Description

About Immunai:

Immunai is an engineering-first platform company aiming to improve therapeutic decision-making throughout the drug discovery and development process. We are mapping the immune system at unprecedented scale and granularity and applying machine learning to this massive clinico-immune database, in order to generate novel insights into disease pathology for our partners - pharma companies and research institutes. We provide a comprehensive, end-to-end solution - from data generation and curation to therapeutics development, that continuously supports and validates the capabilities of our platform. 

As drug development is becoming increasingly inefficient, our ultimate goal is to help bring breakthrough medicines to patients as quickly and successfully as possible.

Immunai is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

About the role:

As a (Senior) Director of Preclinical Programs, you will lead a team of scientists to design and engineer immune-modulating biologics, and advance candidate molecules from hit-to-lead by integrating traditional preclinical pharmacology approaches with Immunai’s platform-enabled workflows for preclinical asset evaluation. You will identify, prioritize and optimize promising lead molecules for potential partnering or investment for internal development.

Location: New York, NY (hybrid model)

What will you do?

• Grow and manage a team responsible for generating, evaluating and progressing multiple candidate therapeutic molecules through preclinical development 
• Serve as program lead responsible for planning, execution and monitoring of multiple parallel preclinical programs
• Work closely with discovery team to collaboratively identify promising targets and concepts to progress to preclinical development
• Partner closely with multiple teams, including Product Management and Computational R&D, to identify opportunities to develop and apply platform solutions to address key challenges in preclinical development
• Serve as key subject matter expert on all matters related to biologics engineering, preclinical asset evaluation for internal teams, and external partnerships 
• Work closely with the Business Development and Commercial teams to evaluate potential in-licensing opportunities and support potential partnering discussions of preclinical stage assets       
• Interface directly with Immunai leadership to effectively represent progress and learnings from preclinical programs and support effective strategic planning and decision making
• Expected to serve as a cultural role model for Immunai’s core values

Requirements

Required qualifications:

• A PhD in immunology or related discipline and 10+ years of postdoctoral experience including 5+ years in an industry setting leading one or more preclinical immunology/ immuno-oncology asset through to IND
• Extensive management experience, including growing and directly managing teams of 5+ individuals, including PhD-level scientists, in a heavily matrixed environment
• Experience engineering, characterizing and advancing immune targeting biological modalities (e.g., antibodies, bispecific engagers, cytokines, immunoconjugates, cell therapies; experience working with multiple distinct modalities is highly preferred)
• Experience developing and applying diverse preclinical model systems (e.g., in vitro, in vivo, patient-derived ex vivo) for translational studies of MoA, efficacy, and safety of immune-modulating drug candidates
• Thorough understanding of IND regulations and guidelines and first-hand experience in preparing and submitting IND applications 
• Experience in interfacing with computational teams - highly desirable
• Experience managing external partnerships with CROs and CDMOs
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and experience working with diverse stakeholders and teams, including senior management and clinical development teams

Desired personal traits:

• You want to make an impact on humankind
• You prioritize “We” over “I”
• You enjoy getting things done and striving for excellence
• You collaborate effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures
• You have a growth mindset
• You are candid, authentic, and transparent

Compensation: This position offers a salary typically between $200,000 and $275,000. There is an opportunity to consider higher compensation above this range based on business need, candidate experience, and or skills.

*Please note that when you apply for a position at Immunai, your application will be processed via our recruitment platform Comeet. You can read more about how we process personal data here: https://www.immunai.com/privacy-policy/