Vaxcyte
Scientist II, Upstream Development for Protein Development and Manufacturing
San Carlos, California, United States. Posted 4 months ago
The role
The Scientist II will design and execute experimental programs to understand bacterial fermentation for the production of carrier proteins. This role involves framing questions, designing studies, and analyzing data to support scalability and technical readiness for clinical and commercial manufacturing.
What you will do
- Design and execute hypothesis-driven fermentation studies
- Apply Design of Experiments and statistical analysis to characterize the process
- Investigate unexpected or anomalous results through root-cause experimentation
- Develop, qualify, and challenge scale-down models
- Design feeding strategies and control approaches for fed-batch fermentation
- Evaluate and implement new experimental approaches and analytical tools
- Integrate and interpret data across upstream, downstream, and analytical functions
- Author study protocols, development reports, and technical memoranda
- Advise colleagues on experimental design and mentor junior team members
- Maintain organized records in electronic notebooks and upstream data systems
Required qualifications
- PhD with 2-5 years of relevant Pharma/Biotech industry experience, MS with a minimum of 7 years, or BA/BS with a minimum of 10 years
- Strong scientific grounding in microbial physiology and metabolism
- Hands-on experience designing and executing laboratory-scale bacterial fermentation studies
- Familiarity with Design of Experiments and statistical analysis software
- Working understanding of bioreactor design, operation, and control
- Strong aseptic technique
- Strong scientific writing skills and a track record of authoring protocols, development reports, or peer-reviewed publications
- Familiarity with regulatory expectations for process characterization and validation of biotherapeutics
- Intellectual curiosity and independence
- Exceptional collaborator
Nice to have
- High-throughput systems such as Ambr® 250
- Understanding of how primary recovery operations influence product quality
- Late-stage process characterization experience
Benefits
- Comprehensive benefits
- Equity component
About the company
Vaxcyte is a clinical-stage vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from bacterial diseases.