Senior Scientist, Cell Therapy Discovery Full-time

Senior Scientist, Cell Therapy Discovery

Waltham, MA, USA

AstraZeneca is a science-led biopharmaceutical company focused on transforming patient outcomes. We seek a curious, collaborative Senior Scientist to advance novel cell therapies for autoimmune and other immunology indications. This hands-on research role requires efficient and competent experimental execution, strong cross-functional communication, and proactive project planning to advance programs in a highly-matrixed environment.

Role Overview

You will lead and execute in vitro functional assays, with preferred flexibility to additionally contribute to in vivo studies, to identify and validate cell therapy targets and modalities. You will work with program and project teams to make data-driven decisions to move programs from discovery toward translation. You will also help shape study plans, align stakeholders, and ensure timely delivery of milestones across functions.

Key Responsibilities

• In vitro discovery: Lead cell therapy target validation and characterize activity of engineered cell therapies using human primary cells and functional co-culture assays; develop and optimize assays; preferred flexibility to additionally contribute to in vivo study design and execution in partnership with in vivo pharmacology.
• Data and analytics: Apply a rigorous, data-driven approach to experimental design, mechanism-of-action studies, and decision-making; use appropriate analytics and visualization; document work to high standards.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Drive alignment with other teams including protein engineering, genomics, translational science, clinical, and CMC; translate scientific plans into clear objectives, risks, and decision points for clear communication across groups and to leadership.
• Project planning and delivery: Collaborate to build and maintain project plans and timelines; manage dependencies and track progress to milestones.
• Team and communication: Present results and recommendations to teams and leadership; mentor colleagues and foster a productive lab environment.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Education: PhD in immunology, cell biology, or related field with 0-5 years experience; or BS or MS with 10+ years of experience in a related field (industry experience strongly preferred).
• In vitro expertise: Primary human cell culture and functional cell-based assays; multi-color flow cytometry; multiplex cytokine detection; assay development.
• Extensive autoimmunity and/or inflammation experience: Familiarity with in vitro and in vivo model systems for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, COPD, fibrosis, etc.
• Data proficiency: Strong experimental design, analysis, and interpretation; proficiency with tools such as FlowJo and Prism.
• Communication: Proven ability to communicate complex scientific concepts clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Leadership and collaboration: Strong drive for discovery, scientific curiosity, collaborative mindset; ability to mentor and influence across teams.

Desired Qualifications and Skills

• Cell therapy experience: Work with engineered cell products (e.g., T cell subsets, CAR-based modalities); familiarity with novel CAR or antibody target discovery.
• In vivo expertise: Hands-on planning, oversight, and execution of murine in vivo studies using autoimmune disease models; animal handling; standard dosing and engraftment; analysis of pharmacodynamic, immunophenotyping, and efficacy endpoints.
• Advanced analytics: Experience integrating complex datasets to guide decisions.