Head of Translational Immunology

Biogen•Cambridge, MA

1d•$200,000 - $275,000

About The Position

As the Head of Translational Immunology, you will play a critical leadership role in driving innovation and advancing the organization’s research and development initiatives. You will join a dynamic team dedicated to the discovery, development, implementation, and interpretation of translational and clinical biomarker strategies to support the Immunology portfolio. Key responsibilities include leading the design, execution, and integration of biomarker strategies from early Research through early clinical development. A central focus of this role is advancing innovative translational approaches that integrate diverse human datasets—including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, cellular models, and clinical data—to inform novel therapeutic targets, generate actionable hypotheses, and provide supporting evidence for programs across the Immunology pipeline. What You’ll Do Strategic Leadership and Team Building Lead and mentor a high-performing team of research and clinical stage biomarkers scientists Formulate and implement a strategic vision for Translational Immunology to drive the development of innovative clinical biomarkers across our Immunology portfolio, supporting future research targets, indication expansion, and mechanism of action (MOA) insights. Matrix-manage biomarker and systems biology scientists across various sub-functions to collaboratively develop and implement integrated biomarker strategies, while fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and scientific excellence within the Biomarkers and Systems Biology function and across the Research organization. Human-Centric Data Generation and Integration Provide strategic, technical, and scientific leadership in designing, validating, implementing, and interpreting data from an integrated clinical biomarker plan to support first-in-human studies, decision-making, and proof-of-biology studies for clinical programs. Emphasize human-focused approaches, leading efforts to prioritize the use of human model systems, including human pathology samples and human clinical trial data, to ensure translational relevance and directly inform therapeutic development, using human data as the foundation for uncovering disease mechanisms and identifying therapeutic opportunities. Partner with the computational biology team to harness the integration of human omics datasets (e.g., genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) as tools to identify novel translational insights into disease mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities from internal and external sources External Partnerships and Collaboration Maintain scientific excellence in immunology-relevant biomarkers, assay development and validation, patient characterization, and relevant diagnostics Identify and establish partnerships with academic institutions, specialty startups, CROs, and industry consortia to enhance internal capabilities and expedite the achievement of biomarker objectives Leverage external expertise and resources, including the latest advancements in translational Immunology approaches, to complement internal research efforts Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Innovation Work closely with cross-functional teams, including other biomarker and systems biology colleagues, biologists, chemists, clinicians, and development colleagues, to integrate a comprehensive Immunology Biomarker approach Promote seamless collaboration between team members and biomarker analytical scientists to drive data-driven decision-making Lead cross-functional initiatives aimed at developing and applying novel Immunology approaches, focusing on biological networks and disease processes to enable clinical decisions Who You Are You are an accomplished leader with a passion for Immunology and a proven track record of leveraging translational and biomarker strategies to drive innovation in drug discovery and clinical development. You bring deep expertise in translational immunology, biomarker science, and data integration, combined with exceptional leadership and collaboration skills. You excel at translating complex scientific data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations, and are a gifted communicator who can effectively articulate scientific hypotheses and strategies to diverse audiences.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in immunology, with a focus on biomarker/translational approaches, multiomics data integration, computational modeling, and hypothesis generation within pharma and biotech
PhD in immunology or molecular biology with a focus on immunology
Immunology Knowledge: Deep understanding of immunology, immune mechanisms, pathways, and disease biology.
Clinical Biomarker Development: Expertise in identifying, developing, and validating biomarkers to inform patient stratification, therapeutic response, and disease progression
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with interdisciplinary teams, including scientists, biologists, clinicians, to develop and execute biomarker/translational plans

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor a high-performing team of research and clinical stage biomarkers scientists
Formulate and implement a strategic vision for Translational Immunology to drive the development of innovative clinical biomarkers across our Immunology portfolio, supporting future research targets, indication expansion, and mechanism of action (MOA) insights.
Matrix-manage biomarker and systems biology scientists across various sub-functions to collaboratively develop and implement integrated biomarker strategies, while fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and scientific excellence within the Biomarkers and Systems Biology function and across the Research organization.
Provide strategic, technical, and scientific leadership in designing, validating, implementing, and interpreting data from an integrated clinical biomarker plan to support first-in-human studies, decision-making, and proof-of-biology studies for clinical programs.
Emphasize human-focused approaches, leading efforts to prioritize the use of human model systems, including human pathology samples and human clinical trial data, to ensure translational relevance and directly inform therapeutic development, using human data as the foundation for uncovering disease mechanisms and identifying therapeutic opportunities.
Partner with the computational biology team to harness the integration of human omics datasets (e.g., genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) as tools to identify novel translational insights into disease mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities from internal and external sources
Maintain scientific excellence in immunology-relevant biomarkers, assay development and validation, patient characterization, and relevant diagnostics
Identify and establish partnerships with academic institutions, specialty startups, CROs, and industry consortia to enhance internal capabilities and expedite the achievement of biomarker objectives
Leverage external expertise and resources, including the latest advancements in translational Immunology approaches, to complement internal research efforts
Work closely with cross-functional teams, including other biomarker and systems biology colleagues, biologists, chemists, clinicians, and development colleagues, to integrate a comprehensive Immunology Biomarker approach
Promote seamless collaboration between team members and biomarker analytical scientists to drive data-driven decision-making
Lead cross-functional initiatives aimed at developing and applying novel Immunology approaches, focusing on biological networks and disease processes to enable clinical decisions

Benefits

Regular employees are eligible to receive both short term and long-term incentives, including cash bonus and equity incentive opportunities, designed to reward recent achievements and recognize your future potential based on individual, business unit and company performance.
Medical, Dental, Vision, & Life insurances
Fitness & Wellness programs including a fitness reimbursement
Short- and Long-Term Disability insurance
A minimum of 15 days of paid vacation and an additional end-of-year shutdown time off (Dec 26-Dec 31)
Up to 12 company paid holidays + 3 paid days off for Personal Significance
80 hours of sick time per calendar year
Paid Maternity and Parental Leave benefit
401(k) program participation with company matched contributions
Employee stock purchase plan
Tuition reimbursement of up to $10,000 per calendar year
Employee Resource Groups participation