Principal Scientist, Upstream Development (Biotech)

Location: Rahway, New Jersey, United States; US and Puerto Rico residents only; domestic relocation listed; 10% travel required.

Salary: $173,200–$272,600 per year, plus potential annual bonus and long-term incentive.

Company

hirify.global develops biologics manufacturing processes, manufacturing technologies, and commercial products through its Biologics Process Research & Development organization.

What you will do

• Lead biologics upstream process development for first-in-human and commercial processes, developing high-yield, robust, and scalable cell culture processes.
• Provide technical direction for process development, characterization, commercialization, regulatory filings, PPQs, and BLAs.
• Advance upstream platform strategy and lead process improvement and pipeline-facing innovation initiatives.
• Develop collaborations with academia, industry partners, vendors, and technology providers to evaluate and adopt new process technologies.
• Monitor external patents and literature, present and publish scientific work, and pursue patenting strategies.
• Supervise, coach, and educate junior scientists while leading projects and cross-functional collaborations.

Requirements

• Ph.D. with 8+ years of industry experience, Master’s with 10+ years, or bachelor’s degree with 14+ years of industry experience in Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, or a related field.
• Proven accomplishments in upstream process and technology development, with a strong scientific publication and presentation record.
• Experience with CHO fed-batch cell culture and working knowledge of downstream processing and analytics.
• Hands-on experience with cell culture bioreactors, including microbioreactors, bench-scale and pilot-scale systems, scale-up, and technology transfer.
• Working knowledge of cell culture media, CHO cell biology and metabolism, DOE statistics, and computational fluid dynamics.
• Ability to plan, execute, analyze, and document all stages of cell culture process development.
• Ability to work in a matrixed environment and collaborate with internal and external partners, including vendors.
• Knowledge of the biologics CMC development cycle, initiative, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving ability.
• Demonstrated ability to develop staff, guide career development, and build strong collaborative teams.

Nice to have

• Experience with intensified inoculum and perfusion process development.
• Experience with early- and late-stage commercial process development, technology transfer, scale-down model qualification, and process characterization.
• Experience with high-throughput microbioreactor systems and advanced in situ analytics for process monitoring and control.
• Expertise in media development and media or solution chemistry.
• Experience with data science and predictive modeling approaches such as metabolic flux analysis, omics, machine learning, PAT integration, and computational fluid dynamics.
• Experience leading cross-functional program development teams.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative, inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives and collective problem solving.
• Medical, dental, vision, and other insurance benefits for employees and families.
• Retirement benefits including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days.
• Visa sponsorship is available.

Hiring process

• Accommodation support is available during the hiring process for eligible candidates.
• Employment is regular, with no valid driving license required.