Associate Director​/Director, Protein Sciences

Associate Director Or Director Of Protein Sciences

Syst Immune is a leading and well-funded clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company located in Redmond, WA and Princeton, NJ. It specializes in developing innovative cancer treatments using its established drug development platforms, focusing on bi-specific, multi-specific antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Syst Immune has multiple assets in various stages of clinical trials for solid tumor and hematologic indications. Alongside ongoing clinical trials, Syst Immune has a robust preclinical pipeline of potential cancer therapeutics in the discover and IND-enabling stages, representing cutting-edge biologics development.

We offer an opportunity for you to learn and grow while making significant contributions to the company's success. We are seeking an Associate Director or Director of Protein Sciences to lead antibody target protein expression, purification, and characterization in support of oncology biologics programs from early discovery through IND-enabling activities.

This role will build and lead a team responsible for delivering high-quality protein material in functionalized formats suitable for evaluation of monoclonal, bispecific, and multi-specific antibodies and ADC-ready molecules, and will partner closely with Protein Engineering, Antibody Discovery, Analytical Sciences, and external partners to advance programs from concept to candidate selection and IND submission. The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on expertise in mammalian protein expression, purification of protein complexes, and biophysical characterization, structural biology along with strong scientific judgment and people leadership skills.

This individual will serve as a technical and operational hub for critical protein production across the discovery portfolio, ensuring that molecule quality, structural reagent relevance, and timelines meet the needs of fast-moving oncology programs. A key aspect of this role is enabling antibody structural and functional characterization through protein target engineering and rigorous characterization. This role is full-time onsite at our Bothell, WA location.

• Lead and manage the Protein Sciences group, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and career development of scientists and research associates
• Serve as the target protein science subject-matter expert on cross-functional program teams; present strategy, results, and risk assessments to senior leadership
• Lead the Protein Sciences function responsible for end-to-end protein production workflows, including construct design, transient and stable mammalian expression (HEK
  293, CHO), high-throughput and preparative purification, and quality control
• Direct purification process development for complex membrane proteins, nano-disc, and multi-molecule complexes, resolve antibody bindings site, PPI site occlusions and functional site prediction.
• Establish and oversee biochemical and biophysical characterization capabilities (SEC, HPLC/UPLC, CE-SDS, cIEF, DSF/DSC, SPR/BLI, mass spectrometry) to confirm identity, purity, stability, and binding
• Design and implement automation, high-throughput screening workflows, and structured data capture to increase departmental capacity, quality, and reproducibility
• Stay current with advances in protein engineering, expression technologies, and analytical methods, and champion adoption of new technologies where they add value

• Ph.D. in biochemistry, protein chemistry, molecular biology, bioengineering, or a related field; M.S. or B.S. with commensurate additional experience will be considered
• 8+ years (Director) or 6+ years (Associate Director) of relevant industry experience in biologics discovery and development
• 3+ years of people-management experience leading scientists in a protein sciences, protein production, or biologics discovery setting
• Deep hands-on expertise in mammalian expression systems and multi-modal antibody purification (Protein A/L, ion exchange, HIC, SEC, mixed-mode)
• Demonstrated experience producing and characterizing complex biologics, including:
• Membrane proteins
• Dimer and heterodimer…