Director of Antibody Discovery and Optimization

We are a biotech company developing an innovative synthetic biology platform to create a disruptive new class of biologic therapeutics. We are dedicated to the development of these novel therapies to help patients suffering from cancer and other serious diseases.

Role Description

This position is for a leader in the field with expertise in antibody discovery, engineering, and sequence optimization to help drive our drug discovery programs. We seek an individual that is highly proficient in both the technical and strategic aspects of immunization and phage campaigns and has experience in engineering sequences for development candidate nomination. This position will lead a team to work directly on the development of biotherapeutics for serious diseases, and will be involved in the identification, characterization, optimization, and selection of lead molecules for multiple programs. This is an excellent opportunity to work with an experienced team and interface directly with multiple research groups, including platform engineering, upstream process development, protein sciences, pharmacology, analytics, and leadership. The ideal candidate will be an enthusiastic, motivated, and innovative individual who is excited to lead a dedicated team.

Responsibilities

• Lead a discovery team of scientists and work closely with other teams, including CMC and upstream process development, to advance sequences to development candidate nomination.
• Responsible for leading a team to deliver discovery outcomes that meet the required needs of project teams.
• Oversee the design, generation, and execution of naive antibody/VHH phage display libraries for multiple programs.
• Design, initiate, and oversee immunization campaigns at various CROs.
• Coordinate the characterization of antibodies/VHHs selected from phage libraries or immunizations, including interpreting, organizing, and presenting the results.
• Optimization of antibody sequence including affinity maturation, humanization, and liability removal.
• Opportunity to grow into project team leadership roles.
  
  

Requirements

• PhD in Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or related scientific field, with 8 years of hands-on experience with antibody discovery and protein engineering.
• Experience with DNA library design and construction, including naive and affinity maturation libraries.
• Experience with small-format antibody humanization and knowledge of sequence liabilities and developability assessment.
• Experience managing people and leading teams.
• Proficiency with PyMOL, MOE, or similar software for protein structure analysis, protein engineering, and library design.
• Highly collaborative with excellent communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and cross-functional team environment.
• Additional experience in the following areas is desirable but not required: Protein expression and purification from E.coli, proficiency in interpreting data from the following assays: analytical SEC, LCMS, SPR, and BLI.
  
  

Benefits

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Employee assistance program
• 401(k)
• Retirement plan
• Life insurance
• Relocation assistance
• Parental leave
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible vacation
• Year-end winter break
  
  

Email Your Resume In Word To

Looking forward to receiving your resume through our website and going over the position with you. Clicking apply is the best way to apply, but you may also:

michael.montevideo@cybercoders.com

• Please do NOT change the email subject line in any way. You must keep the JobID: linkedin : MM41-1838451 -- in the email subject line for your application to be considered.***
  
  

Michael Montevideo - Executive Recruiter

For this position, you must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship for a non-immigrant visa.

CyberCoders will consider for Employment in the City of Los Angeles qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring (Ban the Box) Ordinance.

This job was first posted by CyberCoders on 01/29/2025 and applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled or closed.

CyberCoders is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, status as a crime victim, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. CyberCoders will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local law, including but not limited to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the California Fair Chance Act. CyberCoders is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you need special assistance or an accommodation while seeking employment, please contact a member of our Human Resources team to make arrangements.