JOB DESCRIPTION

Department: Research

Reports to: Team Leader, Research Cell Line and Exosome Production Team

Direct Reports: N/A

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

We are seeking an ambitious, highly motivated, and experienced Scientist to play a key role in the development and research of exosome production. This role is within the EV production team in Research and would specialise in DSP purification techniques as well as other duties within the EV production team such as cell culture.

This is an exciting opportunity for a talented scientist to take a leading role in the development of de novo processes for a new class of biotherapeutic products. The Research team also transfers and supports, as required processes internally to Research Manufacturing/CMC team

We are looking for an individual who will thrive in a start-up environment, be able to coach and motivate, be able to innovate and relish the sense of accomplishment each day brings in our exciting company.

This position is based at Evox Therapeutics facility at the Oxford Science Park, Oxford, UK and reports to the Principal Scientist, Downstream Process Development

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Develop, optimise, and establish robust, scalable DSP processes for the research team. With a view that these processes could be tech transferred into the research manufacturing department
• Working within the EV production team to build up a research platform for cell lines. Helping to develop DSP purification platforms for multiple cell lines and projects. This would also include general Cell culture work such as passaging.
• Provide scientific and technical leadership, in downstream process development. Be the SME for DSP equipment and processes within research, keeping up to date of emerging new technologies and implement improvements.
• Lead resolution of technical and scientific issues that affect, or have the potential to affect, the development and execution of downstream processes.
• Deliver product specific and platform documentation such as SOPs, process flow diagrams and reports ensuring appropriate quality of documentation to support inclusion of data and information.
• Work collaboratively with CMC, Cell Line Development, Analytical Development and Quality to develop and establish new techniques and recommend alternative approaches and potential solutions to downstream processing issues.

• Ensure a healthy and safe working environment and compliance GLP standards.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Education and Qualifications:

• PhD or BSc/MSc in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Food Science, Biological Sciences, Biochemical Engineering or a related field.

A highly motivated ambitious scientist with:

• Ability to work independently.
• Good conceptual, analytical thinking, problem solving, and organisational skills.
• Ability to work in a high paced team environment, meet deadlines, and prioritise work from multiple projects.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with demonstrated ability to work within a team environment.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and projects at the same time and be able to change priorities as needed by the business.

Experience & knowledge

• PhD and 3+ years relevant industrial laboratory experience in biologics and/or cell/viral product downstream process development or BSc/MSc with 5+ years relevant industrial laboratory experience as above.
• Experience in downstream research/process development or protein purification, from cell culture harvesting through to purified product. This would preferably have been gained working with protein biologics and/or viral vectors.
• Experience with chromatography systems such as Akta Pure/Go/Avant or purifier and a good understanding of chromatography techniques e.g., IEX/SEC/HIC/Affinity and Unicorn software is required.
• Experience and understanding of tangential flow filtration is required.
• Experience of routine analytical techniques such as SDS-PAGE, Western Blotting and biochemical assays is desirable. Experience of ELISA, cell-based assays, HPLC, NTA and flow cytometry would be a bonus.
• Experience in the application DoE. Experience using JMP would be a bonus.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements for the development and manufacture of biologics using from mammalian cell culture is desirable.

KEY BEHAVIOURAL ATTRIBUTES – ALL STAFF

People with Purpose – We are innovative and creative in the way we work and deliver. We treat each other with respect and dignity and work collaboratively to learn from each other’s strengths.

Driven to Deliver – We strive to deliver our objectives, and then look for our next challenge. We recognise our achievements and celebrate our successes.

Agile and Accountable – We respond to challenges impacting our progress and find creative and innovative solutions to overcome obstacles. We are brave and not afraid to change our approach to achieve a positive outcome in optimum time.

Candid and Constructive – We communicate with honesty and transparency throughout the team. We value giving and receiving constructive feedback to each other and our partners.