Sr. Research Associate, Process Development Upstream

• Responsible for mammalian cell culture process development and optimization including, but not limited to, recombinant protein production, cell adaptation to suspension or serum-free conditions, media/feed screening comparing growth and productivity in various media, growing and maintaining cells in shake flasks, wave and stirred tank bioreactors.

also include seed train development, production bioreactor inoculation, maintenance, sampling, and feeding, and cell culture harvest/clarification.

• Work with many different kinds of mammalian cell lines (CHO-GS, CHO-DG44, CHO-M, CHO-S, NSO, HEK, etc) utilizing aseptic techniques, and apply a good understanding of the effect of general metabolic pathways (nutrient usage, expression system, etc.) physical (morphology, pH, osmolality, etc.) as well as mechanical (agitation speeds, oxygen and pH control, etc.) parameters on cell growth and recombinant protein production.
• Preparation of various cell culture media and feed formulations from scratch.
• Operate, troubleshoot, and maintain cell culture equipment such as bioreactors and analyzers.
• Scale up and tech transfer cell culture and harvest processes to the Manufacturing department.
• Provide technical support with cell culture solutions to Process Development and Manufacturing teams.
• Lead studies to optimize/develop cell culture conditions/processes and be the scientific lead on client projects.
• Analyze growth, production and nutrient usage data, create data spreadsheets and graphs in Excel or JMP, document data and findings for traceability and regulatory requirements, write technical and summary reports, generate slide decks, and lastly, communicate findings and participate in scientific discussions within the group and with clients.
• Recommend alternatives, research new methods and techniques and proactively seek out senior personnel to discuss potential solutions to problems.
• Supervise and train junior cell culture team members.
• Work with minimal supervision on projects of moderate to complex scope.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• This position requires a bachelor’s degree in the biological or physical sciences with a minimum of 4-5 years of relevant experience and demonstrated working knowledge of scientific principles.