PopVax is an Indian full-stack biotech building first-in-class and best-in-class vaccines and cancer immunotherapies using machine learning-driven protein 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, Strep A, and adult pulmonary TB; broadly-protective best-in-class vaccines against COVID-19, influenza, malaria, and HPV; and precision immunotherapies against hard-to-treat solid tumours such as liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. Beyond existing diseases, we are leveraging our high-speed platform to build rapid-response biosecurity capabilities against engineered de novo pathogens.

Our mission is funded by Vitalik Buterin’s Balvi Fund, the Gates Foundation, the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Renaissance Philanthropy, and Good Ventures, with individual investments from Enveda founder Viswa Colluru and Tesla self-driving AI pioneer Dhaval Shroff. Our first program, an open-source broadly-protective COVID-19 vaccine, will begin a Phase I clinical trial in Australia in mid-2026. This is just the start – we intend to advance 6+ novel vaccine and immunotherapy programs into human clinical trials over the next three years, decisively demonstrating that world-class biotech R&D is possible in India. 

No matter the job title, each person’s role at PopVax is ultimately about helping bring safe, effective new medicines that represent a step-change over the current standard-of-care to the people who need them, as quickly as possible. If you are looking for a place 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!

Role Overview

We work extensively on the discovery and development of lipid-based delivery systems for nucleic acids, with a particular focus on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for mRNA and other RNA payloads. We are also interested in adjacent delivery modalities such as liposomes and selected polymeric systems, but this role is primarily aimed at scientists with relevant experience in lipid formulation and lipid-mediated nucleic acid delivery, rather than generic nanoparticle work.

A major part of this work is not just improving potency, but building formulations that are robust enough for the realities of pharmaceutical deployment in the developing world, including the long-term thermostability of mRNA products.

What You'll Actually Do

You will work on the discovery, optimisation, and characterisation of lipid-based delivery systems for nucleic acids, with a particular focus on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for mRNA and other RNA payloads.

A major focus of this role is not just improving delivery performance, but helping build formulations that are sufficiently stable and thermostable for real-world pharmaceutical deployment, especially in settings where cold-chain infrastructure is limited. This is a hands-on experimental role: you will spend substantial time making formulations, characterising them carefully, interpreting data, troubleshooting technical problems, and helping determine which delivery systems are worth advancing.

Additionally, depending on your background and level, your work may include designing and preparing new lipid formulations; synthesising and evaluating LNPs, liposomes, or related delivery vehicles; developing and running microfluidic workflows for nanoparticle formation and encapsulation; and characterising formulations using methods such as particle size analysis, zeta potential measurement, pKa determination, viscosity analysis, and nucleic acid quantification

You may also work on downstream purification workflows such as ultrafiltration or TFF, cell culture and transfection experiments, and cell-based assays such as luciferase, GFP, or ELISA to evaluate delivery performance. For some candidates, the role may also extend into high-throughput in vitro screening, formulation or assay automation, and animal studies of nucleic acid delivery systems.

QUALIFICATIONS 

• MSc or PhD in a life sciences or related discipline (for example, chemistry, biophysics, or a relevant branch of engineering) with at least one substantial project demonstrating prior experience in nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) delivery or an adjacent delivery modality in either academia or industry.

• An ability to read and understand diverse literature across the many disciplines relevant to nucleic acid delivery to distill the best new ideas in the field and apply them to our work.

• A track record of coming up with and successfully executing new ideas in nucleic acid delivery and formulation, or a related field.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. The ability to present scientific findings clearly and concisely is a vital and non-negotiable component of success at PopVax.

• A collaborative mindset and the ability to work effectively within a team environment.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a demonstrated track record of independently interpreting experimental data and troubleshooting technical challenges.

• A willingness to shoulder substantial and often repetitive formulation and characterisation workloads on a daily basis when needed.

• A desire to rapidly learn, troubleshoot, and master new experimental techniques.

We offer very competitive compensation, comprehensive health insurance with an 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 delivery platforms.