ShapeTX® is pioneering the field of programmable RNA medicines to repair the genetic causes of diseases. By merging innovations in AI and RNA technology to generate and analyze hundreds of billions of therapeutic possibilities, ShapeTX is developing breakthroughs in RNA editing, next-generation AAVs, and disruptive gene therapy manufacturing. The ShapeTX platform enables pharma innovators to design treatments across a wide range of diseases, including rare genetic disorders as well as debilitating conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and many more. You can find us at shapetx.com and on LinkedIn and Twitter.
At ShapeTX, we are a dynamic team of professionals who are dedicated and passionate about making cures a reality. Through diversity of thought, scientific knowledge, professional rigor and focus we are merging cutting-edge science with extensive drug development expertise to unlock cures to many debilitating diseases.
Shape Therapeutics is headquartered in Seattle, Washington with a satellite site in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Process and Product Development team at ShapeTX is seeking an experienced, highly motivated individual for the role of Scientist / Senior Scientist, Upstream Development. In this position, you will develop and implement suspension mammalian cell culture procedures for expression of ShapeTx’s novel gene therapy technology platform. Candidates should have expertise in early phase upstream development with specific experience in developing seed train cell culture platforms for monoclonal cell lines. The ideal candidate will have a strong problem-solving attitude, ability to effectively communicate results, ideas, and concepts to cross functional teams, and intellectual motivation to understand and optimize upstream processes for a high expression system.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- The candidate will work as a member of the P&PD team to lead and perform upstream development to create platform processes for the expansion of stable cell lines from vial thaw to bioreactor inoculation to support rAAV viral vector production.
- The main responsibility of this position is to perform of cell culture optimization, media development, other screening activities for optimum cell culture conditions to support high cell density, viability and superior rAAV product quality.
- She/he will be also responsible for working with the P&PD team to support all aspects of process development from small scale screening activities to lab scale material generation for downstream and analytical development.
- Participate in ongoing upstream technology development initiatives, as well as generating new ideas and proposals for future projects
- As part of a growing development team, the candidate may be required to perform activities across the team in addition to upstream experiments (i.e., cell line, bioreactor, and/or analytical development).
- Some weekend work may be necessary to maintain cell lines, perform critical monitoring, etc.
Qualifications:
- PhD in biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, bioengineering or related field with 3-5 years of industry experience in cell line development. Excellent non-PhD candidates will also be considered.
- Demonstrated scientific rigor through peer-reviewed publications in top tier journals
Skills and Experience:
- Proficiency with standard mammalian cell culture techniques involved in creating viral or biological therapeutics
- Working knowledge of media development, cell culture optimization, and/or cell line engineering for optimum growth, yield and/or product quality
- Demonstrated experience in upstream process development
- Experience with high throughput tools, experimental design and analysis as pertains to upstream development
- Strong background in aseptic techniques
- Ability to collaborate and work effectively on cross functional teams, and rapidly adapt technologies and processes to meet project needs
- Strong technical writing skills to author reports and appropriate regulatory filing sections
- Critical thinking and clear verbal communication skills
- Familiarity with GMP requirements and experience with regulatory documents (IND, BLA, etc.)
- Familiarity and experience with current viral vector manufacturing techniques a plus
We aspire to Shape Life! not only through our science, but also through our commitment to foster an inclusive environment that supports diverse perspectives and experiences.