Director, Project Toxicologist, Immune Oncology safety

Title: Director, Project Toxicologist, Immune Oncology safety

Location: Cambridge- UK, Gaithersburg - USA,

Salary:  Competitive

At AstraZeneca, it is our bold ambition to eliminate cancer as a cause of death. This is underpinned by our rich pipeline aimed to deliver innovative treatment options for Oncology patients. 

 We are looking for a motivated and passionate individual to join us as an Director, Project Toxicologist, Immune Oncology Safety with a focus on delivery of transformative immunotherapies to advance our portfolio of innovative anti-cancer medicines in Oncology R&D You will provide non-clinical safety expertise for our diverse Oncology  portfolio with particular focus on T cell engagers (TCE) and other Immuno-Oncology (IO) therapeutics. You will play an integral role in driving progression and acceleration of drug projects through discovery and development by designing innovative regulatory toxicology strategies to address drug target- and modality-related risks.

The position can be  based at one of our vibrant strategic R&D sites in Gaithersburg (MD),  or Cambridge (the UK).

Within AstraZeneca we place a strong emphasis on talent development. You will be able to develop your knowledge and skills by working together with experts and leaders in Immunology R&D, safety science, pharmacology, toxicology, drug discovery and development, imaging, pathology, and translational science.

What you will do

As an Associate Director/Director, Project Toxicologist in Immune Oncology Safety at AstraZeneca, your main accountabilities will be:

• As a core member of multi-disciplinary oncology drug development teams, you will design, deliver, and interpret innovative toxicology strategies to predict, assess and mitigate target- and modality related safety risks.

• Develop and implement innovative solutions to combine regulatory toxicology with ground-breaking science and technologies to progress novel drug candidates to the clinic and through development to the market, in line with business needs.

• To influence project strategy and decision making, you will communicate clear positions on integrated risk assessments in various formats including informing internal decision-making governance bodies and interacting with external health authorities.

• Delivering quality nonclinical summaries and other high-level regulatory documents for internal decision bodies and external health authorities.

• Maintain expertise in regulatory requirements and preclinical safety approaches applied to Drug Candidates and awareness of industry trends.

• Additional responsibilities include providing experienced nonclinical evaluation of in-licensing and out-licensing opportunities and to provide mentorship and guidance to emerging toxicologists with respect to the regulatory environment and support their career growth and development in Immune oncology department.

Requirements for this role

• DABT or PhD in toxicology, immunology, or immunopharmacology with several years of experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry working as a non-clinical safety lead, supporting immune-Oncology programs with planning, execution, interpretation and communication of regulatory toxicology data.

• A proven understanding of drug development and a track record of delivering multiple toxicology programs to IND and through clinical development.

• High level of knowledge and expertise in designing toxicology strategies and delivering in vitro/in vivo and risk assessment of immune related risks / adverse events, driven by mechanism and/or TCE.

• Expertise in immunology or oncology, including T-cell biology.

• Ability to solve problems in a goal-focused fashion with willingness to challenge conventional thinking and capacity to coordinate tasks across multiple projects.

• Excellent verbal and written communication-, interpersonal- and influencing skills. Adopting an inclusive and collegiate working style, and a desire to drive own- and support others development.

Desirable in the role

• Experience with TCE and other large molecules will be desirable.

•  In addition to possessing scientific competence, we value individuals who can contribute to our inclusive, positive, and collaborative working environment.

• DABT is considered an advantage.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we fuel ambitious thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn