Scientist II, Downstream Development for Protein Development and Manufacturing
Vaxcyte
San Carlos, CA, USA
Posted on Thursday, September 7, 2023
Company Profile:
Vaxcyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCVX) is a vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases. The Company is developing broad-spectrum conjugate and novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent, broad-spectrum, carrier-sparing pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) being developed for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The Company is re-engineering the way highly complex immunizations are made through modern synthetic techniques, including advanced chemistry and our exclusively licensed XpressCFTM cell-free protein synthesis platform. Unlike conventional cell-based approaches, the Company’s system for producing difficult-to-make proteins and antigens is intended to accelerate its ability to efficiently create and deliver high-fidelity vaccines with enhanced immunological benefits. Vaxcyte’s pipeline also includes VAX-31, a 31-valent PCV candidate; VAX-A1, a prophylactic vaccine candidate designed to prevent Group A Strep infections; VAX-PG, a therapeutic vaccine candidate designed to slow or stop the progression of periodontal disease; and VAX-GI, a vaccine program designed to prevent Shigella. The Company is driven to eradicate or treat invasive bacterial infections, which have serious and costly health consequences when left unchecked. For more information, visit www.vaxcyte.com.
Vaxcyte, headquartered in San Carlos, CA, went public in June 2020 and currently has a team of approximately 180 employees and anticipates continued, significant growth. Following equity offerings in October 2022 and April 2023, which generated over $1.1 billion in net proceeds, the Company’s balance sheet is further strengthened to advance its pipeline of novel vaccines, including VAX-24. These financings followed positive data readouts from Vaxcyte’s Phase 1/2 proof-of-concept study evaluating VAX-24 in adults aged 18-64 and Phase 2 study in adults 65 and older. The Company believes these results support a best-in-class potential for VAX-24, which was designed to replace the current standard-of-care in adults and children. VAX-24 is being investigated for the prevention of IPD, which can be most serious for infants, young children, older adults and those with immune deficiencies or certain chronic health conditions. Given the global impact of pneumococcal disease remains significant, the public health community continues to advocate for vaccines that can offer broader protection to prevent IPD. Vaxcyte’s PCV franchise, consisting of VAX-24 and VAX-31, is designed specifically to address this need and has the potential to deliver the broadest protection for this very serious disease. We believe that our PCVs could receive regulatory approval based on successful completion of clinical studies utilizing well-defined surrogate immune endpoints, consistent with how other PCVs have obtained regulatory approval in the past, rather than requiring clinical field efficacy studies.
Summary:
Vaxcyte is looking for an energetic and talented individual to join Vaxcyte’s Vaccine Product Development organization as an Associate Scientist of downstream development and manufacturing within the Protein Development and Manufacturing group. The successful candidate will have the following skills and qualities:
· An exceptional team member that contributes to the team and fosters a highly collaborative work environment.
· A confident individual who speaks up, is open to input, and remains focused on achieving the best results to achieve company goals.
· A curious scientist/engineer who enjoys lab work, the process of discovery, and applied innovation.
· The ability to analyze and clearly present data, draw conclusions, and communicate salient points concisely.
· A strong sense of ownership and accountability; commitment to Vaxcyte’s mission.
Essential Functions:
- Drive internal troubleshooting and optimization efforts of the downstream purification process for multiple protein antigens across the Vaxcyte pipeline; the purification process must be robust, scalable, and cost-effective.
- Collaborate with Analytical Development to implement and run assays to assess product quality and purity.
- Generate material for analytical method and conjugation development.
- Participateincross-functionalprojectteamsandprovideregularprogressupdates.
- Generate data packages to facilitate technology transfer activities for the process developed at Vaxcyte to external CMOs for GMP production.
Requirements:
- PhDwith4+yearsofindustryexperience.
- Strong protein purification knowledge and experience, including familiarity with AKTA lab-scale and preparative chromatography systems and UNICORN software.
- Proficiency running gel- and column-based analytical methods a plus; such methods may include SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, IEF, SEC, HIC, IEX, and binding affinity or activity assays (such as MSD or ELISA).
- Experience and understanding of depth, nominal, and tangential flow filtration.
- Strong interpersonal skills, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- All Vaxcyte employees require vaccination against COVID-19.
Reports to: Associate Director, Downstream Development for Protein Development & Manufacturing
Location: San Carlos, CA
Compensation:
The compensation package will be competitive and includes comprehensive benefits and an equity component.
Salary Range: $123,000 - $140,000
Send resumes to:
Vaxcyte, Inc.
825 Industrial Road, Suite 300
San Carlos, CA 94070
We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.