Staff Scientist, Immunology

Overview

At Bruker Cellular Analysis (BCA), we create products using advanced optofluidic technology that enable customers to interrogate and recover individual cells for downstream molecular analysis. Our platforms, including the Beacon® Optofluidic System, leverage proprietary Opto-Electrical Positioning (OEP) technology to automate complex cellular workflows with unprecedented precision and speed.

We are expanding our antibody discovery and T cell profiling capabilities by connecting single-cell functional screening—including protein internalization, antibody and cytokine secretion, target-cell killing, and surface phenotyping—with molecular recovery and genomic analysis.

As a Staff Scientist in Immunology, you will lead the development and implementation of next-generation single-cell workflows for B cell antibody discovery, T cell profiling, TCR discovery, and functional characterization of immune cell products. You will serve as a scientific subject-matter expert in immune cell biology and help translate emerging applications and customer needs into robust, scalable workflows on the Beacon® optofluidic platforms. You will also contribute to adjacent product lines, including cell line development, as needed.

Responsibilities

This position resides within BCA Biology and Applications R&D, at the interface of cell biology, genomics, bioinformatics, and product engineering. You will collaborate closely with molecular biologists, engineers, assay developers, and bioinformaticians to develop robust, scalable immune cell profiling workflows for product and application development. We welcome collaborative, detail-oriented scientists who thrive in multidisciplinary environments and want to help shape the next generation of cellular analysis technology. 

• Lead the development, implementation, optimization, and execution of single-cell assays and workflows involving primary plasma cells, memory B cells, primary T cells, T cell libraries, and other immune cell types.
• Design workflows on the Beacon® optofluidic platforms that connect single-cell functional phenotypes with downstream molecular recovery, including antibody heavy/light chain and TCR sequence recovery and characterization.
• Apply deep expertise in B cell and T cell biology, including activation, differentiation, exhaustion, memory, and functional responses, to guide assay and product design.
• Collaborate closely with genomics, molecular biology, and engineering teams to advance immune cell profiling capabilities.
• Translate customer, market, and product requirements into clear scientific and assay requirements that guide platform development and improve functionality, performance, and usability.
• Serve as a scientific subject-matter expert for strategic customer programs, providing B cell and T cell biology expertise, designing experiments to address complex technical challenges, and translating customer needs into actionable product and application requirements.
• Partner with Applications, Commercial, and Product Management teams to drive customer success and adoption.
• Provide scientific leadership and experimental strategy for feasibility studies, concept exploration, design reviews, and technical decision-making.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Immunology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, or a related field with 3+ years of industry experience, or M.S. with 5+ years of industry experience.
• Deep expertise in B cell and T cell biology, including activation, differentiation, and functional characterization.
• Strong expertise in flow cytometric analysis for immune cell characterization, including experimental design, panel development, data analysis, and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated ability to independently design, execute, interpret, and troubleshoot complex experiments involving primary immune cells.
• Demonstrated success developing or troubleshooting complex cell-based assays, characterization workflows, or methodologies.
• Experience contributing to product development, including assay/workflow development, technology or reagent transfer, design requirements, verification/validation, or translating customer needs into technical requirements.
• Strong communication, cross-functional collaboration, scientific judgment, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

B Cell / Antibody Discovery

• Experience utilizing single B cell discovery platforms for identification of antigen-specific antibody candidates from immunized repertoires.
• Experience with molecular recovery of antibody heavy- and light-chain variable sequences following single-cell screening, including single-cell RT-PCR, plate-based cloning, or NGS-based approaches.
• Experience with cell-free protein expression systems, including template design and reagent optimization.

T Cell Profiling

• Experience with CAR-T cells or TCR-engineered T cells, including generation, expansion, or functional characterization.
• Experience with TCR discovery, immune repertoire analysis, or antigen-specific T cell workflows.
• Experience supporting cell therapy related research or characterization of engineered cell products.

Genomics / Data Analysis

• Experience with NGS data analysis, particularly single-cell or immune repertoire sequencing.
• Experience analyzing and visualizing biological datasets using tools such as Tableau, Spotfire, Power BI, or equivalent platforms.

Additional

• Familiarity with spatial biology approaches for studying immune cell biology.
• Experience working in a multidisciplinary product development environment spanning biology, engineering, software, and applications.

At Bruker, base salary is part of our total compensation. The estimated base salary range for this full-time position is between $119K- $190K provides an opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base salary for the role will depend on several job-related factors, including, but not limited to education, training, experience, the geographic location of the successful candidate, skills, competencies, job-related knowledge and travel requirements for this position. Full-time employees may also be eligible for a performance-related incentive in addition to a full range of benefits including 401(k) with company match, an employee stock purchase plan, medical and dental plans, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance, employee assistance program and paid time off including vacation, sick time and holidays, and more.

Bruker is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. 

Certain positions at Bruker require compliance with export control laws and as a result, all interviewed candidates for all positions will be screened pre-interview to determine their eligibility in light of export control restrictions.