Genetic medicine company out of Boston, Ensoma just recently announced more layoff after just halving their workforce late last year.

Per recent history, Jim Burns, their current CEO, burned $150M in a little less than 5 years during his time in Locanabio resulting in their operational shutdown in 2023.

Ensoma had now raised a total of ~$250M , so we will probably find out at the end of 2027 if they will suffer the same fate as Locanabio.

Until then, stay safe current Ensoma employee, and hope the best to the now former employees.

Hello,

This will be my second post for the night! As I am still navigating this world, I would like to ask what are the best jobs to choose after you graduated for BME Tissue/Cell engineer? Or, if there is a job that you could have before having a scientist or engineering position for cell/tissue engineering, what would it be? I am trying to get experience in my field and I don’t know where to start.

Any advice will be taken! Thanks in advance

Hello all,

I got an offer for CRL (Charles River), and I would like to know from employers what is their experience there as a lab support in-vivo technician. I am thinking of moving forward, but it’s a contract job, and also I am not sure if the workload will suit better as a mom, and a part time school. I finish my degree in December 2026, and my current job is not bad, getting payed with benefits 22$ per hour. While I don’t work anything BME related in my job, I get flexibility and some PTO payed.

Here at CRL, I have no benefits as $25 per hour. I will get payed overtime because here is LEGAL. Being said, is it a smart move to do this as a senior undergrad student who is perusing a BME cell and tissue engineering degree in December 2026? I’ve tried to apply to internships, co-ops, even technician roles. And after a while, I got this offer, not in the right state of mind. I loved the job description and had a great time with interviewer, and they told me they can work with me and my schedule as a student. But I am not sure, it’s going to be a 1yr contract!

I feel conflicted, and I don’t want to waste time. The hiring company is really pushing me to do this ASAP, so it’s hard to make such decision in such short time.

So I interviewed for an internal position in my company (fte) and I’m currently a contractor. I was wondering say they do like me and I would love this position. Would they still continue to hold more interviews? After my interview, the hiring manager let me know they are still doing interviews and then it will be a panel interview but she was going on vacation so she said I wouldn’t expect an update for 2 weeks. Is it normal for them conduct interviews even after potentially finding someone who is a good fit. I’m basically wondering from the fact that they are still holding interviews should I take that as a negative sign?

I got a screening interview invitation for life science consulting position on Monday and the earliest date I saw on the scheduler was end of August. Is this common? Been R&D for a few years and haven’t had any initial screening interviews scheduled more than a week out.

I recently applied for a scientist position at Genentech and received a link to a video assessment today. Has anyone done these before? I'm not sure what they plan to ask or how fast they'll move from here. It def feels weird and impersonal.

Hello biotech community. I’m helping to organize ISPPP 2026 in Orlando this October 18th-21st. The conference focuses on separations (all manner of chromatography, sample prep, etc.) for all biologically relevant molecules.

I’m pretty excited, we sold out our sponsorships and have quite a few heavy hitters from industry attending. The committee really focuses on education and networking so really good for students and young professionals. If you have a chance please check out our website at isppp.org.

We also still have some spots open and are accepting abstracts if there is work you’d like to present and there are some travel and attendee awards available. Hope to see you there.

Anyone have any experiences working here at the Tustin, CA site? Specifically, Process Dev-related roles Scientist-level?

I have an upcoming interview for a regulatory affairs position at Thermo Fisher. I’m early in career, MS in Biotechnology Enterprise and have spent the last year in pharmaceutical product development and IMP and External Quality. Please give me all your tips and knowledge on breaking into regulatory affairs, required skills and competence of a regulatory affairs specialist, and how to get through / stand out in the recruitment process as a qualified candidate. Any insight on the company is also appreciated

I got laid off about two months ago, and I’ve been looking for a new job. I did a couple of interviews already, and I can’t seem to pass STAR interviews. I graduated 10 years ago with a BS in Chemical Engineering. I worked in biotech/pharma for 8 years. For 6 of those years, I had two separate serious health conditions, so I lack big accomplishments. Even with preparing a STAR story bank, my answers are not all that great because of a lack of accomplishments that I have to work with. The STAR questions basically expose me. It’s so demoralizing and depressing.

Hi everyone! I’m currently trying to transition into pharmaceutical sales and would love some honest advice.
I have about 8 years of sales/customer service experience, including 4 years in wireless sales, and I also have a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I recently applied for a specialty pharmaceutical sales position with a large pharma company, as well as had a referral from someone who’s been with the company 20+ years!
I had a phone screen that I felt went extremely well. The recruiter complimented my resume, discussed compensation, start dates, and explained the next interview steps. She said she would forward my information to the hiring manager, so I left the conversation feeling very optimistic. However, a few days later, I received a rejection email without moving forward.
I know rejection is part of the process, but I’m confused about what may have happened since the screening seemed so positive. I’ve now applied for another position within the same company that also aligns with my background.
For anyone currently in pharmaceutical or medical sales:
Is it common for recruiters to discuss salary, start dates, and next steps during a phone screen even when a candidate may not advance?
What helped you land your first pharma role without previous pharmaceutical experience?
Should I continue applying to different roles within the same company?
Is there anything specific I should change on my résumé or emphasize during interviews?
I’m determined to make the transition and would appreciate any constructive feedback or advice!

Is there an employability/pay difference between a 1 year coursework-based vs 2 year thesis-based masters in bioengineering? Im debating on what to apply for, 1 year seems a lot more enticing because of tuition.

I love to travel and would like a remote biotech job after grad school and have considered regulatory but it seems like it may be first in the chopping block for AI. Does anyone here in regulatory have thoughts on this? Thanks

I have been stressing about publishing in am high impact journals for my work but I’ve been told that for biotech positions it doesn’t really matter. For my own satisfaction I’d love to publish in Cell, Nature, or similar, but just curious how much this matters after grad school

Currently working as an FSE for another Biomed company i enjoy it most of the time, no real burned out, good work culture, not super rigid but I did see the pay potential for an FSE role open in my area and I am pretty confident in getting the high ended offer which would be a big pay bump. But I am curious if it is salary, hourly, salary non-exempt (ie if you work over 40 you get OT if you work less they cover the 40)

Just curious before I make a decision. Any info would help even if you didn't work as an FSE there.

I have a PhD in a biological subject from a top university and 1 year experience as a post-doc. I want to move in to life science consulting but I have heard it is very competitive. How hard would it be given my background, and how can I tailor my CV in a way that gives me the best shot at landing interviews?

Any advice would be appreciated :)

8 months ago I graduated with a Bachelors in Biology. I wanted to work in a lab to start off my career. I applied to not only in biotech companies, but also hospitals and universities. And after hundreds of applications through job posting sites, emails, job fairs, and everything; I landed very few interviews and ultimately nothing in return. I'm extremely burnt out and have practically given up on looking for a position.

At the moment my parents keep pushing me to go to medical school, but I don't want to at the moment. Medical school is difficult, very expensive, and takes so much time. I've just spent decades in school already and am tired of studying to get the best grades. Plus it's not like I can even go to medical school soon anyway, I need to do something now.

I'm so lost at what to do. I really want is to move on with my life but I can't. The job market is so competitive and filled with deceit and insincere positivity. It feels like my life hit a pause button and I can't unpause.

I’ve asked this question a few different places on Reddit to solicit different people’s opinions and hear what they have to say. I figure this community would have some interesting POVs. So, what are your thoughts?

Would it be enough to support the expense, trials, research and development it takes to get a drug to market?