SUMMARY OF THE ROLE
You will own key assays and workflows for CAR design, T-cell engineering, and in vitro functional characterization. 
You will work with project teams to make data-driven decisions to move programs from discovery toward translation.
You will also help shape study plans, align internal and external teams, and ensure timely delivery of milestones across functions.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
•    In vitro discovery: Lead CAR construct design and engineering; 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 Pharmacology & Toxicology, CMC, translational science and clinical.
•    Team and communication: Present results and recommendations to teams; mentor colleagues and foster a productive lab environment.

REQUIREMENTS
Education: PhD in immunology, cell biology, or related field; or MS with 2–3+ years demonstrated impact in cell therapy discovery

Skills & Capabilities
•    Human T-cell isolation (PBMC processing, magnetic selection), activation (CD3/CD28, cytokines), and culture.
•    Lentiviral transduction MOI optimization; electroporation for gene edits.
•    Flow cytometry panel design, compensation/gating; advanced phenotyping including memory, exhaustion, activation, and safety markers.
•    Functional assays: target killing (luciferase/impedance), cytokines, proliferation/persistence, serial-kill or rechallenge assays; antigen density titration and specificity testing.
•    Molecular methods: PCR/qPCR, plasmid prep; amplicon NGS prep for edit verification and transgene integrity.
•    Data & Tools: Proficiency with ELN, FlowJo, GraphPad; understanding of assay acceptance criteria and basic statistics.
•    Soft Skills: Strong organization, communication, troubleshooting, and ability to manage multiple concurrent studies while mentoring juniors.
•    Compliance: Biosafety level 2 practices, animal ethics (IACUC), research GxP awareness, and data integrity standards.

Preferred Experience:
•    Experience with armored CARs, logic-gated CARs, or allogeneic edits.  Preferably familiar with AML disease.
•    Advancing CAR-T candidates through lead optimization to preclinical packages; method transfer and qualification with PD/Analytical.
•    Scale-up evaluations; familiarity with CQAs and comparability for gene-modified T-cell products.