Director, Protein & Cell Sciences

Overview

Metaphore Bio, a generative AI drug design company focused on creating a new class of functional antibodies, is seeking a leader with strong scientific and technical skills to enable the delivery of high-quality therapeutic proteins.

The Director of Protein & Cell Sciences at Metaphore will lead a focused team responsible for high-throughput production and characterization of antibodies and related proteins, and for cell culture, engineering, and scale-up of antibody/protein production up to the multi-gram scale to support research activities. Responsibilities include delivering high-quality antibodies and protein reagents for multiple simultaneous biologics discovery programs, enabling discovery platform optimization, managing a team of direct and indirect reports, and coordinating both in-house and outsourced protein expression, purification, and characterization activities.

As a member of the Biotherapeutics & Enabling Technologies leadership team, this scientific leader will work closely with the head of the unit to establish and maintain a Protein & Cell Sciences function that maximizes the ability the potential for Metaphore’s platform to deliver transformative therapeutics to patients.

• Scientific and Functional Leadership
• Lead an engaged and entrepreneurial team of 4-5 scientists that contributes significantly to the advancement of the internal and partnered portfolio, develops novel platforms and techniques, and delivers well-characterized, high-quality development candidates.
• Establish, maintain, and communicate best practices for biochemistry and cell biology techniques including expression, production, purification, and analytical and functional characterization of antibodies and related therapeutic proteins.
• Ensure high quality data management including the use of electronic laboratory environments/LIMS for data storage and retrieval, to maximize the potential of AI/ML methods to deliver high-quality leads.
• Partner with research informatics and laboratory automation teams to identify and implement opportunities for improved workflows, more efficient protein production and characterization, and parallelized therapeutic discovery.
• Make highly impactful contributions to programs as a scientific leader and expert on protein therapeutics.

• Strategy and Execution
• Implement and manage outsourced protein production and characterization work with CROs that complements internal resourcing.
• Serve as a major interface with downstream CMC functions and external CDMOs to enable seamless progression of molecules into and through DC nomination, process development, and early manufacturing.
• Accountable for resourcing decisions for programs within the HTPP function.
• Partner with peers on the Biotherapeutics leadership team to manage resources, budgets, and operations.

• Team Building and External Engagement
• Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing HTPP unit.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability by partnering with other functions within the Biotherapeutics unit and across Metaphore.
• Partner with external collaborators, CROs, and technology providers to expand capabilities and accelerate timelines.
• As a member of the Biotherapeutics leadership team, facilitate group operations and strategic decisions, contribute to the development of the culture and people within the group, and contribute to broader company-wide strategic initiatives.

• PhD in Protein Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Structural Biology, or a related discipline, or non-PhD with appropriate skills and experience.
• 10+ years of experience in biologics drug discovery and development.
• Deep knowledge of antibody expression, purification, and characterization workflows, including the implementation of automation solutions to enable high-throughput protein production.
• Experience managing biologics CROs to expand protein production/characterization capabilities and capacity.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with an established track record of leading and developing people and teams in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial biotech environment.

We are seeking…