Alector

We are a late-stage clinical biotechnology company, founded in 2013 and based in South San Francisco, CA. We develop therapies for neurodegenerative diseases like frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, addressing significant unmet medical needs. Our approach involves understanding the complex mechanisms that drive these diseases, such as toxic misfolded proteins, deficient proteins, and lysosomal, immune system, and neuronal dysfunction.

Our product candidates remove toxic proteins, replace critical deficient proteins, and restore immune and nerve cells to normal function. We use our expertise in drug development, proprietary protein engineering, and antibody discovery, along with our Alector Brain Carrier (ABC) technology for blood-brain barrier (BBB) transport. We are developing potential first- and best-in-class medicines based on insights into human genetics, neuroscience, and immunology.

Our mission is to make degenerative brain disorders history and restore the experience of life for patients, caregivers, and families. We aim to change the course of neurodegenerative disease and bring hope to those affected.

Our core values are:

• Own it: We encourage exploring solutions and an all-hands-on-deck mentality, with humble audacity.
• Elevate Each Other: We highlight collaboration and shared success, promoting fearless questioning and collaborative ownership.
• Never Give Up: Persistence and adaptability are central to us, encouraging flexible persistence in the face of adversity.
• Embrace Feedback: We promote a growth mindset and value feedback—scientific, clinical, and interpersonal—as a superpower, with constructive truth-telling.

We use a flexible, hybrid work model that blends regular on-site time for connection and collaboration with remote work flexibility. We have been certified as a “Great Place to Work” since 2020 and were selected as one of the “2023 Best Places to Work” by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal.

We cultivate a culture of courage, curiosity, empathy, and collaboration. We are committed to building an open, diverse, and inclusive environment, believing that high-performing teams benefit from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Our culture encourages pushing boundaries, embracing challenges, and continuous growth.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package to support employee well-being. Our health and wellness benefits include medical, dental, vision, and emotional health coverage, mental wellness resources, and free access to an onsite gym, basketball court, and outdoor path. Financial and commuter benefits include a 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, an employee stock purchase plan, company-paid life insurance, financial planning services, company-paid short- and long-term disability insurance, parking, free shuttle services to transit hubs, pre-tax commuter benefits, and on-site micromobility services. Employees are eligible for ongoing equity awards and can participate in the employee stock purchase plan.

For learning and development, we provide regular manager check-ins focused on reflection and development, a seminar series with academics, workshops for soft skills and leadership, and peer mentorship. Our time-off program includes 10 paid company holidays, 20 days of paid time off per year, and a company-wide winter shutdown. Our headquarters features collaborative breakout spaces, a quiet library, a dedicated mother’s room, and healthy snacks. We also support community involvement through volunteer initiatives and partnerships with organizations like The Family Giving Tree, offering one paid volunteer day annually per employee. Team activities such as happy hours and celebrations are also part of our culture.