Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted September 25, 2026

Scientist, Oncology Research

Foster City, United States Full time
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated and collaborative Scientist to join the Tumor Intrinsic Biology group within Research Oncology. This individual will contribute to early discovery research aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer cell identity, tumor maintenance, and therapeutic response.

The successful candidate will apply expertise in protein and nucleic acid biochemistry to investigate macromolecular complexes involved in transcriptional regulation, lineage control, and oncogenic signaling. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding protein-nucleic acid complexes that govern transcriptional programs, cellular lineage states, and tumor dependencies. Working within a multidisciplinary drug discovery environment, they will collaborate closely with scientists across oncology biology, chemistry, structural biology, translational medicine, and computational sciences to advance novel therapeutic hypotheses and discovery-stage programs.

Key Responsibilities

·       Design, execute, and interpret experiments to investigate protein and nucleic acid complexes involved in transcriptional regulation, lineage control, and cancer biology.

·       Develop and apply biochemical, biophysical, and cellular approaches to characterize protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, including the expression, purification, reconstitution, and analysis of multi-subunit macromolecular complexes.

·       Generate mechanistic insights into transcriptional programs, lineage determinants, and oncogenic pathways, and contribute to target identification, validation, and mechanism-of-action studies within early discovery oncology programs.

·       Collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams spanning oncology biology, chemistry, structural biology, translational medicine, and computational sciences to advance discovery-stage research.

·       Communicate scientific findings through presentations, reports, and team discussions while maintaining awareness of emerging advances in cancer biology, transcriptional regulation, and RNA biology.

Basic Qualifications

·       Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years relevant experience, OR

·       Master’s degree with 3+ years relevant experience, OR

·       Ph.D. with 0+ years relevant experience

Preferred Qualifications

·       Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, biophysics, cellular, molecular biology or related field with 9+ years relevant experience, OR

·       Master’s degree in related fields with 6+ years relevant experience, OR

·       Ph.D. with post-doctoral training in related fields

·       Strong background in protein-nucleic acid biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, or related disciplines.

·       Experience reconstituting and/or characterizing endogenous multi-subunit protein and ribonucleoprotein complexes, especially from human cells.

·       Experience with biochemical and biophysical approaches to study macromolecular interactions, including protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid binding assays. Familiarity with SPR, BLI, fluorescence polarization, ITC, EMSA, or related methods is desirable.

·       Experience with mammalian cell culture and standard molecular and cellular biology techniques used to analyze proteins and nucleic acids from cellular samples.

·       Knowledge of transcriptional regulation, lineage-specifying factors, RNA biology, chromatin regulation, or cancer signaling pathways. Experience studying transcriptional programs relevant to cancer is highly desirable.

·       Demonstrated ability to independently drive research while working effectively within collaborative, cross-functional teams, coupled with excellent communication and problem-solving skills.

Desired Characteristics

·       Scientifically curious, creative, and passionate about understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer biology.

·       Committed to rigorous, reproducible science and motivated by translating mechanistic insights into therapeutic opportunities.

·       Collaborative, adaptable, and comfortable working across multiple projects in a dynamic discovery research environment.

The salary range for this position is: $146,540.00 - $189,640.00. Gilead considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

For jobs in the United States:

Gilead Sciences Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex , age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com  for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the  'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Gilead Sciences will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the  legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Gilead provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Oncology
Location
Foster City, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 458 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 61 biopharma companies.

458Comparable roles tracked
443Currently active
61Companies hiring similar roles
19Countries represented

Salary context

175 of 458 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $146,540/yr – $189,640/yr
Highest disclosed · AVP/ Head, Quantitative Pharmacology & Pharmacometrics - Oncology · Merck $282,200/yr – $444,200/yr
Peer group range $0 – $363,200 (median $180,500)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 458 comparable roles

United States347
United Kingdom16
India15
Canada12
Germany10
Switzerland10

+ 13 more countries

Seniority mix

365 of 458 peers have a known seniority level

Senior104
Principal80
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc64
Director39
Associate24
Associate Director23
Senior Director15
Manager8
Executive/VP8

Therapeutic area mix

59 of 458 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology24
Immunology11
Neuroscience7
Cardiovascular / CVRM6
Vaccines & Infectious Disease3
Respiratory3
Rare Disease3
Gastroenterology1
Ophthalmology1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

80%similar
Novartis Cambridge (USA), United States Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Cambridge Discovery Hub Cambridge Crossing, United States Senior
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
GlaxoSmithKline LLC Upper Providence, United States Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Celgene - Summit (Corp) Seattle 400 Dexter, United States Principal
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Amgen Inc. South San Francisco, United States Executive/VP
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Merck Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

80%
Associate Director, ADC platform in Oncology Drug Discovery
Novartis · Cambridge (USA), United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
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Celgene - Summit (Corp) · Seattle 400 Dexter, United States · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Director, AI/ML MIDD Oncology Clinical Pharmacology, Modeling and Simulation
GlaxoSmithKline LLC · Waltham, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Executive Director, Oncology Translational Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology Modeling and Simulation
GlaxoSmithKline LLC · Waltham, United States · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.