Senior Scientist

Role Description The Senior Scientist will be a key contributor to the discovery and development of advanced cell therapies and biologics, with a focus on hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases. This full-time, on-site position in Pleasanton, CA involves designing and executing experimental plans, analyzing complex datasets, and generating actionable insights to advance IASO Bio’s product pipeline. Day-to-day responsibilities include developing and optimizing assays, collaborating cross-functionally with research, process development, and manufacturing teams, and documenting results in accordance with internal and regulatory standards. The Senior Scientist will prepare technical reports and presentations, contribute to publications and regulatory filings, and provide scientific leadership and mentorship within project teams. The role also includes staying current with relevant scientific literature and competitive trends to inform strategy and innovation in ATMP and cell therapy development.

Key Responsibilities

• Independently design, engineer, and optimize lentiviral vector systems for research and therapeutic applications.
• Develop novel lentiviral packaging plasmids, transfer vectors, and helper constructs.
• Design and generate new viral variants, envelope modifications, pseudotypes, and vector mutations to improve transduction efficiency, specificity, safety, and manufacturability.
• Lead molecular cloning, plasmid engineering, sequence optimization, and vector validation.
• Design and execute experiments to evaluate viral infectivity, tropism, gene expression, and functional performance.
• Independently identify technical bottlenecks and develop innovative solutions through systematic troubleshooting.
• Optimize lentiviral production using HEK293T and other producer cell lines.
• Perform lentiviral transduction of multiple primary and immortalized cell types, including human PBMCs and immune cells.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to support cell therapy and gene therapy programs.
• Maintain detailed documentation and present scientific findings internally and externally.
• Contribute to intellectual property generation, patent applications, and scientific publications.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Virology, Cell Biology, Immunology, Biomedical Engineering, or a related discipline (Scientist level). Exceptional candidates with an M.S. and extensive industrial experience will also be considered.
• 3–5 years of hands-on experience in lentiviral vector development within industry or advanced academic research.
• Demonstrated ability to independently design and modify lentiviral vectors, including packaging plasmids, transfer vectors, regulatory elements, and viral components.
• Strong experience in molecular cloning, plasmid construction, sequence optimization, mutagenesis, and vector engineering.
• Extensive experience producing high-titer lentivirus using HEK293T or equivalent producer cell systems.
• Proven experience transducing primary human cells, particularly PBMCs, T cells, stem cells, and other difficult-to-transduce cell types.
• Strong understanding of viral biology, transgene expression, promoter selection, vector architecture, and biosafety considerations.
• Demonstrated ability to independently design experiments, interpret data, troubleshoot complex technical issues, and drive projects with minimal supervision.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and project management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Candidates with one or more of the following experiences are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Inventor or co-inventor on patents related to viral vectors, gene delivery, or cell therapy.
• Experience designing novel lentiviral systems with improved specificity, tropism, targeting, or manufacturing performance.
• Experience utilizing AI-assisted tools or computational methods for vector design, sequence optimization, protein engineering, or experimental planning.
• Experience with CAR-T, in vivo CAR-T, CAR-NK, or other engineered immune cell platforms.
• Experience culturing and differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), including downstream differentiation into therapeutically relevant cell types.
• Experience with antibody engineering, recombinant antibody development, or biologics.
• Familiarity with CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing technologies.
• Experience supporting preclinical development, technology transfer, or CMC activities.
• Experience working under GLP/GMP or translational research environments

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate is a creative scientist who enjoys solving challenging biological problems and has demonstrated the ability to independently transform scientific concepts into robust experimental solutions. We are particularly interested in candidates who have a proven track record of engineering next-generation lentiviral systems rather than simply producing standard lentiviral vectors.

If you are passionate about advancing cell and gene therapy through innovative vector engineering, we would love to hear from you.