Retro is a biotech company developing therapies around cellular reprogramming and autophagy to address aging-driven disease. The hiring mix—research-heavy (7 roles), ops and engineering (5 combined), plus clinical and manufacturing—reflects their stage: transitioning from preclinical science into IND-enabling work and early manufacturing scale. Active projects center on iPSC automation, stem cell differentiation, and phase 1 protocol development, while pain points cluster around lab capacity, manufacturing reproducibility, and the regulatory burden of moving therapies from bench into human trials.
Retro Biosciences develops cell-based therapies targeting diseases of aging, with a focus on cellular reprogramming and autophagy as mechanisms to restore cell and tissue function. The company is headquartered in Redwood City and operates as a privately held biotech firm with 51–200 employees. Their operational footprint spans research, clinical development, manufacturing, and supporting functions (ops, finance, HR). Near-term work includes clinical protocol design for phase 1 trials, iPSC and stem cell automation to increase lab throughput, and process development for manufacturing iPSC-derived cellular products. Hiring velocity is accelerating across research, operations, and engineering roles, with a senior-heavy team composition suited to moving complex science through regulatory pathways.
Retro is automating iPSC generation, stem cell differentiation, and organoid protocols while building clinical programs for phase 1 trials. Active projects also include manufacturing scale-up for iPSC-derived therapies and automation of genomics screening workflows.
Retro uses Lever (recruiting), Google Workspace, NetSuite (ERP), QuickBooks Online (finance), Python, Asana, Notion, and 10x Genomics sequencing instruments. Core infrastructure supports biotech lab operations and financial/HR automation.
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