Senior Scientist, Research Science

Job Description

Join the Elkhorn, Nebraska Animal Health Team 
Our Company's Global Animal Health Research & Development (R&D) division is a pioneer in the discovery, development and registration of vaccines and therapeutics for animals.. To strengthen our team responsible for poultry vaccine projects, we are looking for a highly skilled and motivated Senior Scientist to join our R&D team.

Purpose of the role 
Reporting to the Global Head of Poultry Bio R&D, this role will drive and provide scientific leadership for multifaceted animal vaccine development projects — partnering with Project Management and senior leadership to guide programs from discovery through late-stage development and licensure. This position combines hands-on scientific expertise with strategic project leadership, requiring both deep technical knowledge and the ability to influence cross-functional teams.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific Leadership & Execution

• Lead the scientific strategy for the assigned poultry vaccine development projects, with emphasis on poultry disease biology, pathogen-host interactions, candidate selection, and licensure-enabling studies.

• Timely design, execute, and analyze experiments related to poultry vaccine candidate characterization, immunogenicity assessment, challenge model development, and assay development and validation.

• Apply deep technical expertise in poultry diseases to independently troubleshoot complex scientific problems and make data-driven decisions that advance project goals.

• Maintain a strong laboratory presence, with a minimum of 50% of time dedicated to wet-lab experimentation supporting poultry vaccine and disease research.

Project Leadership

• Serve as the scientific lead in the cross-functional poultry vaccine development project teams, providing strategic and technical direction throughout the development process.

• Lead project management activities for the poultry vaccine programs, including timeline planning, milestone tracking, resource allocation, and cross-functional coordination under defined organizational governances and processes.

• Define and drive project strategy, ensuring scientific excellence, effective decision-making, and alignment across key functional areas (e.g., Discovery, Process Development, Analytical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical, and Manufacturing).

• Proactively identify, communicate, and mitigate scientific, clinical, and regulatory risks related to poultry disease models and vaccine development to ensure timely achievement of key milestones.

Regulatory Compliance & Documentation

• Author and review technical documents, including development reports, validation protocols, SOPs, and sections of regulatory submissions for poultry biologics (e.g., USDA/CVB).

• Ensure all poultry vaccine development activities comply with relevant regulatory requirements and are aligned with the path to product licensure.

• Serve as a scientific point of contact during regulatory interactions related to assigned poultry vaccine and poultry disease programs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with colleagues in Clinical, Process Development, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and Manufacturing to ensure seamless progression of poultry vaccine projects from research through commercialization.

• Represent the scientific function in governance meetings, providing clear technical assessments and recommendations grounded in poultry disease expertise and vaccine development experience.

Innovation & Scientific Contribution

• Stay current with scientific literature, emerging technologies, and industry trends relevant to poultry diseases, poultry pathogens, and poultry vaccine development.

• Propose and evaluate innovative approaches to improve poultry vaccine design, disease models, assay performance, and development efficiency.

• Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at external scientific conferences, contributing to the organization's scientific reputation in poultry disease and vaccine research.

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• Master’s degree in a relevant scientific discipline with 10+ years of poultry vaccine R&D experience in the animal health industry, OR a Ph.D. in Poultry Diseases, Veterinary Medicine, Immunology, Virology, Bacteriology, Microbiology, Vaccinology, or a related discipline, with at least 1 year of postdoctoral training in poultry disease research preferred.

• Demonstrated expertise in poultry diseases and poultry vaccine developmen