Principal Scientist, Bioinformatics

About Us

Nkarta is a publicly traded (Nasdaq symbol NKTX), clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, focused on advancing the development of allogeneic, off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat autoimmune disease.

Founded in 2015, Nkarta is on a mission to harness the body’s natural killer cells – the immune system’s first responders – to deliver a safe, accessible form of cell therapy to treat B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. Our vision is to make cell therapy more broadly available to patients by pioneering allogeneic NK cells that can be dosed in outpatient, community health settings.

Nkarta’s engineering process enhances the natural ability of NK cells to fight disease by identifying and eliminating unhealthy cells, including malfunctioning B cells at the root of many autoimmune conditions. Our lead NK cell therapy candidate, NKX019, uses NK cells collected from healthy donors rather than burdening the patient with a blood collection. Using donor-derived cells allows us to develop CAR NK cells off the shelf and on demand.

Nkarta is a people-driven company looking for passionate, collaborative, determined team members galvanized by a paradigm-shifting opportunity to change the cell therapy landscape.

Overview

Nkarta is seeking a highly motivated, collaborative, detail-oriented Principal Scientist to join our Translational Medicine team. This is a high-impact, hands-on leadership role for a senior bioinformatics scientist. The successful candidate will have deep expertise in single-cell and spatial omics technologies, along with experience in functional genomics and leading computational biology and/or bioinformatics programs in a biotech or pharmaceutical setting.

This individual will work collaboratively within Translational Medicine and cross-functionally to advance, support, and execute biomarker discovery, mechanism-of-action (MOA) investigations, and translational data analysis from clinical samples. A central focus of this role is to drive and execute on Nkarta’s strategy for single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, leveraging scRNA-seq, spatial, and functional genomics approaches to drive translational insights, biomarker development, and clinical decision-making in early development.

Responsibilities

• Lead and actively participate in the design and execution of computational strategies and hands-on analysis of clinical and biological datasets to support go/no-go decisions
• Hands-on development and application of computational methods for single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to generate actionable translational insights from clinical samples
• Establish scalable pipelines for multi-modal data integration across programs
• Integrate and analyze functional genomics datasets (e.g., bulk RNA-seq) to generate mechanistic insights that inform translational and clinical strategies
• Provide high-impact analyses with direct influence on clinical decision-making and visibility to senior leadership
• Collaborate with senior leadership to define priorities, allocate resouces, and establish timelines aligned with company objectives
• Partner with experimental scientists to design studies leveraging advanced omics approaches and interpret results
• Ensure reproducibility, scalability, and data quality across bioinformatics pipelines
• Communicate complex findings effectively to scientific and non-scientific stakeholders, including senior leadership

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis, including scRNA-seq and related high-dimensional omics datasets
• Strong experience analyzing functional genomics and transcriptomic data (e.g., bulk RNA-seq, WES) to derive biological and translational insights
• Strong foundation in biological sciences, with experience or interest in immunology and disease biology
• Deep understanding of modern statistical and computational methods for high-dimensional data analysis
• Proficiency in Python and/or R, with experience using relevant bioinformatics frameworks
• Experience developing and maintaining scalable data analysis pipelines and working with cloud-based infrastructure (e.g., AWS)
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and translate complex data into clear, actionable insights
• Demonstrated experience managing external CROs and bioinformatics vendors
• Proven leadership experience, including mentoring and developing scientific teams
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and ability to translate computational insights into biological and clinical impact
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment, with strong organizational skills and attention to detail

Education/Background

• PhD in Biological Sciences, Computational Biology, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Genomics, or a closely related discipline with 5+ years of industry experience.

The common requirements of an office environment (computers, computer screens, workstations, etc.) apply. This role is based in the South San Francisco office, with hybrid work arrangements possible.

Pay Range

$180,000-$215,000 USD

Working at Nkarta

There are several factors taken into consideration in determining base salary, including but not limited to: job-related qualifications, skills, education and experience, as well as the value of other elements of an employee’s total compensation package.  Nkarta also offers an annual discretionary bonus, equity grant(s), medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverage, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.  Other benefits include 401K plan, flexible spending account, ESPP, employee assistance program, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid parental, pregnancy, and bereavement leave.

The 100+ team members describe working at Nkarta through some of the following comments. While getting better work-life balance and improving communications between groups in an early stage start up environment are two areas on which we are working, here are real, anonymous comments about or regarding why people think Nkarta is a great place to work.

• “People are always open to ideas.”
• “Exceptionally talented, committed, *kind* & supportive team.”
• “The CEO is transparent and honest with expectations for the whole company. There is genuine care amongst the leadership team for their peers and employees. I believe this is unique.”
• “Not to sound corny, but the emphasis on people as a valuable resource is something I recognize doesn't often exist elsewhere, and it's here in ample supply, which is great.”
• “It's the first place that I've worked where the executive team truly values the employees. It's a pretty amazing thing not to hear that employees can be replaced with someone new. Institutional knowledge is understood.”
• “We have a very diverse team with executives that are friendly and accessible.”
• “Smart and dedicated colleagues. Mission to make a difference in patients’ lives. Empower us with tools needed to succeed. Open and transparent culture. Transparent leadership.”

To learn more about our work at Nkarta and the career opportunities that will drive us forward to serve patients, please visit the company’s website at https://www.nkartatx.com.