Description
Arteris Bio is developing a transdermal delivery platform based on ethyl lauroyl arginate (LAE) inverse micelles, which carry hydrophilic compounds across the stratum corneum — a class of molecules that conventional transdermal approaches cannot move. We have a filed patent estate, a functioning Franz cell and LC-MS/MS capability, and active discussions with pharmaceutical partners who want their own hydrophilic compounds tested in our system.
We are small. The founder currently performs the laboratory work, and this hire is the second full-time scientist in the company.
The role
You will own the physical characterization of the delivery system and the analytical methods that support every claim we make about it. In practice this means answering, with data, the questions a skeptical formulation scientist at a large pharmaceutical company would ask — because those are the questions we are currently being asked.
Concretely, the first year includes:
Structural characterization of the micellar system. Determining whether the sharp conductivity transition we observe reflects percolation of reverse micelles or inversion to a water-continuous phase. Dilution and dye-partition behavior, temperature-dependent conductivity, matched-ionic-strength controls. Water-content mass balance on separated phases to convert qualitative partition observations into defensible enrichment coefficients.
Spectroscopic characterization. Building an FT-IR program on our Nicolet iS50 — confined-water OH stretch across a W series, guanidinium and amide region work in DO, cargo-specific diagnostic bands. Establishing whether encapsulated cargo can be distinguished spectroscopically from ion-paired cargo.
Analytical method development and validation. LC-MS/MS quantification of hydrophilic actives in formulation matrix and Franz cell receptor fluid on a Waters QDa. Calibration, linearity, recovery from difficult matrices, and the documentation that lets a partner audit the result.
In vitro permeation testing. Franz cell studies on Strat-M and excised skin, with the controls that make the data publishable and auditable — vehicle blanks, mass balance, membrane integrity. Designing feasibility protocols for partner compounds.
Formulation. Reverse micelle loading route development for new cargo molecules — small hydrophilic actives, peptides, and cofactors with varied charge and size.
Data integrity. Raw record discipline, instrument logs, and the habit of checking a result against its own acquisition conditions before it leaves the building.
Requirements
Required
Ph.D. in physical chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, chemical engineering, colloid science, or a closely related field, plus two or more years of post-doctoral or industrial experience.
Demonstrated hands-on experience with colloidal or self-assembling systems — microemulsions, reverse micelles, liquid crystalline phases, or lipid nanocarriers. You should be comfortable with phase behavior, HLB, percolation, and the standard characterization toolkit, and able to say what each technique does and does not establish.
LC-MS or LC-MS/MS method development from scratch, including quantitative work in complex matrices. Experience running your own instrument rather than submitting samples to a core facility.
The judgment to design a control before running an experiment, and the discipline to report a result that contradicts the working hypothesis.
Ability to work without technical supervision. There is no senior scientist above you in this company.
Strongly preferred
In vitro permeation testing experience — Franz or flow-through cells, IVRT/IVPT, OECD 428 or SUPAC-SS familiarity.
FT-IR or ATR-FTIR applied to structural questions rather than routine identity confirmation.
DLS and zeta potential on colloidal systems, including an understanding of where those measurements mislead.
Peptide handling and characterization.
Experience supporting regulatory documentation — IND-enabling packages, Investigator's Brochures, or equivalent.
Topical or transdermal formulation experience in an industrial setting.
