Senior Principal Scientist, Cell Therapy Research, Molecular Immunobiology and Discovery Team

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

Position Summary

The Cell Therapy Molecular Immunobiology and Discovery team is seeking a highly motivated, dynamic and self-driven individual to help us deliver on this critical goal and drive innovation in molecular design, lentiviral and AAV engineering, and viral and non-viral production methods. Molecular design and gene delivery are the foundation of our cell therapies, and innovations in this space will drive the future of our next-generation cellular therapeutic pipeline at BMS, enabling us to bring best-in-class engineered drugs to our patients.  This role will primarily focus on designing and validating novel molecular cargoes, backbones, and viral particles, optimizing methods for generating research-grade virus for early-stage CAR T programs, and working with our automation team to innovate novel pipelines to increase efficiency of production and transduction. The ideal candidate is an experienced molecular biologist and virologist with a strong background in technology development and viral vector engineering. They will have an in-depth conceptual and practical understanding of viral vector and cell engineering strategies, and knowledge of key challenges related to transgene delivery in vitro and in vivo. This role will provide a challenging but rewarding opportunity for career development and is ideal for a seasoned scientist with an innovative mindset.  Previous experience in cellular therapy, industry or academic, is preferred.

Key Responsibilities
 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Lead a team to develop innovative molecular engineering strategies and viral production methods to improve expression, function, and throughput
• Design experiments, organize and analyze results and communicate progress to the group.
• Evaluate and prioritize molecular technologies, gene delivery cassettes and viral platforms, and deliver complete data packages to allow for timely Go/No Go decisions.
• Collaborate with SMEs, inside and outside the team, to evaluate the functional impact of proposed novel engineering strategies on performance of our CAR and eTCR cell products.
• Work with other team members and team leaders to enable adoption of novel methods and designs in ongoing programs.
• Lead a matrixed group of Scientist(s) and Research Associate(s), and under the direct, but limited supervision of management.
• Understand the context, impact and timely communication of data.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree
  • 10+ years of academic and / or industry experience

Or

• Master’s Degree
  • 8+ years of academic and / or industry experience

Or

• Ph.D. or equivalent advanced degree in the Life Sciences 
  • 6+ years of academic and / or industry experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong expertise in virology, preferably lentivirology, with some experience with other viruses and non-viral delivery methods.
• Strong understanding of the principles of gene regulation, and in optimizing expression and function of transgenic cargoes.
• Extensive experience with delivery of molecular cargoes into human cell lines and primary cells, ideally T cells
• Strong understanding of and experience in molecular characterization to understand and optimize transgene expression and function.
• Ability to multitask, independently organize time, and plan specifics of work.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills demonstrated in a team environment.
• Detail-oriented with the ability to identify and implement creative solutions.
• Willingness to think outside the box, be creative and ability to work in a very fast paced, ever changing environment.

Additional Relevant Qualifications:

• Industry experience in adoptive engineered T-cell therapeutics (CAR-T or eTCR).
• Experience with viral and non-viral gene delivery for gene therapy products.
• Experience with in vitro technologies typically employed to assess T cell functionality including but not limited to MSD, IncuCyte-based cytolytic function assays, multi-parameter flow cytometry for phenotypic characterization of T cells, T cell activation assays, T cell proliferation analysis, imaging.
• Experience with high-throughput screening.

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience. 

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans then in effect and may include the following: Medical, pharmacy, dental and vision care. Wellbeing support such as the BMS Living Life Better program and employee assistance programs (EAP). Financial well-being resources and a 401(K). Financial protection benefits such as short- and long-term disability, life insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection and survivor support. Work-life programs include paid national holidays and optional holidays, Global Shutdown Days between Christmas and New Year’s holiday, up to 120 hours of paid vacation, up to two (2) paid days to volunteer, sick time off, and summer hours flexibility. Parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military leave. Family care services such as adoption and surrogacy reimbursement, fertility/infertility benefits, support for traveling mothers, and child, elder and pet care resources. Other perks like tuition reimbursement and a recognition program.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

BMS cares about your well-being and the well-being of our staff, customers, patients, and communities. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that all employees be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and keep up to date with Covid-19 boosters.

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

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