Assistant Lead, TCR Discovery Team

Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar; New York (NY); On-site; USD 129,000 - 146,000; Full time

Job summary

Weill Cornell Medicine in New York seeks an Assistant Lead, TCR Discovery Team to drive a high-throughput discovery engine for tumor-specific TCRs, supporting downstream engineering and translational development.

The role requires a PhD with 8+ years post-PhD in immunology or related field, experience in TCR discovery and preclinical development, and ability to lead cross-functional teams. The position is on-site in NYC with required flexible hours.

Qualifications

• 8+ years post-PhD experience in academia or industry.
• Prior experience in TCR discovery, complex immune assays and preclinical development is required.
• Experience working across functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement end-to-end personalized TCR discovery workflow, including tumor-reactive T cell identification, TCR cloning and characterization.
• Design and implement advanced de-risking methods and workflows to assess alloreactivity, unintended HLA interactions, off-target toxicity risk including X-scan, peptide library screens and library-on-library HTS.
• Interpret and report complex campaigns for identification of TCRs against known tumor antigens.
• Integrate data across functional potency, specificity, and safety to support go/no-go decisions on specific TCRs, their cloning, specificity validation, and safety de-risking.
• Prepare translational packages (reports, assay descriptions, validation summaries) supporting IND/CTA-enabling preclinical data.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams to integrate learnings and advance gene therapy initiatives.
• Operate with highest integrity and ethics, conduct all experiments following lab, department, and college policies and procedures.
• Mentor and train junior scientists and staff, promote scientific rigor, collaboration, independent thinking, and career advancement.
• Prepare scientific abstracts and articles, publish results in research journals, and present findings at conferences

Skills

High-throughput TCR discovery

TCR cloning

Functional validation

Safety de-risking

Cross-functional collaboration

Scientific communication

Education

PhD in Immunology, Molecular/Cell Biology, Genetic Engineering or related field

Job description

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Title: Assistant Lead, TCR Discovery Team

Title: Assistant Lead, TCR Discovery Team

Org Unit: MCC Laboratories

Work Days:

Weekly Hours:35.00

Exemption Status:Exempt

Salary Range:$128,700.00-$146,100.00

*As required under NYC Human Rights Law Int 1208-2018 - Salary range for this role when Hired for NYC Offices

Position Summary

The Assistant Lead, TCR Discovery, is responsible for supporting the development of a rigorous, high‑throughput discovery and preclinical development engine that identifies high throughput and with high confidence tumor‑specific TCRs for downstream analysis, engineering, and translational development.

Job Responsibilities

• Design & implement end-to-end personalized TCR discovery workflow incl. tumor-reactive T cell identification, TCR cloning & characterization, specificity validation, & safety de-risking leading to the selection of personalized TCRs for clinical application
• Design and implement advanced de-risking methods and workflows to assess alloreactivity, unintended HLA interactions, off-target toxicity risk including X‑scan, peptide library screens and library‑on‑library HTS
• Interpret and report complex campaigns for identification of TCRs against known tumor antigens
• Integrate data across functional potency, specificity, and safety to support go/no‑go decisions on specific TCRs, their cloning, specificity validation, and safety de‑risking
• Prepare translational packages (reports, assay descriptions, validation summaries) supporting IND/CTA‑enabling preclinical data
• Collaborate with cross functional teams to integrate learnings and advance gene therapy initiatives
• Operate with highest integrity and ethics, conduct all experiments following lab, department, and college policies and procedures
• Mentor and train junior scientists and staff, promote scientific rigor, collaboration, independent thinking, and career advancement.
• Prepare scientific abstracts and articles, publish results in research journals, and present findings at conferences

Education

• PhD in Immunology, Molecular/Cell Biology, Genetic Engineering or related field

Experience

• A minimum of 8+ years post-PhD experience in academia or industry setting.
• Prior experience in TCR discovery, complex immune assays and preclinical development is required.
• Experience working across functional teams.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Deep expertise in high-throughput TCR discovery, functional validation, and safety de‑risking.
• Ability to work in a fast‑paced and milestone‑oriented environment
• Passion for scientific innovation and the bridging of rigorous basic science with translational impact.
• Familiar with advancing candidates from discovery through preclinical validation to IND enabling.
• Highly organized and detail‑oriented with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Licenses and Certifications

Working Conditions/Physical Demands

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

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