About the Role
We are a vibrant and intensely mission-driven team in San Francisco, comprising members from MIT, Harvard Medical School, Roche, ETH, and Dana-Farber.
We value speed and rigor, coupled with excitement, drive, and a strong work ethic. 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.
Capable Labs is a place for ambitious, high-integrity people who want to become dramatically better. You will be surrounded by people who care intensely about the work, get close feedback from the people making scientific and company-defining decisions, and have room to own increasingly important problems.
We believe excellent work should be met with meaningful reward, ownership, and trust. Responsibility is earned through contribution, not title alone: anyone who demonstrates the judgment, rigor, and follow-through to move important work forward can earn meaningful scope.
What You'll Do
You do not need to have experience with every item on this list; we value deep expertise in some areas and a willingness to learn in others.
Design ASOs, siRNAs, splice-switching oligos, gapmers, steric-blocking oligos, and other RNA-targeting molecules against key targets.
Select oligo chemistry (e.g., phosphorothioate backbone, 2'-MOE, 2'-OMe, LNA, cEt, PMO, GalNAc conjugation, lipid conjugation) based on tissue, mechanism, potency, durability, and safety.
Develop core sequence strategies for RNase H knockdown, splice modulation, translation blocking, miRNA inhibition, transcript stabilization, or other RNA-level mechanisms.
Build and refine design rules around potency, specificity, GC content, secondary structure, isoform selectivity, SNPs, conservation, off-target risk, immune activation, and manufacturability.
Source, synthesize, purify, and quality control oligos using HPLC/UPLC, LC-MS, MALDI, UV quantification, PAGE, endotoxin/bioburden testing, and batch-level analytical tracking.
Build the full ASO program package: target rationale, sequence set, chemistry plan, assay strategy, QC data, in vitro and in vivo results, failure modes, and next-step logic.
Who You Are
Hands-on experience with RNA therapeutics, ASOs, siRNA, splice-switching oligos, RNA biology, nucleic acid chemistry, pharmacology, or closely related work.
Able to reason from target biology to oligo design to assay readout: choosing the right transcript, mechanism, chemistry, and knowing what data will validate your efforts.
Comfortable designing and interpreting assays that validate RNA therapeutics, including target knockdown or splice correction, transcript and protein-level readouts, pathway modulation, cell viability, immune activation, and in vivo tissue target engagement.
Experience with qPCR, ddPCR, RNA-seq, western blot, ELISA, reporter assays, splice assays, cytokine panels, or tissue analysis is helpful.
Work efficiently while maintaining scientific rigor.
Proactive and resourceful: when the program needs sequences designed, oligos ordered, assays developed, cell models identified, tissue analyzed, or outside expertise brought in, you help move the work forward.
Pay & Benefits
$135,000-$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 will depend on the skills, experience, and scope of impact you bring. If your background, experience, or compensation needs fall outside this range, we are still open to a conversation based on the scope and impact you could bring.
$500+ monthly wellness budget for training, supplements, coaching, recovery, or other tools that help you perform at your best.
Healthcare: We offer a broad range of medical, dental, and vision coverage options, with Capable covering 100% of the base policy.
You will also have access to HSA, FSA, and 401K plans.
Healthy dinners with the team are provided daily.
We support visa sponsorship where appropriate, including O-1, H-1B, J-1, TN, and other employment-based pathways. Our team is already international, with members from Canada, Pakistan, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, China, India, and the United States.
Application Process
Our process is fast, transparent, and personal. We care about getting to know the person behind the application.
Initial application
First phone screen
Second phone screen
In-person work trial in San Francisco: designed to give both sides a realistic sense of working together. Get to know the founding team!
Apply Today
Curious but not sure? Apply anyway. It takes 5 minutes, and you do not need to be actively job searching to start a conversation.
Some of the best people do not map perfectly to a job description. If this sounds like a place where you could do important work, we would like to hear from you.
And if someone exceptional comes to mind, send them our way here. We read every referral carefully, and if your referral joins Capable, we’ll send you a thank-you bonus.