Fractional Head of Translational Development/Fractional Chief Development Officer
Sift Bio is building a cutting-edge proprietary platform that combines AI, metagenomics, and high-throughput T-cell screening to discover epitopes that drastically amplify pre-existing immune memory responses, unlocking targeted, effective, and safe treatment for cancers and autoimmune diseases where current therapies fall short. Spinning out of UC Berkeley, the Sift Bio team brings together AI-driven discovery and deep translational immunology, with a proven track record of advancing novel immunotherapies from early concept through IND-enabling development. Collectively, the team has built and scaled high-throughput discovery platforms and led T-cell, peptide, and cell-based immunotherapy programs across leading academic labs, biotech startups, and biopharma. Merging this experience with proprietary datasets and computational pipelines, Sift Bio is shaping a new frontier in immunotherapy, unlocking the power of pre-existing immunity to create a fundamentally new class of treatments for immune dysfunctions. Our ultimate goal is to bring durable disease control to every patient.
We are seeking a Fractional Head of Translational Development/Fractional Chief Development Officer to act as a senior scientific leader developing an off-the-shelf, T-cell-directed cancer immunotherapy. This role will be accountable for defining the path from DC nomination -> regulatory path into first-in-human trials, and for supporting development of hit nomination/lead optimization strategy. This fractional consulting position will work directly with Sift Bio’s CEO and CTO to define the preclinical data package, and translational strategy. This is a chance to help define a high-impact discovery program at the intersection of T-cell biology, immune modulation, and next-generation immunotherapy. You will guide the generation of preclinical evidence, scientific strategy, and translational foundation needed to advance innovative therapies for patients with serious immune dysfunctions. This role will be part-time and can be fully remote or hybrid onsite at 733 Industrial Road, San Carlos, CA.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
T-cell modulator development
- Direct experience developing T-cell-based immunotherapy (e.g., TCR-Ts/CAR-Ts, therapeutic cancer vaccines, TILs, T-cell engagers).
- Build a data package that goes beyond standard efficacy readouts, one that de-risks the program and informs clinical strategy.
- Define inclusion criteria, inform which patient population to target, and build TPPs.
- Advise what a potent antigen-specific T-cell modulator looks like and set explicit go/no-go bars: predicted and confirmed HLA presentation, immunogenicity threshold, HLA population coverage, and off-target/self-proteome (autoimmunity) risk.
- Develop and implement a cohesive strategy to inform formulation, including adjuvant selection, peptide design, mRNA vs peptide, etc.
Translational & regulatory
- Support regulatory interaction (pre-IND/IND or CTA, FDA CBER for biologics/cancer vaccines; ex-US pathways such as Australian CTN a plus given our go-to-clinic lean).
- Research and represent relevant nonclinical/CMC frameworks to scope programs, with qualified regulatory/CMC counsel engaged for filings.
CMC literacy & vendor network
- Select CDMOs and CROs to work with for peptide synthesis, LNP/mRNA, formulation development, and potency/release-assay development, and will oversee credible vendor selection.
- Support the long-lead items (e.g., potency/bioactivity assay development) and can sequence them.
What you'll do here (first 6-12 months):
- Working directly with the CEO/CTO, refine hit-nomination and lead optimization strategy, as well as support the development of DC nomination criteria centered around standard efficacy and safety benchmarks for off-the-shelf, peptide-based T-cell modulators
- Defines strategy for building a data package that informs clinical strategy, including target patient population, value in defining standard inclusion criteria (e.g. antigen confirmation vs HLA), etc
- Build the CMC/CDMO scoping and the early regulatory strategy for first-in-human.
Strongly preferred experience:
- Has taken at least one therapeutic cancer vaccine or T-cell-based immunotherapy from discovery through Phase 2 or beyond.
- Familiarity with the readouts required to inform antigen selection for immunotherapy design.
- Solid-tumor/GI oncology drug development experience.
- Comfortable operating at seed-stage startup pace and under capital constraints.
Engagement & logistics
- Fractional/interim to start, with a defined day/week commitment and a path to expanded scope; open to a full-time hire at a later stage.
- NDA required before any discussion of proprietary mechanism, sequences, or data.
- IP assignment and standard confidentiality terms.
Pay: $225.00 - $350.00 per hour
Benefits:
Application Question(s):
- Please tell us about your experience with therapeutic cancer vaccines or T-cell-based immunotherapy from discovery through Phase 2.
Experience:
- T cell biology : 5 years (Required)
Location:
- San Carlos, CA 94070 (Preferred)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in San Carlos, CA 94070
