Director, Translational Sciences

About the role

Century Therapeutics is seeking a Director of Translational Sciences to lead translational strategy across early-phase clinical programs, focusing on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and CAR-T cell therapies. This role requires strategic leadership, clinical translational strategy, assay development, CRO oversight, and team building.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the translational science strategy across Century’s early clinical pipeline, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and clinical development priorities.
• Serve as the primary scientific owner of translational strategy across T1D and CAR-T programs, integrating biomarker objectives into clinical protocols, sample collection plans, and trial timelines.
• Contribute to functional area strategy and company-level decision-making as part of Century’s management team.
• Represent translational sciences internally to senior leadership, governance committees, and program teams, and externally at scientific conferences, with regulatory agencies, and in collaboration with academic and industry partners.
• Lead development and execution of translational and biomarker strategies to support early-phase clinical trials, including first-in-human studies.
• Define clinical biomarker objectives, context of use, and analysis plans aligned with program mechanisms of action and regulatory expectations.
• Enable clinical decision-making through expert interpretation of patient-derived translational datasets and integration of insights into program strategy.
• Partner with Early Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory, and Medical to ensure translational readiness at each stage of clinical development.
• Oversee and drive development, qualification, and validation of translational assays for treated patient samples, including: Immune phenotyping (flow cytometry), cytokine and soluble biomarker assays, functional immune and cell therapy–related assays, ADA-related assays, and molecular biomarkers relevant to T1D and CAR-T therapies.
• Ensure all assays are fit-for-purpose, scientifically rigorous, and compliant with GCP/GLP expectations for clinical trials.
• Set quality and scientific standards for assay development across internal and external laboratories.
• Define and lead Century’s clinical biomarker CRO strategy, including partner selection, scope definition, assay transfer, and ongoing governance.
• Establish and maintain high-quality, high-accountability CRO relationships, ensuring delivery of interpretable, high-quality clinical data.
• Critically evaluate CRO-generated data and reports, identifying trends, limitations, and implications for clinical programs and regulatory filings.
• Identify opportunities for strategic external collaborations and partnerships that advance translational capabilities.
• Data Integration, Interpretation & Communication
• Partner closely with Computational Biology and Data Science to define translational data pipelines, analysis frameworks, and visualization approaches.
• Drive integrated interpretation of clinical biomarker datasets that meaningfully informs program strategy and development decisions.
• Prepare and present translational findings to senior leadership, governance committees, and external partners with clarity and strategic framing.
• Contribute to or lead authorship of clinical study reports, regulatory documents (INDs, protocol amendments), and external scientific communications.
• Team Leadership & Organizational Development
• Build, lead, mentor, and develop the Translational Sciences team, establishing scientific direction, prioritization frameworks, and a high-performance culture.
• As a recognized leader within Century’s management team, model company values and support cross-functional team effectiveness and talent development.
• Actively manage team resources, headcount planning, and budget in partnership with functional area leadership.
• Attract top talent, differentiate performance, and create an environment where scientists at all levels can grow and thrive.

Requirements

• PhD or other advanced degree in Immunology, Translational Medicine, Cell & Gene Therapy, or a closely related field.
• 10+ years of relevant industry experience in clinical translational science, biomarker development, or bioanalysis, with substantial leadership experience in early clinical development.
• Demonstrated track record of driving translational strategies through IND, first-in-human, and early-phase clinical milestones.
• Experience in T1D, autoimmune disease, and/or CAR-T or other cell/gene therapy programs strongly preferred.
• Prior experience managing or building a team of scientists in a biotech or pharma setting.
• Technical Expertise
• Authoritative knowledge of clinical biomarker development, immune monitoring, and translational data interpretation in clinical trial settings.
• Deep expertise in clinical assay development, qualification, and validation, including execution through external CROs at scale.
• Mastery of GCP, GLP, and regulatory expectations for clinical biomarker data; experience contributing to regulatory filings preferred.
• Broad scientific knowledge spanning immunology, cell therapy biology, and molecular biomarkers relevant to T1D and oncology indications.
• Leadership & Strategic Capability
• Proven ability to operate at a strategic level, setting direction for a function while maintaining hands-on scientific accountability.
• Strong track record of cross-functional leadership in a matrixed organization, partnering across development, operations, regulatory, and computational teams.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and external stakeholders, including regulatory agencies and scientific advisory board members.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex translational data into clear strategic insights for diverse audiences.
• High degree of scientific judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and ability to make and defend rigorous decisions with incomplete data.

Qualifications

• PhD or other advanced degree in Immunology, Translational Medicine, Cell & Gene Therapy, or a closely related field.
• 10+ years of relevant industry experience in clinical translational science, biomarker development, or bioanalysis, with substantial leadership experience in early clinical development.
• Demonstrated track record of driving translational strategies through IND, first-in-human, and early-phase clinical milestones.
• Experience in T1D, autoimmune disease, and/or CAR-T or other cell/gene therapy programs strongly preferred.
• Prior experience managing or building a team of scientists in a biotech or pharma setting.
• Technical Expertise
• Authoritative knowledge of clinical biomarker development, immune monitoring, and translational data interpretation in clinical trial settings.
• Deep expertise in clinical assay development, qualification, and validation, including execution through external CROs at scale.
• Mastery of GCP, GLP, and regulatory expectations for clinical biomarker data; experience contributing to regulatory filings preferred.
• Broad scientific knowledge spanning immunology, cell therapy biology, and molecular biomarkers relevant to T1D and oncology indications.
• Leadership & Strategic Capability
• Proven ability to operate at a strategic level, setting direction for a function while maintaining hands-on scientific accountability.
• Strong track record of cross-functional leadership in a matrixed organization, partnering across development, operations, regulatory, and computational teams.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and external stakeholders, including regulatory agencies and scientific advisory board members.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex translational data into clear strategic insights for diverse audiences.
• High degree of scientific judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and ability to make and defend rigorous decisions with incomplete data.

Benefits

• Annual performance-based bonus (prorated by start date)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Matching 401K plan
• 20+ days per-year of PTO (prorated by start date)

Pay

$195,000-$218,000 depending on experience.

Schedule

Full-time

Company Information

Century Therapeutics (NASDAQ: IPSC) is a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies with the potential to meaningfully address autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes, and cancer. The company’s therapies are derived from its iPSC cell foundry and leverage its novel immune evasion engineering technology, Allo-Evasion™. Century believes its approach to developing off-the-shelf cell therapies will expand patient access and provide advantages over existing cell therapies which will ultimately advance the course of care. Century Therapeutics Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran.