Post Doctoral Scientist (CHO Cell Culture)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. • Foster City, CA

56d

About The Position

At Gilead, we're creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we've tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer - working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world's biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead's team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we're looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

The Cell Culture Process Development group within Gilead is responsible for developing robust, scalable mammalian cell culture processes for Gilead's very diverse early and late-stage biologics pipeline. We are seeking a highly motivated and innovative Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Cell Culture Process Development team at Gilead. This position will report into Cell Culture Process Development within the Biologics Pivotal & Commercial Organization.

The Postdoctoral Researcher will be a member of the Cell Culture Media Strategy team and contribute to the optimization of cell culture media for mammalian cell lines expressing a diverse range of biologics including monoclonal antibodies, multi-specific antibodies, and other complex/novel modalities. This is a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of cell biology, biochemistry, and bioprocess engineering and contribute to cutting-edge research to enhance cell growth, productivity, and product quality for manufacturing of biologics drugs.

The successful candidate is expected to work collaboratively with others in the team and independently when needed to implement best laboratory practices and lead the execution of complex experiments. They should demonstrate scientific curiosity, outstanding communication skills, a commitment to continuous learning, and contribute to organizational knowledge while fostering inclusive teamwork.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in a relevant scientific discipline (Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Biomolecular Engineering) with 0-2 years of relevant experience OR expected PhD graduation within 6 months from date of application
• Motivated self-starter with organizational and problem-solving skills. Excellent verbal communication, oral presentation, and scientific writing skills
• Demonstrates technical proficiency, scientific creativity, collaboration with others and independent thought in suggesting experimental design
• Passion for inclusion: knowing the business value of diverse teams, modelling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they work

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on laboratory operations experience in CHO cell culture including shake flask, high-throughput bioreactor (e.g., ambr15, ambr250), bench scale bioreactor in parallel operation
• Experience with serum-free, chemically defined media optimization
• Solid understanding of CHO cell metabolism, bioprocessing, and media formulation principles
• Experience with tools for metabolic pathway analyses and bio-analytical techniques such as proteomics, metabolomics, and bioassays for gene expression analysis to guide media optimization
• Experience with kinetic modeling and computational tools (e.g., Python, R, MATLAB)
• Experience in statistics, design-of-experiments, and data analysis (e.g. JMP, Spotfire)
• Proven track record of external presentations and/or publications in peer-reviewed journals

Responsibilities

• Design experiments and perform hands-on buffer/media preparation and cell culture operations in shake flasks, ambr15, ambr250, bench-scale bioreactors, and novel cell culture platforms
• Lead aspects of optimizing chemically defined cell culture media to improve productivity and modulate product quality for fed-batch and perfusion processes
• Apply statistical and computational tools (e.g., DoE, multivariate analysis) to interpret experimental data and guide media formulation strategies
• Elucidate mechanistic understanding of key factors and associated metabolic pathways relating to cell culture medium and process development using advanced bio-analytical techniques such as bioassays, proteomics, and metabolomics
• Participate and work cross-functionally within and outside of biologics technical development to achieve common goals
• Prepare technical reports, protocols, presentations, and manuscripts for internal and external dissemination
• Occasional weekend work may be required to support cell culture operations
• Maintain accurate and detailed laboratory records in compliance with institutional and regulatory standards
• Adhere to department budget and all training, compliance and safety requirements. Support general laboratory upkeep.

Benefits

• paid time off
• company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Chemical Manufacturing
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees