About the Role:

Stylus Medicine is seeking an innovative, intellectually curious and team-oriented Molecular and Cellular Biologist at the Associate Director level to join our Immunology team. This individual will apply their deep knowledge of cell and molecular biology to co-develop non-viral delivery methods for mRNA delivered large serine recombinases (LSRs) and their associated DNA payloads. This individual will work closely with our highly experienced formulation and platform technologies teams to design, conduct and analyze experiments that assess and improve payload integration in T cells at single pre-defined genomic sites. Additionally, this role will contribute and co-develop payloads that durably and/or conditionally express cargos, including CARs, eTCRs, cytokines, transcriptional effectors and other clinically relevant cell modulators. In addition to scientific responsibilities, the Associate Director, Molecular & Cellular Biology will lead a small team of talented, innovative biologists. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Immunology, this individual will be an integral part of our team, driving forward our mission to revolutionize the field of immunotherapy.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities: 

• Conceptualize and develop experimental designs and systems to evaluate and improve on the ability of LSRs to insert DNA cargos efficiently and specifically in primary immune cell types via non-viral delivery

• Assess literature and field to creatively design and test novel approaches for optimization strategies 

• Conceptualize and design payloads for in vivo T cell therapeutic programs

• Develop experimental systems to evaluate and improve on the ability of payloads to modify cell behavior 

• Actively monitor the latest literature and technologies in the field that may have applications to our scientific and corporate goals to inspire or inform innovation 

• Lead, manage and develop scientific personnel 

• Work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary team members and external partners to initiate and progress programs consistent with overall strategy

• Communicate scientific concepts, strategies, and results across the organization and to various high-level stakeholders 

• Drive and deliver results on time, and present results both internally and externally, including publications 

• May lead or manage collaborations with external partners ranging from academic, CROs and corporate entities to advance programs

Qualifications and Skills: 

• PhD (or equivalent) in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Virology, Immunology or related field of study

• 7+ years of post-graduate experience with a minimum of 5 years of drug discovery experience in the pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology industry  

• Proven track record of leading drug discovery programs in immunology, immunotherapy or engineered immune cell therapy

• A clear track record of accomplishment as demonstrated by clearly identifiable achievements such as patents, new initiatives, contributions to INDs and publications

• Experience with design-test-optimize cycles in discovery phase of functional therapeutically relevant gene therapy/cell therapy cargos 

• Experience with designing and testing immune cell relevant cargo 

• Previous experience in the areas of nuclear import of DNA and innate immune response pathways is desired

• Experience managing and developing scientists as direct reports 

• Ability to excel in cross-functional collaborations both internal and external 

• Ability to think critically, extract and synthesize simple principles from complex datasets and communicate them effectively