Principal scientist with 14 years in biologics discovery and CMC, leading antibody engineering strategy for a mid-size biotech. Advanced four molecules into the clinic, including one now in Phase 3. Brings scientific judgment across discovery and development, cross-site leadership and credibility with regulators and partners.
Experience
Principal Scientist, Antibody Engineering, Kestrel Biotherapeutics (Seattle, WA)
Apr 2020 – Present
Set the developability strategy for an 8-program antibody portfolio and lead 11 scientists across two sites
Advanced 3 bispecific antibodies into Phase 1 on schedule, each clearing FDA review without CMC holds
Introduced an in silico developability screen that cut late-stage aggregation failures by 60%
Senior Scientist, Protein Engineering, Cascadia Protein Therapeutics (Bothell, WA)
Aug 2015 – Mar 2020
Led affinity maturation of an anti-IL-23 antibody that entered the clinic and is now in Phase 3
Built a yeast display platform used by 4 project teams and supervised 3 scientists
Postdoctoral Fellow, Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, CA)
Sep 2012 – Jul 2015
Solved 6 antibody–antigen crystal structures, published in Nature Communications and PNAS
Education
Ph.D. Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University (Sep 2007 – Aug 2012)
B.S. Biochemistry, University of Minnesota (Sep 2003 – May 2007)
Platforms: yeast and phage display, BLI/SPR, HDX-MS, Rosetta and MOE
Development: CMC strategy, IND authoring, tech transfer to CDMOs
How to write a Principal Scientist resume
A strong Principal Scientist resume shows the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Lead with scope and impact: the size of the systems, budgets or teams you influenced, and the decisions you owned.
Sections, in order
Summary
Experience
Education
Projects
Skills
Certifications
Length: One page is ideal; two pages are fine with 10+ years of relevant experience.
Summary: Open with your specialty and years of experience, then one or two signature results.
Skills to feature
Experimental design
Laboratory techniques and instrumentation
Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism)
Data integrity (ALCOA+)
GLP and GMP compliance
Method development and validation
Scientific writing and publishing
Grant writing
Literature review
Cross-functional collaboration
Example bullet points
Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%
Co-authored 5 peer-reviewed papers, including a first-author study in Journal of Biological Chemistry cited 60+ times
Wrote the preliminary-data section of an NIH R01 renewal that secured $2.4M over five years
Tips from recruiters
Name the techniques, instruments and software you used hands-on (qPCR, HPLC, flow cytometry, ImageJ) because hiring managers screen for exact methods.
List publications, posters and patents in a short selected list and link to ORCID or Google Scholar rather than pasting a full CV.
For industry roles, translate research into outcomes such as programs advanced, methods transferred or batches released, not only papers.
Recommended templates
Academic (ATS-friendly): Scholarly CV with small-caps headings and rules
Classic (ATS-friendly): Jake's-style LaTeX classic: small caps and hairline rules
Ivy (ATS-friendly): Harvard-style Times layout with centered headings
Principal Scientist resume FAQ
What should a Principal Scientist resume include?
A Principal Scientist resume should show the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Use these sections in this order: Summary, Experience, Education, Projects, Skills and Certifications. Lead with scope and impact: the size of the systems, budgets or teams you influenced, and the decisions you owned.
What is the best resume template for a Principal Scientist?
Academic, Classic and Ivy work well for Principal Scientist roles. They are single-column with standard headings, so applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse them reliably.
How long should a Principal Scientist resume be?
One page is ideal; two pages are fine with 10+ years of relevant experience.
Which skills should a Principal Scientist put on a resume?
Prioritize the skills named in the job posting. Common ones for Principal Scientist roles are Experimental design, Laboratory techniques and instrumentation, Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism), Data integrity (ALCOA+), GLP and GMP compliance and Method development and validation.
How do I write strong Principal Scientist resume bullet points?
Start with an action verb, say what you did, and end with a measurable result such as assay throughput, method precision (CV%) and turnaround time. For example: "Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%."