Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted October 23, 2026

Sr Associate Scientist, FPD

Foster City, United States Full time
Notify me about similar jobs

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, attentive, and self-driven candidate to join our team, Biologics Pivotal & Commercial Formulation and Process Development, as an Sr. Associate Scientist. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of formulation and drug product processes for innovative molecules to support to advance medicines into the clinic. The candidate will have opportunities for career growth through acquisition of new skills, experiences, and professional relationships in a fast-paced and resource-rich environment. The ideal candidate is expected to be action oriented with high expectations of themselves and others and should possess good verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.

Basic Qualifications:

5+ years of experience with BS degree in related scientific discipline.

OR

3+ years of experience with MS degree in related scientific discipline.

Hands-on laboratory experience required.

Experience with formulation development, Drug Product process development, and clinical in-use evaluation for monoclonal antibodies, bispecifics, antibody-drug conjugates, fusion proteins, and other complex biologics formats strongly desired.

Preferred Qualifications:

8+ years of experience with BS degree in related scientific discipline.

OR

6+ years of experience with MS degree in related scientific discipline.

Responsibilities: 

Design and successfully execute experiments and activities to support formulation and drug process development, including formulation development, Drug Product manufacturing process development, and clinical in-use evaluations.

Demonstrate understanding of analytical, biophysical characterization, and process development techniques; lead by example for lab executions.

Clearly, timely, and accurately document data in appropriate repositories such as lab notebooks, reports, protocols, etc. following good documentation practices.

Author technical documents such as protocols, reports, regulatory dossier, etc. and prepare data-focused presentations for internal and external audience.

Effectively collaborate with both internal and external stakeholders in project meetings.

Analyze data and draft conclusions before discussing with manager or supervisor.

Support or represent function and work collaboratively on cross-functional teams to support project team strategy and regulatory filings.

Fully embrace a lean-agile mindset, matrix working environment, and continuous improvement.

Help support key project or department stakeholders as needed to ensure that company objects are met.

Support team initiatives to drive business process excellence, scientific innovation, laboratory and work safety, etc.

People Leader Accountabilities

Create Inclusion: Know the business value of diverse teams, model inclusion, and embed the value of diversity in how teams are managed.

Develop Talent: Understand employees’ skills, experience, aspirations, and potential; coach on current performance and future potential; ensure employees receive the feedback and insight needed to grow and develop.

Empower Teams: Connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, and organizational objectives, holding them accountable, removing barriers, and connecting them to the broader ecosystem.

The salary range for this position is: $126,820.00 - $164,120.00. 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
Senior
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
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 437 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 51 biopharma companies.

437Comparable roles tracked
399Currently active
51Companies hiring similar roles
18Countries represented

Salary context

221 of 437 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 $126,820/yr – $164,120/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 $165,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 437 comparable roles

United States332
China15
United Kingdom14
India13
Switzerland10
Germany8

+ 12 more countries

Seniority mix

437 of 437 peers have a known seniority level

Senior232
Principal167
Associate Director38

Therapeutic area mix

49 of 437 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology17
Oncology14
Neuroscience13
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Gastroenterology1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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.

60%similar
Merck Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Groton, United States Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Groton, United States Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie South San Francisco, CA Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Senior
Same function Same seniority 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.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

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.

60%
Sr. Dir, Biology-Discovery
Merck · Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Scientist I, Cell Line Development
AbbVie · South San Francisco, CA · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Sr Scientist, Drug Metabolism
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Pharmacokineticist, Translational Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Tarrytown, United States · Senior
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.