking a visionary and highly motivated Senior Scientist to take a leading role in the development of our life-changing therapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease. As a senior leader in the lab, you will leverage deep scientific expertise to bridge the gap between cellular discovery, in vitro and in vivo proof-of-concept, and toxicology. You are a meticulous researcher, a bold strategist, and a dedicated mentor who thrives in a high-stakes, mission-driven team environment.

You may lead a project or initiative involving other contributors. You may supervise the activities of more junior personnel and be responsible for driving the development of those employees. Or, you may be working alone on a project, but contributing to a larger effort. You will contribute toward peer-reviewed publications, the invention of IP, internal reports, and/or regulatory filings.

What You’ll Do:

• Drive preclinical in-house development of therapeutic candidates and pre-IND development activities ensuring that cellular data effectively informs the selection and design of in vivo efficacy and toxicology studies.
  
• Establish and validate a suite of proof-of-concept behavioral assays to characterize cognitive and motor phenotypes in transgenic models.
  
• Oversee the design and execution of complex cell-culture models (e.g., primary neurons, iPSCs, blood-brain barrier models, organoids) to characterize drug mechanisms of action, toxicity and potency.
  
• Lead the design, scheduling, and interpretation of in vivo efficacy, PK/PD, and safety studies. This includes managing internal animal work and overseeing external CRO relationships.
  
• Serve as the subject matter expert for cell and animal biology in project team meetings, translating complex data into actionable insights for senior management.
  
• Contribute and review technical reports, manufacturing documents, regulatory submissions, and publications.
  
• Present at department, project team, and senior management meetings. May present externally at scientific conferences.
  

What You’ll Bring:

• Must Haves:
  
  • D. in biochemistry, bioengineering, neuroscience or related field with 6+ years of industry or post Ph.D. experience.
    
  • Deep hands-on experience with animal models of neurodegeneration (e.g., transgenic AD/PD and other mouse models), including various dosing routes (IV, SC, IN) and tissue collection.
    
  • Advanced proficiency in organoids, primary cell culture or iPSC-derived models relevant to amyloid diseases and neuroinflammation.
    
  • Proven ability to lead projects from early discovery through to IND-enabling studies.

Debilitating amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, affect more than a billion people worldwide. Drawing upon decades of academic research, AltPep was founded to create groundbreaking tools to detect and treat such diseases. Although a young company, AltPep has been recognized for its scientific accomplishment and potential.

While still small and nimble, we have grown to a team of thirty talented individuals dedicated to improving the lives of billions. We continue to grow and are looking for talented people to join the team and help us accomplish our mission.

We offer competitive compensation to those joining our fight. The compensation range for a Senior Scientist is $140,000 - $160,000, depending on experience. AltPep takes care of its employees and offers generous stock options, medical, vision, and dental coverage for its employees and their dependents. We understand, and value, life outside of work and offer competitive PTO so you can rest and recharge.