At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, “Who are you working for?”—a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.

The Lead Discovery and Optimization Group within Therapeutic Discovery Sciences in San Diego focuses on delivering novel therapeutics for disease intervention by engaging E3 ubiquitin ligases for targeted protein degradation. We seek a highly driven Scientist to help identify and characterize drug candidates for the treatment of human diseases. The successful candidate will work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary environment to carry out cell-based and molecular assays in support of small molecule discovery for pre-clinical development.

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:

• Design, develop, and implement high-throughput cell-based assays to characterize and evaluate drug candidates
• Conduct small molecule mechanism of action studies to elucidate biological activity and target engagement
• Generate and characterize stable cell lines using lentiviral transduction and PiggyBac-mediated gene transfer technologies
• Demonstrate a high level of scientific independence, initiative, and problem-solving ability while contributing to a collaborative research environment
• Perform routine culture, expansion, passage, and maintenance of mammalian cell lines, ensuring cell health, quality, and experimental reproducibility to support drug discovery
• Conduct routine molecular and cellular experiments including DNA/RNA/protein extraction, immunoblot analysis, and immunoprecipitation
• Assist senior researchers in executing, conducting analyses, and reporting results of experiments
• Familiarity with literature and internal best practices to identify opportunities to improve productivity and quality of work
• Exhibit a strong commitment to professional growth, continuous learning, and career advancement
• Analyze, troubleshoot, and recommend corrective actions for routine problems
• Maintain an accurate, comprehensive, and current laboratory notebook
• Write protocols, procedures, and technical reports
• Communicate results via written reports and oral presentations

Minimum Qualifications

• BS with minimum 5 years of experience post-graduation or MS with 3 years of experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in mammalian cell culture, multi-well plate-based cellular assays, immunoblotting, stable cell line generation, cellular transfection, and basic molecular biology methodologies
• Experience with medium and high-throughput screening is highly preferred
• Experience with targeted protein degradation assay is a plus
• Familiarity with automation instruments and multi-mode plate readers
• Outstanding problem-solving and organization skills.
• Effective team player and strong individual contributor
• Self-driven, flexible, pragmatic, and able to handle multiple tasks while delivering high-quality data
• Effective communication skills, both verbal and written

#LI-Onsite

We hire for skills and capabilities, not just credentials – if this role excites you, but doesn’t perfectly match your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway.

The starting pay range(s) listed above is for full-time employees (FTE). You may also be eligible for additional discretionary incentive cash and stock opportunities. We determine starting pay thoughtfully – carefully considering the nature of the role, required skills, work location, schedule and the knowledge and experience you bring. Final compensation is guided by pay equity principles and applicable employment laws. Compensation programs are reviewed on an ongoing basis and may be adjusted over time to reflect evolving market factors, and individual, team or Company performance.

Benefits:

Subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans then in effect, you may be eligible to participate in our comprehensive benefit plans – including wellbeing support, retirement and financial protection benefits, and insurance offerings (medical, dental, vision, life and disability).

U.S.-based exempt employees are eligible for Flexible Time Off (FTO), which provides paid time off without a set accrual limit, subject to manager approval, along with 11 paid company holidays each year.

Non-exempt employees, RayzeBio employees, and employees located in Puerto Rico receive 160 hours of paid vacation annually for new hires (subject to manager approval), 11 paid company holidays, and 3 optional holidays.

Depending on eligibility, employees may also have access to additional time-off benefits, including paid sick leave, up to two paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, and leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, or military needs. Eligible employees also enjoy an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

U.S.-based job seekers can explore full benefit offerings at https://careers.bms.com/benefits

How We Work

Where you work matters – because collaboration, innovation and patient impact happen in many settings. Our roles are structured across four work models: site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design. The model assigned to this role is based on its core responsibilities. Learn more at https://careers.bms.com/ways-of-working.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to [email protected]. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

For roles based in Los Angeles County only:  If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If this posting is missing required information required by local law or incorrect, contact BMS at [email protected]with the Job Title and Requisition number. Do not send application-related inquiries to this email. To check your application status, please login to your Candidate Home Account.