Scientist, T-Cell Immunotherapy Jobs

What We Do
Theragent is a privately-owned Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) focused on novel Cell and Gene Therapy medicines to meet unmet patient needs. We are a small, biotech startup headquartered in Arcadia, CA. Our state-of-the-art facility provide high-quality, reliable, and value-added solutions to our clientele for challenging pre-clinical and clinical trial projects. Our innovative cGMP facility offers comprehensive end-to-end manufacturing and testing capabilities for clinical and commercial purposes.
Why Theragent?
Take the next step in your career and join Theragent today to change patient lives through the products we help develop and manufacture. Here, you will contribute your talents in a purposeful way that impact the lives of patients around the world. You will develop as an individual by working directly with a team of seasoned experts and rising stars. Our values of Innovation, Transparency, Accountability, Integrity, Diversity, Humility to name a few are embedded in everything we do. No matter your role may be, Theragent strives to ensure all our teammates are empowered and given the necessary tools to lead us in our relentless pursuit to extending patient lives.
Our Mission
To Manufacture and Deliver high-quality, reliable, and value-added Therapeutic Solutions for Biopharma clients and patients.
Position Summary
Theragent’s R & D team is seeking a motivated, collaborative, and highly skilled Senior Scientist/Principal Scientist with passion for developing T cell-based immunotherapies to treat hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Candidate is expected to lead various aspects of preclinical development and validation of novel T cell / antibody therapeutics. He / She will work closely with our internal colleagues and external collaborators to efficiently progress early-stage cell therapy products through to IND filing. This position will report directly to the Director of Research & Development, immunotherapy and will play a critical role in development and translation of novel CAR-T therapies to the clinic.
The successful candidate has extensive experience in a combination of skills including, genetic manipulation of T cells and tumor cells using viral/nonviral methods, VCN determination using qPCR/ddPCR, T/NK cell isolation, optimization of culture conditions, development, and optimization of a variety of assays (molecular, cell based, biochemical, immunological) for preclinical validation of cell therapy products. Candidate is expected to demonstrate in-depth understanding of current research and technological developments in adaptive T cell immunotherapy. Prior experience in managing 3-4 direct reports at PhD level scientists is required.
We seek passionate, self-driven, and dedicated individual who takes initiative, contribute to innovative ideas, independently design /execute experiments, and perform critical data analysis.
An ideal candidate is well organized, pays attention to details, works well in team setting, shows sense of urgency and responsibility to complete tasks meticulously on time. Additionally, 3-5 years of experience in managing research personnel/projects required. He/she will independently design and execute experiments, mentor Ph. D level scientists, collaborate with other cross functional teams to support research projects under the supervision of R & D Director. Passion for excellence and innovation to improvise cell therapy is critical.
Primary Responsibilities

• Analyze, and report complex data to cross functional teams in a clear and concise manner
• Provide support for drafting client reports, patents, SOPs, and peer-reviewed scientific publications
• Manage multiple research projects simultaneously with the R & D team and collaborate with other departments (Process Science, Analytical Science, Quality, Manufacture) as necessary.
• Proactively identify and supervise solutions to challenges, risks, and changes that could lead to project delays or cost changes
• Lead planning, design, and execution of experiments related of development and characterization of cellular immunotherapy products in coordination with R & D director.
• Provide scientific and technical support to direct reports and other team members (Scientists and RA)
• Contribute to various preclinical projects within R& D and those required by clients through in-depth scientific knowledge and demonstrated experience in analytical methods used in cellular immunotherapy field
• Work closely with our internal colleagues to efficiently progress early-stage CAR-T products to IND filing
• Mentor and train scientific staff on technical skills required to effectively perform experiments and to facilitate progression of projects (Multicolor flow cytometry, multiplex cytokine assays, Image cytometry)
• Manage the work of multiple late preclinical stage clients effectively to drive projects to completion
• Maintain precise laboratory notebooks, electronic records following high standards of data quality and integrity.
• Prepare scientific/technical reports, summaries, protocols, etc, and present them to internal and external stakeholders.
• Constantly improvise research strategies and adopt technologies to stay upfront in the field of immunotherapy
• Collaborate with Process science team to scale up CAR-T products

