Principal Scientist, mRNA Vaccines and Technology

ROLE SUMMARY

You will contribute to RNA Platform improvements for our viral vaccine programs. You will work closely with the Viral Vaccine Director to develop and apply interdisciplinary approaches to understand the mechanisms of action of different types of RNA-based viral vaccine drug substance and lipid nanoparticle drug products and participate in the development of next-generation RNA vaccine prototypes.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the multi-step design, planning and execution of experiments to characterize the RNAs and their formulations for in vitro studies

• Develop, establish, and execute novel technology platforms (multi-cellular engineered culture systems, 3D bioprinting platform, high throughput live imaging system) to monitor vaccine-mediated immune responses, including T cell, Treg, NK cell or PBMC based immunotherapy assays

• Partner with Director to contribute to scientific discussions and strategic internal/external collaborations aimed at advancing the RNA Platform

• Mentor junior scientists’ research activities and provide technical guidance when necessary

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD in Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Molecular Cell Biology or a related field

• 3+ years relevant industry experience in pre-clinical research and in vaccine technical development OR

• 6+ years relevant post doc experience

• Experience in drug discovery process accumulated in prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine development 

• Comprehensive knowledge and hands on experience in mRNA element engineering including UTRs, codon, and structure optimization for enhanced translational outputs

• Comprehensive knowledge and hands on experience with ex vivo cell-based assays to monitor vaccine-mediated B & T cell immunogenicity

• Hands on experience with cell culture (primary immune cells and established cell lines) and the utilization of cell-based assays to characterize RNA-based products (e.g., Multicolor flow cytometry, ELISA/MSD/ELLA, Taqman RT-qPCR, Luminescence, and single cell RNAseq)

• Strong communication skills—written and verbal

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience establishing vivo/ex vivo models for vaccine development

• RNA secondary structure and RNA folding characterization and mRNA stability analysis experience

• Experience performing and analyzing mRNA translation through polysome profiling and/or ribosome profiling

• Experience with data analysis of NGS-based technologies (e.g, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, scRNA-Seq, Long-Read sequencing)

• Experience managing a small team

NON-STANDARD WORK SCHEDULE, TRAVEL OR ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

• On-site, laboratory-based. Must be able to access or utilize reliable transportation to the Pearl River site

• Experimental designs may occasionally necessitate being on-site early/late or on weekends as needed

• Potential to work with/come in contact with infectious materials

Work Location Assignment: On Premise
Relocation assistance available

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $99,900.00 to $166,500.00. In addition, this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 15.0% of the base salary and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program. We offer comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support each of life’s moments. Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage. Learn more at Pfizer Candidate Site – U.S. Benefits | (uscandidates.mypfizerbenefits.com). Pfizer compensation structures and benefit packages are aligned based on the location of hire. The United States salary range provided does not apply to Tampa, FL or any location outside of the United States.

Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.

Sunshine Act

Pfizer reports payments and other transfers of value to health care providers as required by federal and state transparency laws and implementing regulations.  These laws and regulations require Pfizer to provide government agencies with information such as a health care provider’s name, address and the type of payments or other value received, generally for public disclosure.  Subject to further legal review and statutory or regulatory clarification, which