Associate Scientist /Senior Associate Scientist, Cellular Process Development
KSQ Therapeutics, United States
Job Description
At KSQ Therapeutics, we seek to understand the role of every human gene in each disease, each tissue, and each cell that we study. This comprehensive approach has resulted in a massive, experimentally derived dataset that we have found to be remarkably predictive of past successes and failures in oncology and immuno-oncology product development. Utilizing this approach, we also identified a number of opportunities for the development of new medicines. As a result, we have aggressively invested in these distinct, highly validated pathways for new drug development with the expectation that the medicines we create may become the next breakthrough products for patients.
Founded in late 2015, KSQ is a clinical stage biotech that has rapidly advanced the field of CRISPR-enabled functional genomics, from in vitro cell autonomous screens to more complex genome-scale screens of immune cells in vivo. The company has expanded the scope of its technology to include multiple cell types and to unlock areas beyond oncology. KSQ is led by a team of accomplished industry experts in drug discovery and development.
Requirements
KSQ Therapeutics is seeking a motivated and team-oriented individual who will be a key contributor to enabling process development and characterization of KSQ cell therapy products. The scope of the role spans early-stage process development through technology transfer for clinical manufacturing.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and perform experiments involving the isolation, engineering, expansion, and cryopreservation of engineered Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte (eTILTM) cells for the treatment of solid tumor malignancies.
- Provide critical laboratory support to process development activities in preparation for technology transfer by optimizing protocols for TIL engineering, including gene editing methods, culture conditions, and scale-up.
- Analyze data, interpret scientific results, author protocols and reports, and present scientific data to key internal stakeholders.
- Support Design of Experiment (DoE) experiments using scale down models.
- Independently manage and execute on key project workstreams while working collaboratively with members from other functional groups including Research, Translational Medicine, and Quality.
- Maintain critical raw material database and provide timely updates to inform decision making and scheduling.
- Generate and maintain critical data in a highly organized manner
- Compile and present data to functional team.
- Coordinate and/or prepare critical reagents as needed to support laboratory activities.
- This is a hands-on position and requires the candidate to have a flexible schedule based on experimental and company needs.
Key Qualifications:
- A BS/MS degree in chemical engineering, biotechnology, biology, or related discipline with 1-4 years of relevant experience.
- Expertise in primary human immune cell culture techniques and familiarity with common cellular therapy equipment such as Sepax, LOVO, controlled rate freezers, and CliniMACS is preferred.
- Experience with gene editing of primary cells using CRISPR/Cas9 is preferred.
- Experience with standard immunological and functional assays such as multi-parameter flow cytometry, ELISA and cytotoxicity assays.
- Experience with standard molecular biology techniques, including but not limited to: PCR, RT-PCR, qPCR.
- Possess strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to independently manage priorities and make decisions to ensure deliverables are completed in a timely fashion.
- Excellent communication skills and ability to handle confidential information and material appropriately.
- Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, GraphPad Prism, and FlowJo.
- Covid-19 vaccination is a condition of employment at KSQ, subject to reasonable accommodation where required by law. Employees must be fully vaccinated by date of hire to be considered.