Scientist / Senior Scientist – Viral Vector Engineering (Lentiviral Systems)
About the Role
We are seeking a highly motivated Scientist / Senior Scientist with deep expertise in lentiviral vector engineering, cell therapy, and gene delivery technologies. The ideal candidate will play a leading role in designing, engineering, optimizing, and evaluating next-generation lentiviral systems for cell and gene therapy applications.
This position requires an individual who can independently conceive scientific strategies, design viral vectors from first principles, execute complex experiments, troubleshoot technical challenges, and drive projects from concept to completion.
Demonstrated experience designing and engineering lentiviral packaging systems beyond routine cloning or virus production is highly preferred.
Key Responsibilities
- Independently design, engineer, and optimize lentiviral vector systems for research and therapeutic applications.
- Develop novel lentiviral packaging plasmids, transfer vectors, and helper constructs.
- Design and generate new viral variants, envelope modifications, pseudotypes, and vector mutations to improve transduction efficiency, specificity, safety, and manufacturability.
- Lead molecular cloning, plasmid engineering, sequence optimization, and vector validation.
- Design and execute experiments to evaluate viral infectivity, tropism, gene expression, and functional performance.
- Independently identify technical bottlenecks and develop innovative solutions through systematic troubleshooting.
- Optimize lentiviral production using HEK293T and other producer cell lines.
- Perform lentiviral transduction of multiple primary and immortalized cell types, including human PBMCs and immune cells.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to support cell therapy and gene therapy programs.
- Maintain detailed documentation and present scientific findings internally and externally.
- Contribute to intellectual property generation, patent applications, and scientific publications.
Required Qualifications
- Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Virology, Cell Biology, Immunology, Biomedical Engineering, or a related discipline (Scientist level). Exceptional candidates with an M.S. and extensive industrial experience will also be considered.
- 3–5+ years of hands-on experience in lentiviral vector development within industry or advanced academic research.
- Demonstrated ability to independently design and modify lentiviral vectors, including packaging plasmids, transfer vectors, regulatory elements, and viral components.
- Strong experience in molecular cloning, plasmid construction, sequence optimization, mutagenesis, and vector engineering.
- Extensive experience producing high-titer lentivirus using HEK293T or equivalent producer cell systems.
- Proven experience transducing primary human cells, particularly PBMCs, T cells, stem cells, and other difficult-to-transduce cell types.
- Strong understanding of viral biology, transgene expression, promoter selection, vector architecture, and biosafety considerations.
- Demonstrated ability to independently design experiments, interpret data, troubleshoot complex technical issues, and drive projects with minimal supervision.
- Excellent communication, documentation, and project management skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Candidates with one or more of the following experiences are strongly encouraged to apply:
- Inventor or co-inventor on patents related to viral vectors, gene delivery, or cell therapy.
- Experience designing novel lentiviral systems with improved specificity, tropism, targeting, or manufacturing performance.
- Experience utilizing AI-assisted tools or computational methods for vector design, sequence optimization, protein engineering, or experimental planning.
- Experience with CAR-T, in vivo CAR-T, CAR-NK, or other engineered immune cell platforms.
- Experience culturing and differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), including downstream differentiation into therapeutically relevant cell types.
- Experience with antibody engineering, recombinant antibody development, or biologics.
- Familiarity with CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing technologies.
- Experience supporting preclinical development, technology transfer, or CMC activities.
- Experience working under GLP/GMP or translational research environments.
Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate is a creative scientist who enjoys solving challenging biological problems and has demonstrated the ability to independently transform scientific concepts into robust experimental solutions. We are particularly interested in candidates who have a proven track record of engineering next-generation lentiviral systems rather than simply producing standard lentiviral vectors.
If you are passionate about advancing cell and gene therapy through innovative vector engineering, we would love to hear from you.
Pay: From $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
