Associate Scientist I Cell and Gene Therapy at Kyowa Kirin North America

Kyowa Kirin is a fast-growing global specialty pharmaceutical company that applies state-of-the-art biotechnologies to discover and deliver novel medicines in four disease areas: bone and mineral; intractable hematologic; hematology oncology; and rare disease.  A Japan-based company, our goal is to translate science into smiles by delivering therapies where no adequate treatments currently exist, working from drug discovery to product development and commercialization. In North America, we are headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with offices in California, North Carolina, and Mississauga, Ontario.

Summary:

The Associate Scientist, Discovery Core Function will support Kyowa Kirin’s cell therapy pipeline programs in a highly collaborative environment. This position will play a key role in developing next-generation cell and gene therapy programs by providing support to pipeline projects and evaluating and implementing new technologies.

Essential Functions:

•    Support Cell and Gene Therapy pipeline projects by working with Project Leads to enable gene editing and generate new molecular workflows. 
•    Serve as a Project Lead for technology themed projects if needed
•    Identify, evaluate, and implement new gene editing technologies
•    Contribute scientific and technical knowledge to project and support teams
•    Design, initiate, and optimize molecular, cell based, and analytical methods to support the Research, Technical Operations, and In Vivo Pharmacology teams
•    Maintain compliance with regulatory guidelines and internal standards, and prepare necessary documentation for project reviews (proposals, monthly, quarterly, annual, or study reports), patent applications, publications, and/or animal, biosafety, or human subject protocols.
•    Present research at project meetings and efficiently record experiments and data in laboratory notebooks, databases and monthly reports.

Requirements:

Education

BS required, MA/MS preferred in a related scientific discipline. Knowledge and background in Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, Immunology, Hematology-Oncology is a plus.

Experience

8 years of hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge of cell and gene therapy techniques and gene editing is required. 

Extensive experience in gene editing technologies, including CRISPR, base editing, prime editing, or transposase/recombinase-based editing is required. 

Strong background in molecular biology, with practical experience in NGS, molecular analytical development, gene editing design, and molecular cloning.
 
Expertise in cell culture methodologies, development, and characterization of cell therapy products including HSCs, iPSCs, and/or CAR-T cells. 

Extensive experience in the molecular characterization of cell therapies, with a strong preference for expertise in NGS. 

Familiarity with CAR design, engineering, screening, and assay development is highly desirable. Experience in developing high-throughput screening platforms for cells, proteins, or antibodies is preferred. 

Background in antibody/protein engineering, protein production, and purification is highly preferred. 
Experience in virus production, transduction, and analytics is a valuable plus.

Technical Skills

Strong knowledge of industry standard gene editing techniques and analytics including CRISPR, guide RNA design and screens, indel analysis, knock-out and knock-in analysis, NGS, ddPCR. 

Solid understanding of cellular, molecular, and immunological techniques including cloning, ELISA, multi-color flow cytometry, in vitro functional assays, cell based assays, reporter assays. 

Experience in cell engineering processes including knowledge of cell line generation workflows and experience developing therapeutic engineered cells such as CAR-T.

Expertise in cell culture techniques including culture of primary cells, iPSCs, HSCs, and cell lines from multiple species and cell manipulation techniques including transfection, nucleofection, and transduction.
 
Experience with cell characterization including multicolor flow cytometry, FACS, MACS, and single cell isolation techniques. 

Experience in antibody or protein production, purification, and analysis is a plus. 

Proficient in MS Office Suite.

The anticipated salary for this position will be $120,000 to $125,000.  The actual salary offered for this role at commencement of employment may vary based on several factors including but not limited to relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, education (including applicable licenses and certifications, job-based knowledge, location, and other business and organizational needs.
The listed salary is just one component of the overall compensation package. At Kyowa Kirin North America we provide a comprehensive range of benefits including:
•    401K with company matching
•    Discretionary Profit Sharing
•    Annual Bonus Program (Sales Bonus for Sales Jobs)
•    Generous PTO and Holiday Schedule which includes a Summer and Winter Shut-Down, Sick Days and, Volunteer Days
•    Healthcare Benefits (Medical, Dental, Prescription Drugs and Vision)
•    HSA & FSA Programs
•    Well-Being and Work/Life Programs
•    Life & Disability Insurance
•    Concierge Service
•    Pet Insurance    
•    Tuition Assistance
•    Employee Referral Awards
The compensation and benefits information set forth in this posting applies to candidates hired in the United States. Candidates hired outside the United States will be eligible for compensation and benefits in accordance with their local market.

KKNA and all of its employees have an obligation to act in accordance with the law and with integrity in all our operations and interactions

It is the policy of Kyowa Kirin North America, Inc. to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, religion, creed, color, pregnancy, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or affection preference or citizenship status or any other category protected by law.

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