Reports to: Director of R&D, T-Cell Immunotherapy
FLSA Status: Exempt
Location: Covina, CA
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Decisive Decision Making
• Proficiency in Data analysis software (ie. Excel, GraphPad Prism, and FlowJo)
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment and flexible to adjust workload based upon changing priorities
• Demonstrated ability to independently design, plan and troubleshoot experiments, interpret results, and present to the R&D team and external clients.
• Possess ability to identify problems early, technically trouble shoot and resolve challenges in early development and preclinical validation of CAR-T products
• Prior experience/ knowledge in scaling up lentiviral and CAR-T production process is a plus.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
• Self-motivated and creative, able to work within a team and collaborate with external teams as needed to accomplish project objectives and deliverables.
• Demonstrated understanding of scientific and technological basis of methods used in cellular immunotherapy to exercise technical judgment and troubleshoot projects
• Team player / Building Relationships
• Proficiency in multi-color flow cytometric analysis of immune cells is critical for this position
• Active Listening
• Problem Solving
• Ability to stay organized, prioritize tasks, manage time efficiently, and provide creative solutions to meet program needs
• Customer Focus
• Understands the importance of data integrity to enable a smooth transition of discovery research to manufacture and clinical trials.
• In depth scientific and technical understanding of cellular immunotherapy and tumor immunology.

Education & Professional Experience

• Ph. D in the field of Immunology, Cell biology, Virology or Cancer biology or related life science discipline with 3+ years (Scientist) or 5+ years (Senior Scientist) or Master’s degree with 7 + years relevant research experience in Immunology/Cancer biology
• Experience in T cell co-culture functional assays to measure T cell activation, cytokine release (ELISA or intracellular staining by FACs), proliferation (CFSE).
• Experience in lentiviral packaging and characterization using qPCR, flow cytometry and ELISA
• Familiarity with FDA regulation of biologics and cell therapy products, IND-filing, GLP/GMP process is a plus.
• Prior experience in engineering tumor cells with shRNA, CRISPR or other genetic elements
• Experience in engineering T or other immune and tumor cell types using retro/lentiviral/nonviral platforms and downstream functional assays
• Prior research experience in antibody therapies, bispecific antibodies, and cellular therapies preferred
• Experience with transfection, electroporation, and transduction methods
• Demonstrated experience in a variety of molecular, cellular, biochemical, and immunological techniques (molecular cloning, transfections, transductions, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, qPCR/ddPCR, flow cytometry, ELISA, MSD, multiplex cytokine assays)
• A strong academic or industry research experience in immunotherapy evidenced by high caliber publications in peer-reviewed journals is desirable
• Extensive experience in working with different mammalian cells lines and primary human cells (adherent tumor cells, PBMCs, primary T, NK, and macrophages)
• Direct experience working on projects in the area of adaptive T cell immunotherapy is highly desired.
• Highly skilled in multi-parameter flow cytometric analysis of immune cells from blood products. Must be able to independently design panels, acquire, analyze, and interpret data
• Prior expertise in different cytotoxicity methods commonly used in T cell immunotherapy (Luminescence, release assays, image cytometry, and impedance assays)

Working Conditions

• Laboratory environment- required to work with blood products, tumor cell lines, bacteria, retrovirus and lentivirus
• Expected to work safely and effectively when working alone or working with others
• May be required to work in controlled or clean room environments
• Must wear PPE due to safety requirements in designated lab areas

Travel: Occasional. Less than 3%
Physical / Mental Demands

• Ability to perform repetitive tasks including hand to finger manipulations, grasping, pushing, and pulling
• Occasional stooping, bending, stretching, pushing, pulling, reaching and/or lifting to 40 lbs.
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, and move within workspace for extended periods

Environmental Conditions

• Ability to work safely and effectively when working alone or working with others.
• Primarily office environment but will be required to enter laboratory or GMP process areas donning proper gowning / lab coats or PPE such as safety glasses and shoes.

This description outlines the basic responsibilities and requirements for the position noted. This is not a comprehensive listing of all job duties of position. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Theragent, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, age, disability, marital status, and veteran status. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.
Theragent, Inc. requires employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. To the extent permitted by applicable law, candidate must be able to provide proof of full vaccination or receipt of the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, or request an exemption due to a medical reason, a sincerely held religious belief of practice, or pregnancy, as of the first day of work, to be considered for a U.S.-based job.