PopVax is an Indian full-stack biotech building first-in-class and best-in-class vaccines and cancer immunotherapies using machine learning-driven design and relentless empiricism. We design, develop, and manufacture our own RNA medicines end-to-end because we believe great pharmaceutical science can only flourish in tight feedback loops that iterate rapidly. PopVax’s experimental work and clinical dose production is based at the RNA Foundry, our integrated R&D and GMP-capable clinical dose production facility in Hyderabad.

PopVax's north star is our goal of developing novel vaccines and therapeutics over the next decade with the cumulative ability to save 1 million lives each year – the Million Lives Mission. To that end, we are developing first-in-class vaccines against Hepatitis C Virus, Strep A, and adult pulmonary TB, broadly-protective best-in-class vaccines against COVID-19, influenza, and HPV, and precision immunotherapies against hard-to-treat solid tumours such as liver cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Our work is funded by Vitalik Buterin’s Balvi Fund, the Gates Foundation, the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and Renaissance Philanthropy. Our first vaccine program will begin a Phase I clinical trial in the US in mid-2026 conducted & sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We intend to put 6 novel vaccines and immunotherapies into Phase I clinical trials over the next 3 years.

No matter the job title, each person’s role at PopVax is ultimately focused on helping take safe & effective new medicines that represent a step-change improvement on the current standard-of-care to the people who need them as fast as possible. If you want to work where the ambition is high, the learning curve is steep, and the work matters to billions, you’ll feel at home here.

If you’re excited by the idea of advancing scientific, clinical, and regulatory frontiers of vaccines and immunotherapies, spending each day developing medicines with the potential to save millions of lives, and building a generational global pharmaceutical company in India along the way – join us!

We are seeking an Analytical Scientist - HPLC (ideally with LC-MS experience) to join our team in Hyderabad (note: in-person only; we do not offer remote work) to play a key role in helping develop, optimise, and document analytical protocols and assays for our mRNA-LNP vaccines and therapeutics.

Candidates must have:

• MS (or PhD) in Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a related field with a minimum of 5 (or 2 for PhD) years of experience in analytical method development, preferably related to biologics.

• Expertise in handling HPLCs, UHPLCs, and UPLCs with a variety of detectors, preferably including UV, PDA, ELSD, and CAD.

• Experience developing analytical methods for novel biomolecules.

• The ability and willingness to rapidly but rigorously adapt novel methods from academic and industry publications to our application domain.

• Experience in writing clear and precise analytical protocols for newly developed methods and keeping said protocols updated as methods are further developed.

• Excellent problem-solving, organisational, and communication skills.

• A demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across departments and with external partners.

• A deep commitment to ethical principles, particularly in data collection and analysis.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Experience in the development and validation of analytical methods for nucleic acids—in particular mRNA & pDNA—or related cell & gene therapy (CGT) materials using techniques including but not limited to HPLC, capillary electrophoresis, and gel electrophoresis.

• Experience in the development and validation of analytical methods for lipids and lipid nanoparticles, in particular the use of HPLC-CAD.

• Experience in the use of LC-MS for the characterisation of chemicals and biomolecules, preferably including some experience in the use of LC-MS/MS.

• Knowledge of GDP, GLP, and GMP practices.

• The ability to perform and document instrument validation.

• Experience in the preparation of cGMP-ready SOPs and STPs.

• Experience in the use of compendial methods for biopharmaceutical product testing in a cGMP environment.

• Experience in performing and documenting stability studies for biopharmaceutical products.

We offer very competitive compensation, comprehensive health insurance with the option to cover immediate family (including pre-existing conditions), and, most importantly, a collaborative work environment focused on solving the cutting-edge multidisciplinary challenges of our novel mRNA platform.