Scientist - Companion Animal Vaccines

About the role

Zoetis Veterinary Medicine Research and Development (VMRD), Companion Animal / Equine Biologicals (CAE) group in Kalamazoo, MI is seeking a senior associate scientist or scientist to contribute to the discovery and development of vaccines for canines, felines, and equines. The ideal candidate will have hands-on laboratory experience in the areas of virology, cell culture, and molecular biology. Experience in cell line development, assay development, in vivo models, and vaccine development is also desirable. Excellent communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Perform hands-on laboratory work in virology, cell culture, bacteriology, and molecular biology in CAE vaccine development projects.
• Design and implement laboratory experiments, maintain proper documentation, conduct data analysis, and develop scientific conclusions from experiments undertaken/completed.
• Report data to supervisor and project teams.
• Work across multiple vaccine development project teams to design, develop, and evaluate safety and efficacy of biological products.
• Collect and maintain accurate documentation for intellectual property and to meet regulatory requirements.
• Participate on global project teams with the goal to license animal health biological products.
• Adapt to contribute beyond companion animal projects to meet the overall goals of the Global Biologicals Research group as needed.
• Collaborate with multiple internal partner groups to plan, coordinate, conduct, analyze, and report assay development.

Education and Experience

• Educational Background:
  • Minimum: B.S. in Biology/Microbiology or related field
  • Desirable: M.S. in Microbiology and Immunology or related field
• Work Experience/Skills:
  • Minimum: Three to five years’ experience in research.
  • Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.
  • Ability to perform and troubleshoot virology and molecular biology laboratory assays.
  • Ability to work both as a member of a team and independently in a self-directed and self-motivated manner.
  • Excellent skills in organizing, planning, time management, record keeping, quality, and attention to detail.
  • Well-developed critical thinking skills with the ability to learn quickly and solve problems.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with very good written and oral communication skills.
  • Competence with Microsoft Office Products (Outlook, Word, Excel).
• Desirable:
  • Knowledge of companion animal infectious diseases.
  • Experience with in vitro and in vivo model development.
  • A good understanding of relationships of disease pathogenesis and vaccine product development.
  • Education and clinical experience in the field of veterinary technology and/or livestock production systems.
  • Previous experience in research and/or product development in the animal health industry.