Senior Scientist, Research Science

Location: Elkhorn

** Job Description*
* ** Join the Elkhorn, Nebraska Animal Health Team*
* Our Company's Global Animal Health Research & Development (R&D) division is a pioneer in the discovery, development and registration of vaccines and therapeutics for animals.. To strengthen our team responsible for poultry vaccine projects, we are looking for a highly skilled and motivated Senior Scientist to join our R&D team.

** Purpose of the role*
* Reporting to the Global Head of Poultry Bio R&D, this role will drive and provide scientific leadership for multifaceted animal vaccine development projects - partnering with Project Management and senior leadership to guide programs from discovery through late-stage development and licensure. This position combines hands-on scientific expertise with strategic project leadership, requiring both deep technical knowledge and the ability to influence cross-functional teams.

** Key Responsibilities*
* ** Scientific Leadership & Execution*
* + Lead the scientific strategy for the assigned poultry vaccine development projects, with emphasis on poultry disease biology, pathogen-host interactions, candidate selection, and licensure-enabling studies.

+ Timely design, execute, and analyze experiments related to poultry vaccine candidate characterization, immunogenicity assessment, challenge model development, and assay development and validation.

+ Apply deep technical expertise in poultry diseases to independently troubleshoot complex scientific problems and make data-driven decisions that advance project goals.

+ Maintain a strong laboratory presence, with a minimum of 50% of time dedicated to wet-lab experimentation supporting poultry vaccine and disease research.

** Project Leadership*
* + Serve as the scientific lead in the cross-functional poultry vaccine development project teams, providing strategic and technical direction throughout the development process.

+ Lead project management activities for the poultry vaccine programs, including timeline planning, milestone tracking, resource allocation, and cross-functional coordination under defined organizational governances and processes.

+ Define and drive project strategy, ensuring scientific excellence, effective decision-making, and alignment across key functional areas (e.g., Discovery, Process Development, Analytical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical, and Manufacturing).

+ Proactively identify, communicate, and mitigate scientific, clinical, and regulatory risks related to poultry disease models and vaccine development to ensure timely achievement of key milestones.

** Regulatory Compliance & Documentation*
* + Author and review technical documents, including development reports, validation protocols, SOPs, and sections of regulatory submissions for poultry biologics (e.g., USDA/CVB).

+ Ensure all poultry vaccine development activities comply with relevant regulatory requirements and are aligned with the path to product licensure.

+ Serve as a scientific point of contact during regulatory interactions related to assigned poultry vaccine and poultry disease programs.

** Cross-Functional Collaboration*
* + Work closely with colleagues in Clinical, Process Development, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and Manufacturing to ensure seamless progression of poultry vaccine projects from research through commercialization.

+ Represent the scientific function in governance meetings, providing clear technical assessments and recommendations grounded in poultry disease expertise and vaccine development experience.

** Innovation & Scientific Contribution*
* + Stay current with scientific literature, emerging technologies, and industry trends relevant to poultry diseases, poultry pathogens, and poultry vaccine development.

+ Propose and evaluate innovative approaches to improve poultry vaccine design, disease models, assay performance, and development efficiency.

+ Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at external scientific conferences, contributing to the organization's scientific reputation in poultry disease and vaccine research.

** Qualifications*
* *
* Education & Experience:

*
* + Master's degree in a relevant scientific discipline with 10+ years of poultry vaccine R&D experience in the animal health industry, OR a Ph.D. in Poultry Diseases, Veterinary Medicine, Immunology, Virology, Bacteriology, Microbiology, Vaccinology, or a related discipline, with at least 1 year of postdoctoral training in poultry disease research preferred.

+ Demonstrated expertise in poultry diseases and poultry vaccine development is required, including experience with relevant poultry pathogens, disease models, diagnostics, and/or vaccine efficacy studies.

+ Hands-on clinical or field experience with poultry diseases, including field investigations, diagnostics, challenge studies, and disease management, is highly desirable.

** Technical Knowledge:*
* + Strong technical background in poultry diseases, poultry pathogens, disease pathogenesis, diagnostics, and poultry vaccine…