Director, Protein Engineering

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. We offer an opportunity for you to learn and grow while making significant contributions to the company’s success.

Director of Protein Engineering – full‑time onsite position in Redmond, WA (relocating to new Bothell, WA facility in fall 2026). This role includes team management, platform ownership and program‑level decision making across the company’s bi‑specific, multi‑specific antibody, and ADC pipeline.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of scientists and research associates, set technical direction, performance expectations and career development paths.
• Build team structure, hiring plans and resource allocation; partner with HR on recruiting, onboarding and retention.
• Establish operating rhythms: project reviews, technical reviews and platform roadmap planning.
• Own and advance the next‑generation yeast display platform: library design, surface display formats, selection workflows and downstream characterization.
• Drive integration of the yeast display platform with the FUSE automation wet lab, including liquid handling, automated sorting workflows, cell‑free expression and LIMS/data infrastructure.
• Define platform performance metrics (throughput, diversity, hit rate, develop ability) and lead continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and onboard new technologies and build budget cases for capital investments.
• Direct display‑based discovery and engineering campaigns for bi‑specific and multi‑specific antibodies, ADC binder components and effector molecules.
• Lead engineering strategy for affinity modulation, stability and develop ability optimization, epitope masking, conditional activation (pH, protease, etc.).
• Represent FUSE on project teams and portfolio reviews; translate program needs into platform deliverables and timelines.
• Ensure data quality, reproducibility and integrity; oversee SOPs, LIMS usage and documentation standards.
• Use NGS, flow cytometry and computational tools to inform iterative protein design and lead selection.
• Stay current on protein engineering, display technology and lab automation; bring relevant advances into the platform.

• PhD in protein engineering, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, bioengineering or a related field.
• Minimum 10 years of industry experience in biologics drug discovery and development.
• Minimum 8 years of hands‑on experience with yeast display, including library design and construction, FACS‑based selection and sorting, deep sequencing analysis and downstream characterization of selected binders.
• Demonstrated experience building or substantially advancing a yeast display platform, including integration with laboratory automation.
• Track record leading and developing a team of scientists and research associates, with clear examples of hiring, mentoring, performance management and career progression.
• Delivered engineered binders or therapeutic leads into a biologics pipeline, ideally including bi‑specific or multi‑specific formats.
• Strong working knowledge of antibody and binder formats (IgG, Fab, scFv, VHH) and engineering strategies including affinity maturation, stability and develop ability optimization and conditional activation.
• Experience leading display campaigns alongside complementary discovery modalities (phage display, immunization‑derived repertoires, in silico/AI‑based design) is strongly preferred.
• Excellent scientific judgment and ability to make timely, decisive calls on campaign strategy, hit triage and resource allocation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to represent the function to senior leadership and external partners.

• Experience in oncology biologics, ADCs, or T cell engagers.
• Familiarity with computational and machine learning approaches to library design and binder optimization.
• Experience presenting at scientific conferences, contributing to patents and publishing in peer‑reviewed journals.

The expected base salary range is $180,000 – $240,000 annually. Additional compensation will depend on qualifications and experience.

Benefits include 100 % paid employee premiums for medical, dental and vision insurance; short‑term and long‑term disability; a 401(k) plan with 50 % company match up to 3 % and a 5‑year vesting schedule; 15 PTO days per year; sick leave; and 11 paid holidays.

Syst Immune is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome diverse talent and encourage all qualified applicants to apply.