Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. Posted September 23, 2026

Senior Scientist, Tissue Culture

US CA San Diego, United States Full time
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Neurocrine Biosciences 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

Who We Are:

Neurocrine Biosciences is a leading biopharmaceutical company with a simple purpose: to relieve suffering for people with great needs. We are dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, psychiatric, endocrine and immunological disorders. The company's diverse portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia, chorea associated with Huntington's disease, classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome, endometriosis* and uterine fibroids*, as well as a robust pipeline including multiple compounds in mid- to late-phase clinical development across our core therapeutic areas. For more than three decades, we have applied our unique insight into neuroscience and the interconnections between brain and body systems to treat complex conditions. We relentlessly pursue medicines to ease the burden of debilitating diseases and disorders, because you deserve brave science. For more information, visit  neurocrine.com , and follow the company on  LinkedIn ,  X , Facebook and YouTube . ( *in collaboration with AbbVie )

About the Role:

We are seeking a collaborative and highly motivated scientist to join our Research team. The primary role will be to develop and characterize physiologically relevant iPSC-derived cellular and disease models, including mono-, co-, and tri-culture systems, and establish cell-based assays to support the evaluation and characterization of molecules to answer a broad range of biological questions.

The successful candidate will have strong high-content imaging (HCI) expertise including assay development, image acquisition optimization and quantitative data analysis, and will serve as a technical expert for our HCI platform. Experience developing complex multicellular models, particularly neuron, astrocyte and microglia co- or triculture systems is highly preferred. _

Your Contributions (include, but are not limited to):

Lead the development, optimization, and characterization of iPSC-derived cellular and disease models, including mono-, co-, and tri-culture systems, assessing model robustness and reproducibility, cellular phenotype and function, and disease-relevant biology

Develop and optimize cell-based assays and phenotypic readouts to evaluate therapeutics and support drug discovery programs

Lead the high-content imaging platform (Operetta), including experimental design, image acquisition, instrument optimization, development of image-analysis workflows, quantitative data analysis, and interpretation and presentation of results

Develop and optimize automated image-analysis pipelines, including segmentation, classification, feature extraction, and phenotypic profiling. Apply advanced image analysis approaches when appropriate

Provide training and technical support for the HCI instrumentation, image-analysis software, and associated data-analysis workflows

Independently design and execute experimental plans, troubleshoot biological and technical challenges, analyze and interpret data, and communicate results and recommendations to project teams.

Evaluate and implement new cell models, assay technologies, imaging approaches, and analytical tools to expand the group's capabilities

Work cross-functionally with other departments and scientific colleagues to support therapeutics testing, characterization, and program advancement

Requirements:

BS/BA and 6+ years of experience; OR

MS/MA and 4+ years of experience, OR

PhD or equivalent and 2+ years of relevant experience; may include postdoc experience

iPSC & Complex Cellular Models: Strong expertise with iPSC-derived cell models, including development, optimization, characterization, and use of complex multicellular systems. Experience with neuron, astrocyte, and microglia co- or tri-culture models is highly preferred, along with the ability to apply these approaches to cellular models across therapeutic areas

High-Content Imaging & Data Analysis: Strong experience with HCI platforms and development of image-analysis pipelines, including segmentation, classification, phenotypic quantification, and analysis of large imaging datasets. Experience with Revvity Operetta and Harmony is strongly preferred.  Experience with CellProfiler, Spotfire, Prism, or similar tools is desirable

Cell-Based & Functional Assays: Strong experience developing and optimizing robust cell-based assays. Experience with live-cell imaging, calcium imaging, MEA, or other functional readouts is preferred.·        Cellular & Molecular Characterization: Experience with techniques such as flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, RNA-seq/transcriptomic analysis, immunocytochemistry/immunofluorescence, and protein-based assays is preferred

Scientific Independence: Demonstrated ability to independently develop experimental strategies, execute complex studies, troubleshoot technical challenges, interpret results, and recommend next steps.Communication and Leadership: Strong written and verbal communication skills, ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams, along with experience training and mentoring junior scientists

#LI-LS1

Neurocrine Biosciences is an EEO/Disability/Vets employer.

We are committed to building a workplace of belonging, respect, and empowerment , and we recognize there are a variety of ways to meet our requirements. We are looking for the best candidate for the job and encourage you to apply even if your experience or qualifications don’t line up to exactly what we have outlined in the job description.

_

The annual base salary we reasonably expect to pay is $130,800.00-$179,000.00. Individual pay decisions depend on various factors, such as primary work location, complexity and responsibility of role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills. In addition, this position offers an annual bonus with a target of 30% of the earned base salary and eligibility to participate in our equity based long term incentive program. Benefits offered include a retirement savings plan (with company match), paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

Job details

Seniority
Senior
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
US CA San Diego, 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 448 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 53 biopharma companies.

448Comparable roles tracked
406Currently active
53Companies hiring similar roles
18Countries represented

Salary context

224 of 448 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject $130,800/yr – $179,000/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Animal Behaviorist - Primate · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Toxicology Senior Research Fellow · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $232,000/yr – $348,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $290,000 (median $165,150)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 448 comparable roles

United States338
China15
India14
United Kingdom14
Belgium10
Switzerland10

+ 12 more countries

Seniority mix

448 of 448 peers have a known seniority level

Senior234
Principal171
Associate Director43

Therapeutic area mix

49 of 448 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology17
Oncology14
Neuroscience13
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Gastroenterology1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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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.

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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.