JOIN OUR TEAM

This role mixes technical and operational work, built for someone who thinks there’s a non-zero chance they’ll start a company in the next ~3 years and wants to use the role to learn how startups actually run. You’ll work alongside the CEO across most of what running General Control takes - science, clinical diligence, hiring, fundraising, and IP. The role is full-time and in person (our HQ is in San Francisco).

Who we’re looking for

• High EQ
• Curious about all kinds of things yet pragmatic
• Low ego
• Comfortable figuring out technical and operational topics you’ve never touched - standing up a computational workflow that was just published, or getting on top of recent regulatory changes for trials in China
• Deeply organized. You keep notes, track your own to-dos, and turn an unstructured flow of information into a plan
• Has any prior exposure to biology - be that research or startups. Domain itself doesn’t matter as much

The day-to-day

• Hiring and sourcing candidates. Our next major hire is Head of Clinical Development.
• Preparing decks and writing investor updates.
• Ad-hoc technical support for the team - ordering guides, compiling every kidney LNP formulation published in the past five years and other things of this kind
• Building data overviews of past campaigns.
• Working through patent drafts with our attorneys, and running IP landscaping.
• Interviewing KOLs on recent clinical developments for a given program, and running competitive target diligence.

Probably not a fit if you

• Want to go deep on one kind of work more than you want to get things done.
• Feel strongly about work-life balance.
• Aren’t confident you can commit for at least 1.5 years.

The Platform Scientist will drive protein engineering campaigns end to end, discovering and iteratively refining epigenetic editor systems from plasmid design through mammalian cell-based screening and quantitative data analysis. You will report directly to the Founding Head of Research and play a defining role in building the operational and scientific infrastructure that this platform will scale on.
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This role is for someone who draws real satisfaction from making a complex, cyclical workflow run cleanly and repeatably — and who takes comfort operating in a fast-moving, core-team environment where lab-based discoveries translate to in vivo proofs-of-concept on the order of days. You will directly establish the systems and data standards that a growing team will inherit. If you are the kind of scientist who sees a blank slate as a creative challenge, we want to hear from you.

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WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Construct Design & Library Management
  Own the plasmid library lifecycle: cloning strategy (Gibson, Golden Gate, restriction-ligation), library QC, sequence verification, and annotated inventory management across hundreds to thousands of constructs.
  Design and execute delivery strategies — lentiviral vectors, lipofection, and mRNA-based modalities — appropriate to each experimental context.
  Develop and disseminate SOPs built to the standard that a growing team will rely on from day one.
• Cell-Based Screening & Assay Development
  Execute arrayed and pooled epigenetic editor screening campaigns in human cell lines, with flow cytometry and similar scalable readouts across early and late kinetic timepoints.
  Develop and optimize assays from scratch; troubleshoot rigorously and document to a standard that makes replication straightforward.
  Characterize editor activity across effector combinations, target loci, and cell types; distinguish what is gene-context-specific from what is platform-general.
  Manage reagent inventory and procurement logistics to ensure uninterrupted operation of the screening pipeline.
• Data Analysis & Sample Tracking
  Process, manage, and analyze large flow cytometry and NGS datasets to ensure accurate assessment of target expression kinetics, QC metrics, and cross-target correlations.
  Maintain rigorous ELN records and sample tracking systems (Benchling or equivalent) that keep large plate-based experiments fully traceable.
  Perform root-cause analysis for workflow deviations; implement corrective actions and feed learnings back into SOPs.
  Translate data into clear go/no-go and hit-to-lead recommendations; present findings and experimental plans directly to Platform, Translational, and external collaborators.
• CRO Strategy & External Operations
  Identify when it is faster or more capital-efficient to outsource (NGS-based epigenomics, in vivo studies, large-scale synthesis) versus build in-house, and manage those partnerships end to end.
  Write CRO scopes of work, maintain scientific relationships with partner contacts, and QC incoming data with the same standards applied internally.

