Associate Principal Scientist, Immunology Cell Therapy Discovery

AstraZeneca, a global leader in biopharmaceuticals, is committed to discovering and delivering innovative therapies that transform patient outcomes. We are seeking a dedicated, hands-on Associate Principal Scientist to join our Immunology Cell Therapy Discovery team. The role centers on delivering scientific expertise for discovery initiatives with a dual focus on autoimmune/allergic disease biology (e.g., MS, IBD, asthma) and computational biology/AI. 

Accountabilities 

• Expert Knowledge: Cultivate and maintain a comprehensive understanding of autoimmune and allergic disease biology, patient heterogeneity, and the clinical landscape; remain abreast of the latest advancements in immunology, bioinformatics, and machine learning relevant to discovery and translation. 

• Collaborative Innovation: Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to propel discovery efforts focused on immunological diseases, integrating experimental immunology with computational analyses to enhance AstraZeneca’s portfolio. 

• Stakeholder Engagement: Facilitate collaboration with key stakeholders internally and externally to align immunology and computational strategies with broader R&D objectives and goals; effectively communicate complex findings to technical and non-technical audiences. 

• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure adherence to all relevant laws, regulations, and company policies related to the development and delivery of medicines, including data governance and privacy requirements for human datasets. 

• Research Assay and Research Process Development: Lead the development of in vitro assays and cell therapy research processes to assess and validate novel therapeutic strategies and approaches. 

• Computational Discovery and Platform Development: Design and implement bioinformatics and AI/ML workflows for bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing, immune repertoire (TCR/BCR) analyses, multi-omics integration, target and pathway identification, biomarker and endotype discovery; establish reproducible pipelines, robust QC, statistical rigor, and model interpretability to inform decision-making. 

Essential Skills/Experience 

• Advanced Degree: PhD with 5+ years of relevant biotech/biopharma industry experience in Immunology, Computational Biology/Bioinformatics, Molecular or Cell Biology, Bioengineering, or a related field 

• Technical Expertise (Experimental): Demonstrated proficiency in autoimmune and/or   allergic immunology assays, including primary cell isolation/culture, immune functional assays, flow cytometry panel design, cytokine/chemokine profiling, and relevant allergy readouts (e.g., IgE/IgG measurement, degranulation/mediator release). 

• Technical Expertise (Computational): Demonstrated proficiency in bulk/single-cell RNA-seq analysis, immune repertoire (TCR/BCR) analytics, integrative multi-omics, and biomarker/endotype discovery; strong programming skills in R and/or Python with experience in workflow reproducibility, version control, data visualization, and statistical modeling or machine learning. 

• Scientific Expertise: Deep understanding of