Lead in TIL Reprogramming

* As required under NYC Human Rights Law Int  - Salary range for this role when Hired for NYC Offices

Responsible for leading a focused team advancing next-generation tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies. This role seeks to reprogram and optimize TILs through integrated media, pharmacologic, and gene engineering strategies to enhance potency, persistence, and clinical efficacy. This position sits at the interface of deep biological discovery and disciplined product development, translating mechanistic insights into scalable processes and IND-ready cell therapy candidates. The successful candidate will play a key role in disrupting current TIL paradigms and advancing transformative therapies from concept to early clinical development.

• Recruit, lead and manage a small, multidisciplinary team focused on tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) reprogramming and optimization.
• Design and execute strategies to enhance TIL function including through media and metabolic interventions (nutrients, cytokines); drugs targeting key pathways; gene engineering approaches (CRISPR, viral/non-viral editing, synthetic circuits).
• Drive process innovation and disruption, challenging current TIL manufacturing paradigms to improve potency, persistence, scalability, and cost.
• Integrate deep mechanistic discovery (e.g., T cell biology, tumor microenvironment, translatome/epitope discovery) with translational objectives.
• Develop and optimize robust, scalable workflows for TIL expansion, activation, and modification suitable for clinical translation.
• Lead preclinical development, including:
  In vitro functional assays and high-dimensional profiling, in vivo biodistribution and persistence, efficacy and toxicity analyses, biomarker strategy development.
• Translate discoveries into disciplined product development, defining target product profiles and critical quality attributes (CQAs); establish data-driven decision frameworks to prioritize candidates and advance programs through stage gates.
• Contribute to and coordinate IND documentation, including authorship of relevant sections (CMC, pharmacology/toxicology summaries, investigator brochure inputs).
• Collaborate cross-functionally with process development, CMC, regulatory, clinical, and close external partners.
• Mentor team members and foster a high-performance, innovative, and translationally focused culture.

• Ph.D. in immunology, cancer biology, bioengineering, or related field, with postdoctoral training and relevant experience in T cell therapy an appropriate field.

• More than 10 years of hands‑on expertise in TIL biology and methods, T cell immunology, genetic T cell engineering, CRISPR screening, molecular biology, mouse models, and clinical translation.

• Proven ability to lead projects/teams and translate discovery into preclinical development, with familiarity in process development and scalability for cell therapies.
• Working knowledge of IND-enabling studies (pharmacology, tox) and regulatory documentation, with strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Familiarity with institutional and federal regulatory documentation and compliance standards.
• Effectively manages biospecimen handling and sample integrity practices.
• Knowledge of data management systems and electronic data integrity principles.

Ability to work flexible hours, evenings and weekends, when requested for special projects.

Cornell welcomes students, faculty, and staff with diverse backgrounds from across the globe to pursue world-class education and career opportunities, to further the founding principle of “any person, any study.” No person shall be denied employment on the basis of any legally protected status or subjected to prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran…