Immuno-Oncology Lead: TCE & Cell Therapy

Moderna; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Moderna's Research and Early Development team seeks an Associate Director to lead Immuno-Oncology programs focused on T cell engagers and in vivo cell therapies. You will guide 1–2 scientist leads, shape strategy, and drive preclinical development with emphasis on tumor biology and translational relevance.

You will oversee in vitro/in vivo studies, collaborate with engineering teams, and manage cross-functional program reviews to ensure rigorous data-driven decisions and timely progression to

Qualifications

• PhD in immunology, oncology, or a related biological sciences discipline with 7+ years of relevant post-PhD experience.
• Deep expertise in immuno-oncology and immune cell biology, with substantial experience advancing immune cell-directed therapeutic programs such as T cell engagers, CAR-T therapies, TCR-based therapies, CAR-M therapies, or closely related modalities.
• Experience managing scientists or research associates in a dynamic environment, with demonstrated ability to set priorities, execute multiple research workstreams in parallel, and develop talent.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific and people leadership for 1-2 scientist-level research leads responsible for emerging TCE and in vivo cell therapy programs, setting clear priorities, experimental strategies, and decision points across multiple programs.
• Lead programs from early conceptualization and target assessment through mechanism-of-action studies, lead optimization, candidate selection, and preclinical development readiness.
• Define and challenge therapeutic hypotheses, target-product concepts, and program strategies by integrating tumor biology, immune cell biology, translational evidence, modality attributes and liabilities, and patient selection considerations.
• Guide the design and interpretation of in vitro and in vivo studies that characterize potency, selectivity, mechanism of action, resistance mechanisms, durability, and safety-related biology for therapeutic candidates.
• Partner with antibody engineering team to optimize therapeutic design, including architecture, binding properties, valency, avidity, activation thresholds, and other attributes that influence efficacy and therapeutic index.
• Anticipate key efficacy and safety risks for immune cell-directed therapeutics and guide experimental strategies to characterize on-target/off-tumor activity, cytokine biology, immune cell dysfunction or exhaustion, and other modality-relevant liabilities.
• Establish stage-appropriate research plans, success criteria, and data packages that enable progression of programs from discovery into formal preclinical and development activities.
• Lead cross-functional research teams and program reviews, ensuring that key scientific questions are addressed with fit-for-purpose experiments and that data are translated into clear program decisions and next steps.
• Identify and evaluate new immuno-oncology targets, combination strategies, and therapeutic concepts that can expand the emerging Immuno-Oncology portfolio and address limitations of existing approaches.
• Collaborate broadly across computational biology, protein engineering, cell engineering, mRNA and delivery sciences, nonclinical safety, translational medicine, CMC, clinical development, and external partners to advance programs efficiently and with scientific rigor.

Skills

Immuno-oncology

Leadership

Project leadership

In vivo models

T cell biology

Mechanistic studies

Translational science

Team management

Cross-functional

Education

PhD in Immunology

Tools

Flow cytometry

Animal models

Bioinformatics

Job description

Moderna's Research and Early Development team seeks an Associate Director to lead Immuno-Oncology programs focused on T cell engagers and in vivo cell therapies. You will guide 1–2 scientist leads, shape strategy, and drive preclinical development with emphasis on tumor biology and translational relevance.

You will oversee in vitro/in vivo studies, collaborate with engineering teams, and manage cross-functional program reviews to ensure rigorous data-driven decisions and timely progression to