Associate Director, LNP Manufacturing

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 204,000; Full time

Job summary

Serif Biomedicines is seeking an Associate Director to lead a team of scientists and engineers in building the next generation of Programmable Medicines. The role requires strong scientific leadership, deep domain experience in lipid nanoparticle manufacturing and scale-up, and a passion for mentoring in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment.

You will drive LNP scale-up from small R&D formulations to NHP scale, lead upstream and downstream process development, and partner across functions to

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, or biomedical engineering with industry experience.
• Hands-on experience scaling nucleic acid LNP formulations across upstream, downstream, and analytics.
• Knowledge of mixing platforms (T-mix, impingement, microfluidics) and TFF.
• Familiar with LNP analytical methods (DLS, HPLC/CAD, LC-MS, encapsulation assays).
• Solid understanding of lipid and LNP design principles and their impact on product attributes.
• General understanding of molecular biology and nucleic acid therapeutics.
• Experience managing and mentoring research associates and junior scientists.

Responsibilities

• Lead LNP scale-up from small R&D formulations to NHP scale in support of a development candidate.
• Drive upstream and downstream process development, including mixing platforms and filtration.
• Scale targeted LNPs (tLNPs), including conjugation, purification, and analytics.
• Run micro- to mid-scale formulation on microfluidics platforms to support platform advancement.
• Integrate QC profiling and method development (DLS, HPLC/CAD, LC-MS) into process development.
• Lead and mentor a team of scientists and engineers, collaborating across departments for in vivo studies.

Skills

LNP formulation scaling

Process development

Microfluidics

Analytical methods

Team leadership

Molecular biology

Education

PhD in chemistry or related field

Tools

T-mix

impingement

microfluidics

TFF

DLS

HPLC

LC-MS

Job description

Company Summary

Serif Biomedicines is a privately held, early-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to gene therapy that can address currently untreatable diseases.

Company Summary

Serif was founded by Flagship Pioneering, an innovation enterprise that conceives, creates, resources, and grows first-in-category life sciences companies. Flagship Pioneering has created over 100 groundbreaking companies over the past twenty years, all of which are pioneering novel and proprietary biological, industrial, and engineering approaches to solve major needs in human health and sustainability. These companies include Moderna (MRNA), Syros Pharmaceuticals (SYRS), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MCRB), Generate Biomedicines, Tessera Tx, Evelo Biosciences (EVLO), and Indigo Agriculture.

Position Summary

We are seeking an outstanding Associate Director to join us in ideating and building the next generation of Programmable Medicines and lead a team of talented scientists and engineers. We’re looking for strong scientific leadership skills, a strong drive to innovate, and deep domain experience in lipid nanoparticle manufacturing and scale up. More broadly, we’re looking for an individual who brings scientific rigor, passion for leadership and mentoring of a diverse team, obsessive attention to detail, intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, and a desire to innovate in a highly collaborative environment. This individual will have the opportunity to work in a dynamic and fast-paced entrepreneurial environment, working as part of a highly motivated and growing team.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead LNP scale-up from small R&D formulations to NHP scale in support of a development candidate. This merges the first bullet and the “ensure successful scale-up of drug product formulation and purification unit operations” bullet.
• Drive upstream and downstream process development, including mixing platforms (T-mix, impingement), TFF, and freeze/storage buffer optimization.
• Scale targeted LNPs (tLNPs), including conjugation, purification, and associated analytics.
• Run micro- to mid-scale formulation on microfluidics platforms (e.g., NanoAssemblr) to support platform advancement alongside cross-functional partners.
• Integrate QC profiling and method development (DLS, HPLC/CAD, LC-MS, encapsulation distribution assays) into process development.
• Lead and mentor a team of scientists and engineers, and partner across departments to deliver for in vivo studies.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, or biomedical engineering, plus relevant industry experience
• Hands-on experience scaling nucleic acid LNP formulations across upstream, downstream, and analytics
• Working knowledge of mixing platforms (T-mix, impingement, microfluidics) and TFF
• Familiarity with LNP analytical methods (DLS, HPLC/CAD, LC-MS, encapsulation assays)
• Solid understanding of lipid and LNP design principles, stability, and their impact on critical product attributes
• General understanding of molecular biology and nucleic acid therapeutics
• Experience managing and mentoring research associates and junior scientists

Preferred Experience

• Experience scaling in a GMP environment and managing CDMOs
• Experience taking LNPs to the clinic, including agency interactions
• Experience with tLNP conjugation at scale
• Lipid synthesis, purification, and compositional analysis

Location

In person, Cambridge, MA

Values and Behaviors

Flagship is an experiment in institutional, entrepreneurial, and innovation practiced in the context of a small company with an insurgent mindset. We are seeking individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit, strong communication skills, and comfort in working in and contributing to a dynamic and cross-functional team environment.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, we encourage you to apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background. The level of the role will be commensurate with the education and years of experience of the identified candidates.

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

The salary range for this role is $154,000 - $203,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Serif Biomedicines currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Serif Biomedicines's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.