Senior Scientist, Transplant Immunology & Gene Therapy

California, US residents

The job details are as follows:

We are the first publicly-traded biotech or pharmaceutical company to take the form of a public benefit corporation. Our public benefit purpose is to provide a brighter future for patients through the development of novel pharmaceutical therapies; and technologies that expand the availability of transplantable organs.

United Therapeutics (Nasdaq:
UTHR ) seeks to travel down the corridors of indifference to develop treatments for rare, deadly diseases. We were founded in 1996 by a family seeking a cure for their daughter’s pulmonary arterial hypertension (
PAH ). Today, we have six FDA-approved therapies that treat PAH, pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (
PH-ILD ) and neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer. Our near-term pipeline seeks to develop additional therapies for PAH and pulmonary fibrosis (
PF ).

The cure for end-stage life-threatening diseases like PAH, PH-ILD, PF, and many others is an organ transplant, but only a small percentage of donated organs are available to address the vast need. For this reason, we are working to create manufactured organs to address the shortage of kidneys, hearts, lungs, and livers available for transplant. We believe an unlimited supply of tolerable, transplantable organs will eliminate the transplant waiting list and cure end-stage organ diseases for which transplant is not currently an option.

The Senior Scientist will play an important technical role in advancing immunomodulatory and gene modification strategies for ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) and enhanced lung development. This individual will design, execute, and interpret studies focused on transplant immunology, inflammatory signaling, immune cell interactions, and gene delivery approaches within engineered or donor lungs. The role requires strong hands-on expertise in immunology and translational lung biology, with preference for experience in transplant immunology and gene therapy platforms.

• Design and execute studies focused on innate and adaptive immune responses in donor and engineered lungs during EVLP
• Evaluate immunomodulatory strategies to improve lung preservation, reduce inflammation, and enhance post-transplant outcomes
• Assists with gene delivery strategies (AAV, lentiviral, adenoviral, mRNA/LNP, or other platforms) for lung-directed therapies
• Optimize transduction efficiency, durability of expression, and immunologic safety profiles
• Characterize immune cell populations and inflammatory pathways using flow cytometry, multiplex cytokine assays, transcriptomic approaches, and histologic analysis
• Support preclinical transplant studies, including experimental design, tissue analysis, and data interpretation
• Develop and validate molecular and functional assays (qPCR, ddPCR, ELISA, flow cytometry, multiplex assays, etc.)
• Collaborate cross-functionally with device, manufacturing, analytical, translational, and regulatory teams
• Contribute to IND-enabling studies and regulatory documentation
• Mentor junior scientists and research associates
• Contribute to publications, patents, protocols, abstracts, and scientific presentations
• Present data internally and externally
• Assist with EVLP procedures and translational lung studies

• Master’s Degree in immunology, transplant biology, molecular biology, pulmonary biology, gene therapy, or related field
• 8+ years of related biotech/pharma industry experience with a Master’s Degree or 5+ years of related biotech/pharma industry experience with a PhD
• Strong background in immunology, including immune cell biology, inflammatory signaling, or transplant immunology
• Experience with viral vector systems (AAV, LVV, AdV) or non-viral gene delivery…