Scientist II - Molecular Analytics & NGS

Make your mark for patients

The Gene Therapy Vector Core group is seeking a Scientist II in Upstream Process Development and Bioprocess Analytics team to support genetic medicine projects and AAV gene therapy platform development. The candidate will work across functional teams and will be responsible for developing analytical methods including short- and long-read NGS, cell-based potency assays for AAV, and ddPCR assay development. Additional responsibilities include supporting routine testing for characterization of research grade materials and for guiding process development activities.

Responsibilities:

Leading the development and execution of custom molecular assays including ddPCR and qPCR to support gene therapy analytics

Optimizing and applying cutting-edge next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies to characterize impurities and assess heterogeneity in AAV drug products

Utilizing strong biology foundations to help guide or run cell-based potency assays to evaluate biological function and activity

Support gene therapy platform development through the application of evolving analytical methodologies and cross-team collaborations  including capsid engineering

Function independently and cross functionally across various UCB teams (data scientists, cell biologists, disease area experts, CMC professionals, etc.)

Ability to manage priorities, engage/communicate in a multidisciplinary environment, and provide exemplary documentation of experimental work

Required Education, Skills and Experience:

MS degree in Molecular Biology, or related field, with over 10 years of experience – OR – PhD or Post Doc with 2+ years of experience.

4+ years expertise in PCR based assay development and molecular characterization of AAVs or biomolecular characterization for gene therapies

4+ years of NGS (long and/or short read technology) development experience (genomic DNA, targeted amplicon, small RNA, and RNA-seq) to enable genomic and transcriptomic analyses for early drug discovery and drug substance analytics

4+ years of experience serving as a functional representative in multi-disciplinary drug discovery project teams

Preferred Education, Skills and Experience:

PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, or related field with direct AAV characterization experience supporting molecular analytics of AAV vectors

6+ years of experience in molecular analytical characterization of AAV vectors

6+ years of hands-on experience with NGS library preparation, Illumina and PacBio data acquisition and QC to support drug discovery activities

At least 6 years of experience in drug discovery or development in a pre-clinical setting with a focus on molecular characterization, analytical method development, characterizing impurities and identifying biological complexities.

Serve as the primary owner of developing, optimizing, and/or routinely conducting cell based potency assays to evaluate biological function and activity

Salary:

This position’s reasonably anticipated base salary range is $99,200 to $130,200 per year. The actual salary offered will consider internal equity and may also vary depending on the candidate’s region, job-related knowledge, skills and experience, among other factors.

Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!

About us 

UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company, focusing on neurology and immunology. We are over 9.000 people in all four corners of the globe, inspired by patients and driven by science.

Why work with us? 

At UCB, we don’t just complete tasks, we create value. We aren’t afraid to push forward, collaborate, and innovate to make our mark for patients. We have a caring, supportive culture where everyone feels included, respected, and has equal opportunities to do their best work. We ‘go beyond’ to create value for our patients, and always with a human focus, whether that’s on our patients, our employees, or our planet. Working for us, you will discover a place where you can grow, and have the freedom to carve your own career path to achieve your full potential.

At UCB, we’ve embraced a hybrid-first approach to work, bringing teams together in local hubs to foster collaborative curiosity. Unless explicitly stated in the description or precluded by the nature of the position, roles are hybrid with 40% of your time spent in the office.

UCB is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be made without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. UCB invites you to voluntarily self-identify during the application process. Provision of self-identification information is entirely voluntary and a decision to provide or not provide such information will not have any effect on your application for employment, your employment with UCB, or otherwise subject you to any adverse treatment. Any information you provide will be considered confidential and will be kept separate from your application and/or personnel file and will only be used in accordance with applicable laws, orders, and regulations.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on US-Reasonable_Accommodation@ucb.com for application to US based roles. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments; we will not be able to support you through this channel.