T Cell Engineering & Translation Lead

Master's Degree or Ph.D. in an appropriate field; equivalent work experience will be considered.

Position Summary

Responsible for leading the engineering, process development, and translational advancement of TCR engineered T cell therapies from candidate nomination through clinical readiness. The role drives vector design, cell engineering, and preclinical development of next-generation TCR-T cell therapies incorporating viral and non-viral ex vivo engineering as well as in vivo T cell therapy strategies, with a blend of mechanistic discovery tightly coupled to IND-enabling preclinical development. The Team lead coordinates with and serves as a critical bridge between research and clinical team ensuring safe, scalable, and regulatory aligned products.

Job Responsibilities

• Develop effective in vivo T cell engineering strategies and delivery vectors.
• Lead optimization of vector design (viral and non-viral) to be used for in vivo and ex vivo generation of armored TCR-T cells.
• Collaborate with director of Vector Production and Quality to ensure seamless transition of preclinical products into a scalable clinical process.
• Evaluate TCR constructs for stability, reactivity, and manufacturability in collaboration with engineering and translational staff.
• Oversee development and optimization of ex vivo TCR-T manufacturing processes inclusive of transduction/transfection, expansion and formulation.
• Establish scalable workflows for rapid ex vivo cell engineering to enhance product potency.
• Conduct IND enabling studies integrating in vivo pharmacology, safety, potency and mechanism-of-action datasets.
• Serve as a liaison between discovery and manufacturing teams to enable technology transfer and feasibility.
• Collaborate with manufacturing team to assess product and process performance, troubleshoot issues, and drive enhancements in clinical cell therapy manufacturing.
• Collaborate with the quality team to develop bespoke assays to assess product potency.
• Ensure documentation standards consistent with future IND submissions in all IND-enabling studies.

Education

Master's Degree or Ph.D. in an appropriate field. Equivalent work experience will be considered.

Experience

• 10 years of experience in T cell engineering or cell/gene therapy development with demonstrated experience in lentiviral vector systems, non-viral gene engineering platforms, human T cell functional biology, in vivo gene delivery approaches.
• Approximately 3 years or related experience in advanced translational academic center or Pharmaceutical environment, with evidence of leading IND-enabling preclinical development (industry preferred).
• Track record of leading cross-functional scientific teams.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• In-depth knowledge of interpreting TCR-T cell biology, receptor engineering, and gene modification platforms.
• Knowledge of vector design principles, optimization, and safety switch technologies.
• Demonstrates ability to apply analytical methodologies for cell therapy characterization.
• Familiarity with institutional and federal regulatory documentation and compliance standards.
• Demonstrates understanding of translational development pathways from preclinical through early-phase clinical trials.
• Ability to build scalable and reproducible identification pipelines for personalized TCR therapy programs.

Working Conditions/Physical Demands

Ability to work flexible hours, evenings and weekends, when requested for special projects.