Senior Scientist, Advanced Ocular In Vitro Models

Job Title: Senior Scientist, Advanced Ocular In Vitro Models

Location: Cambridge, MA

About the Job

Join the engine of Sanofi’s mission — where deep immunoscience meets bold, AI-powered research. In R&D, you’ll drive breakthroughs that could turn the impossible into possible for millions.

Sanofi is seeking a Senior Scientist to lead the development and application of advanced ocular in vitro models supporting our Ophthalmology pipeline. In this role, you will apply deep scientific knowledge to design, implement, and optimize physiologically relevant models for retinal diseases, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and other vision-related indications. You will work proactively across multidisciplinary teams, lead research project teams and programs, influence project strategies, and mentor colleagues while driving innovation in disease modeling and therapeutic evaluation.

This position offers the opportunity to contribute strategically to the future of ophthalmology therapeutics and advance vision-preserving treatments worldwide.

About Sanofi:
We’re an R&D-driven, AI-powered biopharma company committed to improving people’s lives and delivering compelling growth. Our deep understanding of the immune system – and innovative pipeline – enables us to invent medicines and vaccines that treat and protect millions of people around the world. Together, we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives.
 

Main Responsibilities

• Drive the development and integration of advanced ocular in vitro platforms to accelerate early- and late-stage ophthalmology drug discovery.

• Lead the evaluation and validation of differentiation protocols for iPSC-derived ocular cell types (e.g., RPE, RGCs, microglia, endothelial cells) for disease modeling and drug discovery.

• Integrate automation and robotics to scale workflows and improve reproducibility, including developing automated liquid handling protocols, implementing high-throughput imaging and data acquisition systems, and optimizing robotic platforms for multi-step differentiation processes.

• Evaluate and implement innovative technologies (co-cultures, organoids, MPS, organ-on-chip, bioprinting) to improve model complexity and translational relevance.

• Develop and validate assays for retinal degeneration, retinal immunology, and neuroinflammation to support mechanistic studies and therapeutic evaluation.

• Influence project strategies by providing scientific expertise and resource planning for team objectives.

• Deliver high-quality scientific presentations and documentation to support milestones and decision-making.

• Communicate findings through internal forums and external publications/presentations; maintain involvement in professional societies.

• Mentor junior scientists and foster a culture of scientific excellence and collaboration.

About You

Basic Qualifications

• Earned Ph.D. in a relevant scientific discipline plus 3+ years postdoctoral or industry experience.

• Expertise in iPSC-based 2D/3D differentiation of ocular cell types for disease modeling and drug discovery.

• Expertise with robotics, automated cell culture systems, and/or protocol scaling.

• Expertise in qPCR, -omics technologies, immunocytochemistry, and advanced imaging and analysis.

• Demonstrated track record of scientific contributions through publications, patents, or external presentations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with CRISPR-based screening approaches for functional genomics and target validation.

• Proven ability to develop and optimize 3D ocular models (organoids, co-cultures, microphysiological systems).

• Expertise in automating differentiation protocols for scalability and reproducibility.

• Demonstrated leadership in research programs relevant to ocular disease, including cross-functional collaboration and strategic planning.

• Experience developing and validating assays for retinal degeneration, retinal immunology, and neuroinflammation.

• Experience with computational and statistical analysis tools (e.g., R, Python).

<