Associate Director, Cellular Automation

Takeda•Boston, MA

About The Position

At Takeda, we are a forward-looking, world-class R&D organization that unlocks innovation and delivers transformative therapies to patients. By focusing R&D efforts on three therapeutic areas and other targeted investments, we push the boundaries of what is possible to bring life-changing therapies to patients worldwide. Objective / Purpose: The Associate Director will play a pivotal role in Takeda’s “Lab of the Future” initiative, building a capability to provide robust cell lines, at scale, to enable the execution of robust cellular assays on fully automated, integrated platforms. The Associate Director will partner closely with Drug Discovery Units (DDUs), Lead Profiling, and automation engineering to design, build and leverage an automated infrastructure to supply cells to scientists running assays to drive Takeda’s DMTA cycle. In this role you will: Accelerate Discovery through Automation and AI-Integrated DMTA: Support the design and execution of cellular assays in 384- and 1,536-well formats on fully automated, robotic platforms with robust processes to ensure delivery of consistent cells through continuous culture or cryopreservation. Build a team and infrastructure that operates in a highly efficient way, leveraging state-of-the-art automation and technology. Drives Cross-Functional Impact: Partners with DDUs, Lead Profiling, and data science teams to interpret cellular data in the context of SAR, disease biology, and mechanism-of-action, informing compound progression and portfolio decisions.

Requirements

Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Pharmacology, Oncology, Chemical Biology, or related discipline with at least 6+ years of industry experience OR M.S. with 12+ years; OR B.S. with 14+ years of relevant pharmaceutical or biotech R&D experience.
Deep expertise in cell biology, automated cell culture, and biobanking at scale, including primary, iPSC-derived, and engineered cell systems
Significant experience in design and deployment of fully integrated, end-to-end automated cell culture and assay platforms to support high throughput workflows
Hands-on experience developing, optimizing, and executing High Content Assays, with familiarity in other assay modalities such as reporter gene, CTG, GPCR, HTRF, AlphaScreen, MSD, and qPCR for primary, secondary, and mechanistic profiling.
Working knowledge of integrated HTS automation systems and robotic platforms, including programming, configuring, and troubleshooting liquid handlers (e.g., Echo, Hamilton, Beckman, Agilent).
Demonstrated experience integrating AI/ML-driven analytics into DMTA workflows and decision-making.
Ability to leverage data science to link cell health, assay performance, and SAR insights Hands-on familiarity with scheduling software, LIMS/ELN, and data pipeline tools commonly used in automated labs.
Proficiency in data analysis and figure generation using tools such as Dotmatics, Spotfire or GraphPad.
Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively in a highly matrixed, cross-functional environment while managing multiple priorities and contribute to mentoring or guiding junior scientific staff.
Prove track record of: Building and deploying end-to-end cellular automation platforms supporting high-throughput screening (384/1536 formats) Establishing fit-for-purpose QC frameworks (cell identity, passage control, phenotypic stability, contamination)

Responsibilities

Advance Automated Cell Culture Define and lead the strategy for design, development, and deployment of scalable cellular automation platforms to enable continuous culture and enterprise-level cell banking.
Drive cross-functional alignment with assay development teams to enable robust miniaturization to 1,536-well formats, ensuring reproducibility, scalability, and biological relevance across automated workflows.
Drive Quality and Efficiency Establish and oversee quality frameworks for cell line QC, banking, and lifecycle management to ensure consistency and reproducibility at scale.
Leverage automation to minimize manual culture and support an assay environment that runs 24/7 Define selection criteria for disease-relevant cellular models to ensure strong alignment with SAR and translational biology objectives.
Contribute to seamless integration of instrumentation with LIMS/ELN systems, scheduling software, and digital data pipelines to enable end-to-end automation.
Ensure Data Excellence & AI-Readiness Apply advanced statistical analysis and visualization tools to assess assay robustness, variability, and data quality.
Ensure datasets are standardized, curated, and appropriately annotated to support AI/ML-driven analytics and cross-program insights.
Contribute to data governance practices that promote longitudinal learning across Takeda’s discovery portfolio.
Collaborate Across Takeda Partner closely with DDUs, data sciences, translational sciences, and medicinal chemistry to advance program objectives.
Communicate findings clearly in cross-functional forums and contribute to scientific discussions that shape portfolio decisions.
Uphold Takeda’s values of Integrity, Fairness, Honesty, and Perseverance in all scientific and operational activities.

Benefits

U.S. based employees may be eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a tuition reimbursement program, paid volunteer time off, company holidays, and well-being benefits, among others.
U.S. based employees are also eligible to receive, per calendar year, up to 80 hours of sick time, and new hires are eligible to accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation.

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