{"id":1142730,"url":"https://alion.io/job/pilgrim-molecular-biologist","title":"Molecular Biologist","company":{"id":93484,"name":"Pilgrim","domain":"pilgrimapp.org","url":"https://alion.io/company/pilgrim","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"is_intermediary":false,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":null},"role":"Science & Research","role_family":"Science & Research","seniority":null,"employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Redwood City, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":74000,"max_usd":191000,"period":"year","method":"role_country_seniority_unknown","sample_n":184},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-23T13:02:28Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-23","last_verified_at":"2026-09-23T16:58:09Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"description":"About Pilgrim:\nPilgrim is building America’s biology prime - engineering, manufacturing, and deploying advanced biotechnology for defense and national security. Our primary platform, ARGUS, is a fully autonomous system for detecting biological threats in near real time, from naturally occurring pathogens to engineered agents.\nWe engineer hardware for biology, turning breakthrough science into fielded capabilities. Based in Redwood City, our team brings together mechanical and electrical engineering, chemistry, and biology under one roof to deliver critical technologies to the people who need them.\nPilgrim has raised over $30 million to date and is backed by Peter Thiel, Brian Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam, Dylan Field, and Bryan Johnson, alongside Buckley Ventures, Conviction, Cantos, and others.\nAbout the Role:\nAs a Molecular Biologist at Pilgrim, you’ll develop sample preparation, qPCR, and sequencing methods for ARGUS. You’ll design and run experiments to improve nucleic acid recovery, assay performance, and sequencing quality in complex environmental and low-input samples. You’ll turn those findings into validated protocols for reliable biological detection in the field.\nResponsibilities:\nDevelop and optimize sample preparation methods, including lysis, nucleic acid extraction, purification, and concentration of environmental samples.\n\nDevelop qPCR assays, including primer and probe selection, assay controls, and tests for inhibition and contamination.\n\nOptimize sequencing workflows, including library preparation, sequencing, and quality control for low-input and complex samples.\n\nDesign and run controlled experiments to measure recovery, detection limits, specificity, and repeatability across sample types and input levels.\n\nInvestigate unexpected findings with Bioinformatics, including contamination, preparation bias, and discrepancies between qPCR and sequencing results.\n\nDefine reagent and handling requirements for validated methods and support their transfer to ARGUS with Systems Integration.\n\nWrite and maintain protocols and experimental records, including method changes, reagent details, and results.\n\nQualifications:\nStrong foundation in molecular biology, microbiology, genomics, or a related field. MS or PhD is a plus, not required.\n\nHands-on experience with nucleic acid extraction, qPCR, sequencing library preparation, and sequencing quality control.\n\nAdvanced command of standard wet-lab equipment, instrumentation, and molecular biology techniques.\n\nExperience writing reproducible protocols and transferring methods to other researchers or laboratory teams.\n\nPreferred:\nExperience with low-input or environmental samples, bioaerosols, metagenomics, or nanopore sequencing.\n\nPilgrim is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Certain positions require access to export-controlled information and are limited to U.S. Persons as defined by applicable export control regulations.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3116,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Smartphones"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-23T13:07:25Z"}],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":21,"reasons":["conf:1","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-09-23T18:03:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/pilgrim-molecular-biologist","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/pilgrim-molecular-biologist.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-23T18:03:00Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers"}}