Associate Scientist, Peptide Chemistry (Night Shift)

About the Role

You’ll work closely with the founders and a small team from MIT, Harvard Medical School, Baker Lab, and Radical Numerics.

The pace and scope of the work create a substantial opportunity for growth. We are looking for speed and rigor, coupled with excitement and drive. In an early-stage environment, we value people who can bring clarity to open-ended problems, take ownership of the next steps, and follow through with energy.

We believe excellent performance and excellent output should be met with meaningful reward and ownership. At Capable, that means anyone who proves they can drive work forward can lead important programs, from senior scientists to junior scientists.

What You’ll Do

• Work a dedicated night-shift schedule, running chemistry workflows overnight so compounds are ready for characterization, testing, or handoff the next day.

• Execute overnight peptide synthesis workflows, including resin loading, coupling and deprotection cycles, cleavage, purification, analytical characterization, and sample preparation for testing.

• Run microwave-assisted solid-phase peptide synthesis during night-shift hours, support routine synthesizer maintenance, and help troubleshoot failed couplings, low crude purity, side products, cleavage issues, and instrument downtime.

• Purify and characterize peptide candidates using analytical HPLC, prep HPLC, LC-MS, and related methods; record identity, purity, yield, and batch-level QC data for morning handoff.

• Prepare compounds for in vitro and in vivo testing, maintain accurate experimental records, and communicate overnight synthesis results, issues, and timelines clearly to the day team.

Who You Are

• You are specifically looking for or open to a night-shift lab role. You are comfortable working overnight hours, operating independently during quieter lab periods, and handing off clean, well-documented work to the day team.

• You have hands-on chemistry or biochemistry lab experience and strong experimental discipline. Your education path matters less than your ability to learn quickly, and care about the quality of the result.

• You’re excited to own the overnight synthesis workflow: running reactions, purifying and characterizing compounds, documenting results, and preparing samples for testing with care and urgency.

• You are proactive and reliable when issues arise. When an instrument breaks, a synthesis fails, data look off, or a handoff is unclear, you document clearly, communicate early, and help troubleshoot toward a clean result.

Pay & Benefits

• $140,000-$180,000 salary, plus equity options with an implied current value of approximately $50,000-$200,000 before exercise cost, taxes, dilution, and liquidity risk.

• Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience.

• We sponsor visas, if necessary.

• Wellness budget: $500 per month to spend on training, supplements, personal trainers, and everything you need to become your best self.

• Healthcare: We offer a range of comprehensive medical options, so you can choose the plan that best fits your needs.

Application Process

• Initial application

• First phone screen

• Second phone screen, approximately 30 minutes

• In-person work trial in San Francisco

Apply Today

Applying takes 5 minutes and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We're evaluating candidates on a rolling basis and want to make an offer quickly.