Senior Scientist, Nonclinical Safety, Cell Therapy

Senior Scientist, Nonclinical Safety, Cell Therapy

At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, “Who are you working for?”—a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.

Position Summary

At Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) we're on the cutting edge of cellular immunotherapy, harnessing the power of ex vivo and in vivo CAR-T technologies to revolutionize cancer treatment. Our mission is bold: to develop cell therapies that overcome tumors resistant to current approaches and bring hope to patients worldwide.

The Cell Therapy Drug Safety Evaluation team in Seattle is seeking a passionate, creative, and driven research scientist to help shape the future of cell therapy safety. If you thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and are excited by the challenge of pioneering new platforms and technologies, we want to hear from you! The role is primarily laboratory-based within our Nonclinical team in Seattle.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with talented colleagues to evaluate new ex vivo CAR and in vivo CAR T-cell products and tackle toxicology challenges in cutting-edge therapeutic strategies, including gene editing and cell engineering.
• Design and execute sophisticated experiments to predict on- and off-target risks, developing innovative cell and tissue-based in vitro models and molecular assays.
• Build deep expertise in engineered T-cell therapies, focusing on preclinical safety evaluation and contributing to the advancement of transformative medicines.
• Communicate your findings clearly and effectively to project teams and collaborators, preparing impactful presentations and technical reports.
• Deliver on short-term project goals while driving innovation that will shape the future of safety evaluation for T-cell therapy modalities.

  Qualifications & Experience

  • Bachelor's degree with 7+ years, Master's degree with 5+ years, or PhD with 2+ years of relevant academic and/or industry experience.
  • Scientific expertise demonstrated through a strong publication record and/or scientific presentations.
  • Experience designing, executing, and interpreting in vitro functional assays to support immunology, gene editing, or cell therapy research programs.
  • Excellent laboratory skills in cell and molecular biology, with expertise in several of the areas listed below.
  • Experience culturing primary cells (e.g., monocytes, lymphocytes, fibroblasts, and hematopoietic stem cells) and immortalized mammalian cell lines.
  • Candidates with experience in analytical methods for functional characterization of T cells, including activation, cytotoxicity, cytokine secretion, proliferation, and phenotypic profiling will be prioritized.
  • Proficiency with common laboratory techniques, including multicolor flow cytometry, cell imaging, ELISA, Luminex, Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) assays, Incucyte-based live-cell analysis, and Western blotting.
  • For flow cytometry, proficiency with flow cytometry assay development, panel design, and data analysis using FlowJo or similar software.
  • Proficiency in several molecular biology techniques, such as genome editing, shRNA-mediated gene silencing, gene expression analysis, and/or droplet digital PCR (ddPCR).
  • Experience generating genetically modified cell lines, including transfectants and/or gene knockout cell lines is desirable.
  • Experience with viral vector-mediated gene transfer (e.g., lentiviral and/or retroviral transduction) is desirable.
  • Experience with fluorescence and/or confocal microscopy, live-cell imaging, and image analysis is a plus.