AstraZeneca Posted August 10, 2026

Scientist, Immune Engineering

Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research

AstraZeneca is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

We are seeking an early-career Scientist to join the Cellular Resilience team to contribute to groundbreaking, early discovery research at the intersection of gene delivery and cell therapy. The successful candidate will leverage their expertise in Immune cell engineering, functional assay development, and synthetic/molecular biology to develop the next generation of cellular therapies.

Key Responsibilities:

Engineering cell lines and primary immune cells by viral and non-viral techniques

In-vitro cellular assay development with an emphasis on high-throughput readouts such as multicolor flow cytometry, plate reader, ELISA/MSD, qPCR

Analyze and interpret complex experimental data, present findings to both internal and external stakeholders

Qualifications:

BS/MS with 5+ years or PhD with 0+ years of post-graduate experience in a relevant field including (but not limited to) molecular biology, synthetic biology, Immunology, Biological/Chemical/Biomedical engineering…etc

Hands-on experience in the culture and engineering of established cell lines and primary human immune cells by viral and non-viral techniques such as lentivirus, AAV, LNP, electroporation…etc

Hands-on experience with the execution and data analysis of immune functional assays including in vitro cytotoxicity, co-cultures, proliferation, and cytokine measurement

Proactive, highly self-motivated, and thrives in a workplace where goals may shift

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with multi-color flow cytometry experiment design, acquisition, and analysis

Experience with gene editing technologies (ie. CRISPR, TALE, Zinc Finger …etc) and evaluating gene editing outcomes (ie. Flow cytometry, qPCR, sanger sequence, NGS..etc)

As AstraZeneca continues to put patients at the forefront of our mission, we are excited for our move to Kendall Square/Cambridge in 2026. Find out more information here: Kendall Square Press Release

Ready to join us on this mission? Apply now!

Competitive remuneration and benefits apply

We offer a competitive Total Reward program including a market driven base salary, bonus and long-term incentive. We have a generous paid time off program and a comprehensive benefits package.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $91,008.80 - $136,513.20. Our positions offer eligibility for various incentives, an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles. Benefits offered include qualified retirement programs, paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves), as well as health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.

Date Posted

10-Aug-2026

Closing Date

30-Aug-2026 Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 383 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 47 biopharma companies.

383Comparable roles tracked
346Currently active
47Companies hiring similar roles
16Countries represented

Salary context

137 of 383 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Scientist 1, Oncology | Drug Discovery · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Head, Oncology Drug Discovery – San Diego · Novartis $248,500/yr – $461,500/yr
Peer group range $0 – $355,000 (median $165,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 383 comparable roles

United States303
India17
Germany13
United Kingdom9
Canada9
Switzerland6

+ 10 more countries

Seniority mix

297 of 383 peers have a known seniority level

Senior111
Principal57
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc34
Director26
Associate23
Associate Director21
Senior Director12
Executive/VP8
Manager5

Therapeutic area mix

54 of 383 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology31
Cardiovascular / CVRM10
Immunology6
Neuroscience4
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Respiratory1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
AstraZeneca Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America Executive/VP
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Executive/VP
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly San Diego, California, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Principal Scientist Drug Product Development
AstraZeneca · Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Postdoctoral Researcher in Translational Oncology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Advisor / Senior Advisor, CNS/PNS NAMs – Investigative Toxicology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director / Sr / Exec Dir - Applied Intelligence for Discovery (AI4D)
Lilly · San Francisco, California, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.