Senior Scientist, Upstream Process Development

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Develop scalable production processes for nucleic acids and recombinant proteins
• Leverage expertise in fermentation and mammalian cell culture to design, optimize, scale-up and characterize production processes
• Independently utilize multivariate design of experiment (DoE) approaches to improve productivity and optimize parameters for product quality
• Drive fermentation platform development and new technology implementation to improve process performance, generation of predictive process models, and enhance process control and robustness
• Design and implement in-process analytics to improve productivity while reducing process and product derived impurities
• Maintain and troubleshoot equipment to ensure consistency and continuity of operations
• Document, analyze and present experimental results internally and externally
• Partner with CDMOs and provide technology transfer support to facilitate scale up
• Interface with cross-functional teams to ensure programs are on track and stakeholders' needs are met
• Maintain accurate and reliable record keeping including database management, batch records, notebooks, and all other pertinent documentation

Qualifications & Skills

• PhD in Chemical/Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or related discipline with >4 years of experience, or BS/MS with >8 years of experience in biopharmaceutical or biotechnology development, including experience in developing scalable fermentation processes for producing plasmid DNA and/or recombinant products
• In-depth experience and knowledge in fermentation process development, optimization, and process scale-up / scale-down model development
• Familiarity with strain engineering and biocatalysis
• Familiarity with performing operations in a cleanroom environment, applying controls to ensure aseptic processing
• Demonstrated ability to coach and mentor junior researchers
• Independently motivated and good problem-solving ability
• Attention to detail and accuracy in developing, reviewing, and following protocols, SOPs, batch records and technology transfer documents is a must
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across teams to meet project deliverables and timelines
• Strong communication, decision-making and organizational skills
• Proficiency with statistical analysis software (e.g., JMP) is highly desired
• Prior experience partnering with external CDMOs and conducting tech transfers preferred