Director, Bacterial Vaccine Discovery

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

2d

About The Position

The Director of Bacterial Vaccine Discovery in Early Infectious Disease leads efforts to discover and develop bacterial vaccines, including carbohydrate conjugate, mRNA, and protein-based approaches. The individual will lead a team of scientists in discovering and characterizing novel bacterial vaccines to build and advance the portfolio. The team will collaborate across groups within Bacterial Vaccines to identify effective vaccine candidates and fully characterize their immunogenicity and efficacy in preclinical disease models. The role also requires influencing senior internal stakeholders in Research, Bioprocess Development, and Regulatory Affairs, as well as managing external academic collaborations and contract research organizations to deliver the early vaccine portfolio.

Requirements

• PhD in microbiology, immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or a related discipline, with 8+ years of industry experience.
• Proven leadership experience managing a team of junior scientists (PhD and non-PhD level).
• Strong track record in bacterial vaccine research and/or bacterial pathogenesis.
• Demonstrated experience leading efforts to characterize immune responses and protective efficacy of vaccine antigens in small animal disease models.
• Familiarity with functional immunological assays, such as opsonophagocytic killing assays and serum bactericidal assays, used to measure vaccine-elicited immune responses.
• Cross-functional collaboration experience, successfully delivering research and development programs in a biotech or pharmaceutical setting.
• Experience supporting or leading interdisciplinary vaccine discovery or development programs from early research through candidate selection.
• Proven ability to develop and manage budgets for research programs and external partnerships.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with strong business analysis and consultancy capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of scientists to discover and characterize candidate vaccine antigens, delivering robust in vitro and in vivo research packages that support pipeline progression and regulatory interactions.
• Serve as subject matter expert and research lead for multiple programs, presenting strategy and data to senior leaders at governance meetings.
• Present key findings and research progress at top-tier scientific conferences.
• Partner with Early Vaccines and Immune Therapies Translational Sciences to develop and transfer assays for characterizing immune responses in future clinical trials.
• Oversee and maintain accountability for partnerships with third parties, including academic institutions and biotech collaborators.
• Evaluate external science and partnering opportunities in collaboration with Business Development and the extended scientific team to expand the bacterial vaccine pipeline.
• Engage regularly with intellectual property attorneys to define and refine IP strategy for early-stage programs.
• Build and foster effective relationships with senior leaders across Research, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Clinical and Translational Medicine, and Global Project Teams to ensure cross-functional alignment.
• Ensure clear and objective communication of results, associated risks, uncertainties, and limitations across all projects and teams within the function.
• Define training and development opportunities for junior colleagues in line with best practices and scientific principles.

Benefits

• qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]
• paid vacation and holidays
• paid leaves
• health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree