Associate Director, Translational Sciences

Century Therapeutics•Watertown, MA

About The Position

Century Therapeutics (NASDAQ: IPSC) is a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies with the potential to meaningfully address autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes, and cancer. The company’s therapies are derived from its iPSC cell foundry and leverage its novel immune evasion engineering technology, Allo-Evasion™. Century believes its approach to developing off-the-shelf cell therapies will expand patient access and provide advantages over existing cell therapies which will ultimately advance the course of care. We are seeking an experienced Associate Director of Translational Sciences to lead translational and biomarker efforts across early-phase clinical trials for cell-based therapies, with a focus on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and CAR-T cell programs. This role will be responsible for developing and executing clinical translational strategies, owning oversight of assay development and validation for treated patient samples, and ensuring high-quality biomarker data generation to support early clinical decision-making. Reporting to the Head of Immunology and Translational Sciences, this individual will work closely with the Early Clinical Development team, Computational Biology, and external CRO partners to ensure translational readiness and scientific rigor across first-in-human and early-phase trials. The successful candidate will serve as a scientific owner of translational strategy for early-phase clinical programs, ensuring that patient-derived biomarker and immune monitoring data meaningfully inform development decisions. They will partner internally and externally to integrate translational objectives into clinical protocols and lead the development, validation, and execution of clinical assays through external CROs, while maintaining high scientific and operational standards. The candidate will demonstrate strong judgment in prioritizing biomarkers, managing CRO relationships, and communicating complex translational findings clearly to cross-functional teams and senior leadership. This role includes direct management of a small team of translational scientists, while maintaining hands-on ownership of translational strategy and execution. This role is central to ensuring that clinical translational data meaningfully informs early development decisions. The Associate Director of Translational Sciences will help shape how patient-derived biomarker data is generated, interpreted, and used to guide the advancement of novel cell-based therapies. Century Therapeutics Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Requirements

PhD or other advanced degree in Immunology, Translational Medicine, Cell & Gene Therapy, or a related field.
8+ years of relevant industry experience in clinical translational science, biomarker development, or bioanalysis, with a strong focus on early clinical development.
Demonstrated experience supporting clinical trials using patient-derived samples.
Deep understanding of clinical biomarker development, immune monitoring, and translational data interpretation in a clinical trial setting.
Hands-on experience with clinical assay development, qualification, and validation, including execution through external CROs.
Strong working knowledge of GCP, GLP, and regulatory expectations for clinical biomarker data.
Proven ability to work effectively in a cross-functional, matrixed environment, partnering with development, operations, regulatory, and computational teams.
Strong experience managing external CROs and vendors, including scientific oversight and data review.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex clinical biomarker data into clear, actionable insights.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and CAR-T cell or other cell therapy programs is strongly preferred.
Experience supporting first-in-human and/or early-phase cell therapy trials.
Familiarity with immune monitoring in autoimmune disease, including T1D, is a plus.
Experience contributing to INDs, protocol development, amendments, or regulatory responses from a translational science perspective.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute translational and biomarker strategies to support early clinical trials.
Define clinical biomarker objectives, context of use, and analysis plans aligned with program mechanisms of action.
Partner with Development and Clinical Operations to ensure biomarker integration into clinical protocols, sample collection plans, and trial timelines.
Enable clinical decision-making through data-driven interpretation of patient-derived translational datasets.
Lead the development, qualification, and validation of translational assays for treated patient samples.
Oversee assays including (but not limited to): Immune phenotyping (flow cytometry) Cytokine and soluble biomarker assays Functional immune and cell therapy–related assays ADA-related assays Molecular biomarkers relevant to T1D and CAR-T therapies
Ensure assays are fit-for-purpose, robust, and compliant with GCP/GLP expectations for clinical trials.
Serve as the primary scientific lead for clinical biomarker and translational CROs.
Lead CRO selection, scope definition, assay transfer, and ongoing oversight.
Manage CRO communications, timelines, and deliverables to ensure high-quality, interpretable clinical data.
Critically review CRO-generated data and reports, identifying trends, limitations, and implications for clinical programs.
Partner closely with Computational Biology and Data Science team to define translational data pipelines, support analysis and visualization of clinical biomarker datasets, and ensure high-quality, integrated interpretation that informs program strategy and clinical development decisions.
Present translational findings to internal program teams, governance committees, and senior leadership.
Contribute to clinical study reports, regulatory documents, and external scientific communications as needed.
Lead, mentor, and develop a small team of translational scientists, providing scientific direction, prioritization, and performance feedback to ensure high-quality execution across programs.
Balance people management responsibilities with direct ownership of translational strategy, CRO oversight, and cross-functional leadership.