Senior Scientist (Bioscience)

Key Responsibilities

• Seeking a Senior Scientist to advance novel cell therapies for autoimmune and other immunology indications.
• This hands-on research role requires efficient and competent experimental execution, strong cross-functional communication, and proactive project planning to advance programs in a highly-matrixed environment.
• You will plan and execute in vitro functional assays to identify and validate cell therapy targets and modalities.
• You will work with program and project teams to make data-driven decisions to move programs from discovery toward translation.
• You will also help shape study plans and ensure timely delivery of milestones across functions.
• In vitro discovery: Lead cell therapy target validation and characterize activity of engineered cell therapies using human primary cells and functional co-culture assays
• Develop and optimize assays; preferred flexibility to additionally contribute to in vivo study design and execution in partnership with in vivo pharmacology.
• Data and analytics: Apply a rigorous, data-driven approach to experimental design, mechanism-of-action studies, and decision-making; use appropriate analytics and visualization; document work to high standards.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Translate scientific plans and results into clear objectives, risks, and decision points for clear communication across groups and to leadership.
• Project planning and delivery: Collaborate maintain project plans and timelines; focus on experimental efficiency and track progress to milestones.
• Team and communication: Present results and recommendations to teams and leadership; foster a productive and collaborative lab environment.
• Executing complex immunological experiments for cell therapy programs (heavily focused on CAR T cell therapy)
• Running and analyzing assays (cytotoxicity, flow cytometry, T cell proliferation, phenotyping, cytokine quantification, possibly RT-qPCR)
• Planning and performing experiments with minimal hands-on guidance but with some overall project direction
• Supporting current projects and priorities-helping team meet current study needs
• Preparing and analyzing data, documenting results, maintaining lab notebooks
• Potentially conducting data entry/analysis or experimental documentation during periods of lab shutdown
• Participating in team meetings and collaborating with other scientists as needed
• Working fully onsite (Cambridge; role moves from Waltham end of September)
  
  

Qualifications

• Education: PhD in immunology, cell biology, or related field with 0-5 years experience; OR
• BS or MS with 10 years of experience in a related field (industry experience strongly preferred).
• In vitro expertise: Primary human cell culture and functional cell-based assays; multi‑color flow cytometry; multiplex cytokine detection; assay development.
• Cell therapy experience: Work with engineered cell products (e.g., T cell subsets, CAR-based modalities); familiarity with novel CAR or antibody target discovery; experience with CAR T transduction and/or gene editing.
• Data proficiency: Strong experimental design, analysis, and interpretation; proficiency with tools such as FlowJo and Prism.
• Communication: Proven ability to communicate complex scientific concepts clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Able to plan and execute experiments independently with high quality and consistency
• Leadership and collaboration: Strong drive for discovery, scientific curiosity, collaborative mindset.
• Flow cytometry (preference for spectral flow experience)
• Cytotoxicity assays
• Must bring solid background in cell therapy, ideally CAR T cell therapy
  
  

Desired Qualifications

• Advanced analytics: Experience integrating complex datasets to guide decisions.
• Autoimmune disease experience: Familiarity with in vitro and in vivo model systems for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.
• In vivo expertise a plus: Hands-on planning, oversight, and execution of murine in vivo studies using autoimmune disease models; animal handling; standard dosing and engraftment; analysis of pharmacodynamic, immunophenotyping, and efficacy endpoints.
• Must have strong hands-on experience executing complex immunological experiments, especially with minimal supervision
• T cell proliferation, phenotyping, cytokine quantification by MSD or intracellular staining, familiarity with RT-qPCR
• Experience from the discovery side (not process development, assay development, or CMC side)
• Industry experience (biotech or pharma), but strong academic CAR-T background also acceptable
  
  

Benefits

Healthcare Insurance: Synectics offers eligible employees and their dependents healthcare coverage through BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois. Eligibility begins on the 1st day of the calendar month following 60 days of continuous full time employment with Synectics. Premiums are subsidized by Synectics.

Dental Insurance: Synectics offers eligible employees and their dependents a dental plan through MetLife. Eligibility begins on the 1st day of the calendar month following 60 days of continuous full time employment with Synectics.

Vision Insurance: Synectics offers eligible employees vision insurance through VSP. Eligibility begins on the 1st day of the calendar month following 60 days of continuous full time employment with Synectics.

401(k) Plan: The Synectics Inc. Investment Savings Retirement Plan. Synectics offers all employees who are 21 years of age or older the opportunity to invest in the 401(k) Plan on the first of the month following at least 1 calendar year after employment begins.

Synectics is an equal opportunity employer.