Associate Director, Bioassays

Vancouver, WA (Onsite)

Associate Director/Director Bioassays will report to the SVP of Drug Creation and lead a scientific team to advance Absci’s internal and partnered drug creation pipeline and support the development of Absci’s proprietary technologies for drug creation. You will utilize your experience in biologics discovery technologies to design, develop, and optimize cell-based bioassays, ligand-binding potency, cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, ADCC, CDC, ADCP, proliferation, and related assays. Your solid understanding of in vitro pharmacology enables you to make important contributions to Absci’s partnered and internal portfolio of therapeutic programs across the value chain, from target evaluation to therapeutic candidate selection.

Responsibilities:

Research

• You will be engaged in therapeutic research to define the mechanism of action and in vitro pharmacology to guide Absci’s portfolio of innovative therapeutics, as well as provide hands-on support to advance the development of Absci’s proprietary technologies for Drug Creation
• You will drive the advancement of our growing pipeline programs by working closely with the scientific leadership team to evaluate novel targets and collaborate with Drug Creation and Biologics Discovery functions to scale assays in support of broad candidate screening
• Provide end-to-end guidance with regard to cell-based assay development, execution, analysis, and data reporting.
• Critically analyze and present data to facilitate antibody hit, lead, and development candidate selection for various Drug Creation programs
• Contribute to and ensure the quality of Invitro pharmacology study reports, data reviews and interpretations, presentations, scientific publications, and recommendations to development teams and management
• Provide world-class scientific input into Absci research therapeutic research programs
• Evaluate and analyze published scientific and patent literature outside of their immediate area of expertise and apply this understanding to drive innovation
• Ensure that intellectual property generated in disease biology is captured

Leadership

• Collaborate with, motivate, and empower a high-performing team of scientists in successfully executing project milestones under tight timelines
• Contribute to defining a research strategy that clearly connects with business value.
• Manage and report on performance within the department or area of responsibility; set appropriate performance objectives for direct reports and hold them accountable for achieving these; take appropriate corrective action where necessary to ensure the achievement of annual business objectives.
• Evaluate the capabilities of staff within the department to identify gaps and prioritize development activities. Implement the organization's formal development frameworks within the area of responsibility. Coach and mentor others to support the development of the organization's talent pool.
• Effectively split time between leadership activities and hands-on time at the bench.
• Entrepreneurial attitude and solution-oriented leadership style

Collaboration:

• Partner with the Disease Biology and Translational Research team to select relevant cell-based models in support of candidate discovery and in vivo animal models
• Leverage a network of external CROs and Scientific Advisors to ensure efficient and effective execution of critical research projects
• Collaborate with Absci’s scientific leadership team to ensure the success of external partnerships and build a company culture that reflects Absci’s core values.

Communication:

• Communicate scientific concepts, findings, and interpretations at the group, project team, and departmental research meetings
• Contribute to the writing of technical and regulatory documents, patents, scientific manuscripts, etc
• Present our science effectively at internal and external meetings

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in relevant field plus 4-8 years relevant industrial R&D experience or BS/MS plus 8+ years relevant industrial R&D experience
• Track record of significant and innovative biological discoveries in academic, biotech, or Pharma settings
• Deep expertise in the design and development of cell-based bioassays, ligand-binding potency, cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, ADCC, CDC, ADCP, proliferation and related assay systems
• Team leadership experience in an industrial setting (3 years)
• Deep expertise in immunological or oncogenic signaling pathways and mechanistic biology
• Well-informed on all areas of drug development, from target validation through pre-clinical research
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to absorb information and succinctly relay critical information to relevant stakeholders

The salary range for this position is $175, 000 - $220,000/year. Competitive equity package applies. Pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to equity, compensation packages include a wide range of medical, dental, and vision benefits and ability to participate in our employee stock purchase plan.

Absci offers highly competitive salaries and benefits, including medical, dental, vision insurance, unlimited vacation, parental leave, breakfast and lunch for onsite employees, employee assistance program, voluntary life and disability insurance, annual bonus potential, and 401(k) with a generous company match.