Director, Early Safety Immunology

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH; Ridgefield (CT); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 346,000; Full time

Job summary

Boehringer Ingelheim seeks a Director of Early Safety Immunology to lead the immunology safety program across discovery, preclinical, and clinical development. You will assign scientists, set strategy, and deliver high-quality mechanistic data to guide portfolio decisions.

The role requires a Ph.D. in Immunology or equivalent with extensive immune safety experience, strong management skills, and a track record of publication. Onsite/flex arrangement with some remote work will apply.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Immunology or equivalent with roughly ten (10) years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry required.
• Extensive experience in laboratory-based immune safety assessments, mechanistic derisking studies, and the ability to lead the scientists engaged in these studies.
• Well-developed management and supervisory skills, with proven experience in leading and developing staff, including senior scientists.
• Ability to operate effectively in dynamic, evolving environments and guide teams through ambiguity.
• Established reputation and/or publication record, preferably in the fields of immunology, toxicology, or cell/molecular biology.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.

Responsibilities

• Manages a team conducting investigative toxicology studies (focus immune safety) supporting early discovery, preclinical and clinical development; implementing nontraditional approaches to advance/rescue compounds and to predict and/or understand immune mediated toxicities.
• Provides scientific oversight of Early Safety Immunology, including developing strategy, establishing context (internal & external), evaluating output/reports, and ensuring accurate delivery of results to senior management and project teams.
• Maintains operational control of functions within Early Safety Immunology, including balancing assignments, monitoring workload, maintaining standards/compliance and distributing resources.
• Guides interpretation of computational, molecular, in vitro, cellular and immunotoxicology data and supports the utilization of these data for understanding mechanisms of immune safety liabilities, in developing novel biomarkers, and/or in developing predictive & analytical tools.
• Maintains up-to-date expertise in pertinent scientific and regulatory areas and identifies opportunities/trends to develop and guide new avenues of work.
• Ensures fit for purpose and modality driven early safety strategies for innovative immune modulating concepts.
• Provides bottom lines and recommendations to senior management (Global Head, VP & above).
• Complies with all ICH, FDA, EPA, OSHA and company regulations and policies.

Skills

Management

Staff development

Communication

Team leadership

Adaptability

Strategic thinking

Education

Ph.D. in Immunology or equivalent

Job description

As an employee of Boehringer Ingelheim, you will actively contribute to the discovery, development, and delivery of our products to our patients and customers. Our global presence provides an opportunity for all employees to collaborate internationally, offering visibility and the opportunity to directly contribute to the company's success. We realize that our strength and competitive advantage lie with our people. We support our employees in several ways to foster a healthy working environment, meaningful work, mobility, networking, and work-life balance. Our competitive compensation and benefit programs reflect Boehringer Ingelheim's high regard for our employees.

The primary objective of the Director Early Safety Immunology role is to lead Early Safety immunology, tasked with proactively developing and utilizing novel models/technologies to ensure tailored, modality driven safety evaluations of immune therapeutics during discovery, preclinical and clinical development. The incumbent ensures appropriate assignment of scientists to projects, suitable technology and collaborative investments, and delivery of the highest quality mechanistic data/interpretation to support portfolio decisions. Guiding the professional and personal development of staff is a critical responsibility for this role. The position works closely with the other functional heads within Nonclinical/Early Safety Sciences, CPS TAs, CI and Discovery Research to drive early identification, understanding and mitigation of immune‑related safety risks.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Manages a team conducting investigative toxicology studies (focus immune safety) supporting early discovery, preclinical and clinical development; implementing nontraditional approaches to advance/rescue compounds and to predict and/or understand immune mediated toxicities.
• Provides scientific oversight of Early Safety Immunology, including developing strategy, establishing context (internal & external), evaluating output/reports, and ensuring accurate delivery of results to senior management and project teams.
• Maintains operational control of functions within Early Safety Immunology, including balancing assignments, monitoring workload, maintaining standards/compliance and distributing resources.
• Guides interpretation of computational, molecular, in vitro, cellular and immunotoxicology data and supports the utilization of these data for understanding mechanisms of immune safety liabilities, in developing novel biomarkers, and/or in developing predictive & analytical tools.
• Maintains up-to‑date expertise in pertinent scientific and regulatory areas and identifies opportunities/trends to develop and guide new avenues of work.
• Ensures fit for purpose and modality driven early safety strategies for innovative immune modulating concepts.
• Provides bottom lines and recommendations to senior management (Global Head, VP & above).
• Complies with all ICH, FDA, EPA, OSHA and company regulations and policies.
• Excellent collaboration with a wide range of scientists within the IU and maintaining a network of resources both internally and externally to develop projects/strategies appropriately to achieve critical goals.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Immunology or equivalent with roughly ten (10) years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry required.
• Extensive experience in laboratory‑based immune safety assessments, mechanistic derisking studies, and the ability to lead the scientists engaged in these studies.
• Well‑developed management and supervisory skills, with proven experience in leading and developing staff, including senior scientists.
• Ability to operate effectively in dynamic, evolving environments and guide teams through ambiguity.
• Established reputation and/or publication record, preferably in the fields of immunology, toxicology, or cell/molecular biology.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Onsite/Flex*: This position is site based with flexibility for remote working. Working onsite a minimum of 2-3 days per week is required. Remote working norms will be clarified during the interview process.

Eligibility Requirements

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without restriction.
• Must be willing to take a drug test and post‑offer physical (if required).
• Must be 18 years of age or older.

Compensation Data

The base salary range for this position is $230,400.00 - 345,600.00 USD. The position may be eligible for a role‑specific discretionary bonus, relocation assistance, and/or other compensation elements. We continuously review market data and may adjust salary ranges as needed in the future. Actual compensation will be based on job‑related factors such as skills, experience, qualifications, and other factors permitted by law. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, retirement savings opportunities, paid time off, paid holidays, disability and life insurance benefits, and other company‑sponsored benefits. For additional information regarding our benefits and Total Rewards offerings, please click here .