Principal, Quality Assurance

Lyell Immunopharma•Bothell, WA

13h•Onsite

About The Position

Lyell is a clinical-stage company focused on advancing next-generation CAR T-cell therapies for patients with solid tumors or hematologic malignancies, aiming to generate T cells that resist exhaustion and have durable stemness for long-lasting clinical response. The company is fully integrated, covering discovery, translation, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation, with a culture based on Science, Respect, Collaboration, and Courage. The Principal, Quality Assurance provides Quality oversight and leadership across product lifecycle activities in a cell therapy environment. This role involves close partnership with Manufacturing, MSAT, Process Development, and Regulatory to support process implementation, technology transfer, raw material qualification, process validation, and commercialization efforts, including preparation for Biologics License Application (BLA) submission(s). The incumbent acts as a Quality representative on cross-functional project teams, ensuring GMP compliance and supporting clinical and commercial milestones.

Requirements

Experience in cGMP clinical manufacturing.
Experience with electronic quality management systems (e.g. deviations, CAPAs, change management).
Proven capability to oversee QA operations and workflows, ensuring timely execution, compliance, and alignment with organizational priorities.
Ability to work effectively both independently and cross-functionally with Manufacturing, MSAT, Regulatory, Patient Operations, Supply Chain, and external partners to set goals, develop sound project plans, monitor progress, and report results.
Excellent communication, emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills.
Curious and proactive mindset with a continuous improvement orientation; actively seeks to understand processes, identify risks, and implement sustainable quality solutions.
Fast learner, adaptable, and has the desire and ability to work in a fast-paced, start-up environment.
Excellent analytical skills and scientific/technical expertise.

Nice To Haves

BS with a minimum of 15 years’ experience in biochemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering, or related scientific field.
10-15 years of experience in GMP biopharmaceutical operations including 4 years in cell therapy and/or lentiviral manufacturing operations.
Minimum of 5+ years in Quality Assurance.
Direct experience supporting BLA submissions, regulatory filings, and/or health authority inspections.
Experience in commercial manufacturing and post-approval lifecycle management.

Responsibilities

Lead and project manage the raw material qualification project.
Establish and maintain a risk-based raw material qualification strategy, including testing/qualification requirements.
Partner with MSAT and Process Development to assess the impact of raw material variability on process performance and product quality (CPPs/CQAs).
Provide Quality oversight for process validation (PPQ) activities, ensuring execution aligns with approved protocols, GMP requirements, and regulatory expectations.
Review and approve validation protocols, reports, and supporting documentation (e.g., risk assessments, sampling plans, acceptance criteria, specifications).
Partner with MSAT, Process Development, and Manufacturing to define PPQ and validation strategies, ensuring they are robust and include evaluation of critical process parameters (CPPs), critical quality attributes (CQAs), and in-process controls.
Provide Quality oversight during PPQ execution on the manufacturing floor, ensuring adherence to protocols and real-time issue escalation.
Assess PPQ data for completeness, accuracy; ensure conclusions are justified and support process validation.
Ensure deviations occurring during PPQ and validation are appropriately investigated, documented, and resolved with minimal impact to timelines.
Ensure alignment between validation activities and regulatory filings (IND/BLA), including traceability between executed studies and submitted data.
Act as the Quality representative on cross-functional project teams supporting product development, tech transfer, process validation, and commercialization activities.
Serve as Quality Subject Matter Expert (SME) for BLA coordination activities, ensuring consistency between Quality documentation and regulatory submissions.
Author and review CMC sections of regulatory submissions to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with GMP requirements.
Ensure all validation, manufacturing, and quality documentation is inspection-ready and supports regulatory filings and commitments.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance process robustness, validation effectiveness, and inspection readiness.
Lead cross-functional readiness activities to ensure the manufacturing site is prepared for regulatory inspections as applicable.
Provide Quality oversight for deviations, CAPAs, and change controls, as applicable.