Senior Scientist I / II – Translational Experimental Cancer Biology (OTR)

Novartis • Cambridge, MA

19h • $98,700 - $183,300 • Onsite

About The Position

Drive the mechanistic understanding of how cancer therapies succeed—and fail—at the cellular level. Within Oncology Translational Research, you will interrogate therapeutic response and resistance in breast cancer using advanced molecular and cellular biology approaches, including engineered human cell line systems and functional assays. Working at the interface of discovery and early clinical development, you will generate high-resolution insights into intrinsic and acquired resistance pathways, enabling patient stratification strategies and informing the design of next-generation therapies with improved efficacy, durability, and safety.

Requirements

• Doctor of Philosophy in biology, cancer biology, molecular biology, or a related scientific discipline
• Strong expertise in cell biology and advanced molecular biology techniques
• Proven experience studying resistance to small molecule therapies using molecular approaches
• Deep understanding of hormone-driven cancer biology, including breast or prostate cancer
• Experience designing and executing in vitro assays to investigate cellular mechanisms
• Demonstrated ability to engineer and work with human cell line models
• Strong problem-solving skills, scientific curiosity, and ability to interpret complex biological data
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary scientific teams

Nice To Haves

• Experience with data mining and computational analysis applied to biological datasets
• Familiarity with single-cell sequencing or spatial transcriptomics approaches

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanism-of-action studies to interrogate therapeutic response and resistance in breast cancer models
• Design and execute in vitro assays to uncover intrinsic and acquired resistance pathways
• Engineer and optimize human cell line models for functional screening and mechanistic investigations
• Collaborate cross-functionally across discovery, data science, and early clinical development teams
• Analyze, interpret, and clearly communicate experimental data to drive translational insights
• Document experiments rigorously and maintain high-quality scientific records and reproducibility standards
• Stay current with emerging scientific literature and integrate new methodologies into research strategies

Benefits

• health
• life and disability benefits
• a 401(k) with company contribution and match
• a variety of other benefits
• a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves

What This Job Offers

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