Scientist, Upstream Viral Vector

Summit Strategic Search•Philadelphia, PA

1d•$120,000 - $125,000•Onsite

About The Position

This is a lab-based scientist role on the upstream side of the client's viral vector group. You will own the cell culture experiments behind lentiviral vector production for next generation CAR-T work, and help grow the process from early stage culture into bioreactors. You will be the go-to person for how cells are grown, transfected, and fed, and your data will guide how the process is designed, compared, and handed off for further development.

Requirements

PhD plus at least 1 year in industry, or MS plus 4 or more years in industry, in cell biology, virology, chemical or biological engineering, or a similar discipline.
Hands-on experience growing mammalian cells in suspension to produce viral vector (lentiviral or AAV).
Hands-on experience with transient transfection.
Upstream experience in shake flasks and small bioreactors.
Solid molecular biology skills, including plasmid work and PCR, qPCR, or ddPCR assays.
A track record of designing experiments, troubleshooting when they fail, and drawing sound conclusions from the data.
Strong writing and presentation skills, with experience sharing results across functions.

Nice To Haves

Lentiviral vector production experience.
Experience taking a culture process into larger bioreactors.
Producer or packaging cell line development experience.
Industry experience in gene or cell therapy process development.

Responsibilities

Build and improve the upstream cell culture process, from early seed expansion through progressively larger bioreactor runs, with consistent results and a clear scientific basis for every process setting.
Run and refine lentiviral vector production, with a focus on transient transfection conditions; contribute to producer cell line work as programs require.
Improve titer, product quality, and consistency through media screening, feed design, and adjustments to culture conditions.
Plan targeted studies that show the process will hold up at larger scale.
Work hand in hand with colleagues in molecular biology, purification, analytics, and process development so each stage of the process fits together.
Help decide which early stage findings are ready to become formal process development work, and weigh in on study design and process comparability.
Work independently: set up your own experiments, run them, analyze the results, and decide what comes next.
Turn results into concise summaries, written reports, and presentations with clear recommendations for the wider team.
Work safely in a biosafety level 2 lab and keep complete, well organized electronic notebook records so every result can be traced and repeated.