In this role, you will join a collaborative and motivated team dedicated to advancing expertise in process development for various unit operations across multiple allogeneic cell therapy programs. You will play a key role in generating clinical materials that support Poseida’s mission to cure cancer patients. This position offers ample opportunities for learning and career advancement, as our forward-thinking team is fully committed to your professional development. We value teamwork and are seeking an individual who wants to be part of something greater—a driving force in transforming the lives of cancer patients.

Position Summary

Poseida is seeking a highly capable and independent Process Development professional to join our Process Development (PD) team in developing innovative cell processing platforms to support our allogeneic cell therapy programs. The incumbent will focus on improving existing processes and assisting in the development of cutting-edge technologies to optimize our proprietary methods. In collaboration with a team of scientists, the incumbent will develop, optimize, scale up, and characterize both upstream and downstream methods to enhance critical variables in the development process. Key responsibilities include supporting the development and optimization of manufacturing processes, with a specific emphasis on cell isolation, transfection, expansion, harvest, formulation, and fill/finish of drug products. The successful candidate will also be expected to design and participate in the evaluation and implementation of new platform technologies. Strong communication and presentation skills are essential, as is the ability to troubleshoot technical issues and work with automation instrumentation and software. This position is located at our headquarters in San Diego, CA.

Responsibilities 

These may include but are not limited to:

• Collaborate with R&D group to design, execute and optimize process development studies via design of experiment (DoE) approaches.
• Develop and perform research involving various techniques including cell separation, T cell culture and modification, electroporation, flow cytometry and ELISA etc.
• Contribute to preparation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for internal and external use and train people who are new to use the instruments and techniques.
• Analyze data using Excel, FlowJo and Prism or other equivalent analytical tools, document with details in laboratory notebooks and present results to the team.
• Present ideas and data in team meetings and cross-functional meetings.
• Generate and share experimental reports and other information across internal and external functions supporting IND submissions.
• Efficiently manage time to complete laboratory work and associated paperwork by assigned deadlines.
• Work with human blood/human blood-derived specimens

  Requirements, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Senior Process Development Associate: Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in a scientific discipline (e.g., Chemistry, Biology, Immunology, Engineering or related field) with 5+ years of relevant industry/laboratory experience
• Demonstrated expertise in aseptic techniques.
• Proficient in cell culture techniques for human cell lines and primary human cells.
• Hands-on experience with assays involving human whole blood, PBMCs, and purified T cells, including multi-color immunophenotyping and lymphocyte subset characterization using flow cytometry, as well as functional analysis of immune T cells (e.g., cytotoxicity and ELISA assays).
• Proven ability to troubleshoot, optimize, and solve complex research problems.
• Creative, passionate, organized, and detail-oriented, with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Solid understanding of immunology and CAR-T cell therapy.
• Preferred experience in one or more of the following areas: CAR-T cell therapy, product development, cGMP clinical manufacturing, cell separation using magnetic beads, automation, and Design of Experiments (DOE).

Senior Process Development Associate Pay Rate: $93,000 to $105,738 annually

The final pay offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type, and length of experience with the industry, education, geographic location, etc.