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WHAT YOU BRING

Required

• PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, or a closely related field, with 0–3 years of postdoctoral or industry experience; OR MS/BS with 5+ years of demonstrated scientific independence in a relevant industry setting.
• Deep hands-on expertise in mammalian molecular biology: multi-fragment cloning, library construction and QC, lentiviral packaging, mammalian cell culture, and quantitative flow cytometry.
• Track record of owning complex, multi-stage research projects independently — from design through interpretation — and executing swiftly without requiring day-to-day direction.
• Experience with arrayed screening in 96- and 384-well formats, including liquid handling automation.

Bonus Points

• Prior experience setting up or scaling a research lab, workflow, or screening platform at an early-stage company.
• Direct experience with epigenetic editing, CRISPR-based gene regulation, or chromatin/transcriptional control at endogenous loci.
• Proficiency in Python for data analysis: writing scripts and pipelines from scratch to process, QC, and visualize large screening datasets.
• Familiarity with NGS-based epigenomics assays: CUT&RUN, ATAC-seq, bisulfite sequencing, or amplicon-based methylation quantification.
• Experience with LNP-, AAV-, or mRNA-based delivery of gene-regulatory payloads, in vitro or in vivo.

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WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity; you are a foundational member of this team and your compensation reflects it.
• Comprehensive benefits: medical, dental, and 401(k).
• Direct scientific collaboration on problems that are genuinely unsolved and therapeutically relevant.
• The opportunity to shape the scientific culture and operational DNA of a company from its earliest stage.
• Visa sponsorship available where applicable.

General Control is an early-stage therapeutics company moving fast to unlock the genome with epigenetic activator passkeys. We've built industry-leading programmable editors with clinic-ready targets in hand to showcase their utility. We have validated our technology in vivo and are working on our first pharma partnerships.This is the role for the person who turns our data into models, and our models into the next experiment. You will sit at the center of a wet lab that generates functional genomics and epigenetic data continuously.

You are

Relentless in your resourcefulness, demanding of yourself and those around you.

Methodical and detail-oriented to a fault, yet skilled enough in the art of agility to problem-solve in real time.

Unbothered by messy data. You know most of the signal is won or lost in how datasets get cleaned, normalized and reconciled, and you do that work carefully instead of reaching for the model first.

Passionate about the work you do beyond the lines of your CV. You stay engaged in the field, read broadly, and can talk at length about the obscure paper you read last week.

Someone who loves startups. Seriously, these are not for everyone. You likely prefer interpersonal connection at work to layers of management and strict process.

Prior experience with epigenome editing is not required. We place greater weight on fresh perspectives, technique and grit.

Key qualifications

0-5 years post PhD in computational biology, genomics, machine learning, bioengineering or a related field, or a demonstrated equivalent record.

Deep hands-on experience with sequencing data of every kind: RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN, ChIP-seq, bisulfite and EM-seq, methylation arrays, single-cell RNA and ATAC.

A track record of building clean, analysis-ready datasets out of heterogeneous public and internal sources. Harmonizing assays, batch correction, QC, and the judgment to know which data to throw out.

Strong Python. You write pipelines and analysis code from scratch, and other people can read it.

Comfort owning a problem from question to recommendation without day-to-day direction.

Bonus points

Experience training or fine-tuning transformer architectures for sequence-to-function prediction.

Computational protein design: structure prediction, generative design of functional domains, in silico ranking and triage of variants.

Familiarity with epigenetic editing, CRISPR-based gene regulation, or transcriptional control at endogenous loci.

Experience standing up computational infrastructure at an early-stage company.

Cloud compute and workflow managers.

What we offer

Competitive compensation, including salary and meaningful early-stage equity. You are a founding member of this team and your compensation reflects it.

401(k) retirement savings plan. Medical, dental and vision insurance for employees and their dependents.

Unlimited paid time off and paid holidays.

Direct scientific collaboration on problems that are genuinely unsolved and have enormous therapeutic potential.

The opportunity to shape the scientific culture and operational DNA of a company at its earliest stage.

Visa sponsorship available where applicable.

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