Lead Scientist — Antibody Discovery & Engineering

BioSpace; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 143,000 - 257,000; Full time

Job summary

Moderna is seeking a Principal Scientist to join the Antibody Discovery team within Therapeutics Research. You will lead discovery campaigns from concept to nomination, guiding strategies across target evaluation, immunization design, B cell screening, and display‑based engineering.

You will oversee antibody generation across IgG, Fab, scFv and multispecific formats, and characterize candidates using binding and developability assays, mentoring scientists and coordinating CRO work.

Qualifications

• PhD in immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or related field with 5+ years post‑doc/industry.
• Proven leadership of therapeutic antibody discovery campaigns from concept through nomination.
• Deep expertise in antibody biology, structure, platforms, and optimization.
• Hands‑on experience with immunization‑based discovery, B cell methods, and repertoire analysis.
• Experience managing outsourced discovery and CRO collaborations.

Responsibilities

• Lead integrated antibody discovery and engineering campaigns from concept to lead nomination.
• Develop strategies for target evaluation, immunization design, and data‑driven lead selection.
• Oversee antibody generation workflows: immunizations, display campaigns, maturation, humanization, and formatting.
• Characterize antibodies across formats and run developability and binding assays.
• Mentor scientists, manage external partners, and present findings to leadership.

Skills

Antibody discovery

Antibody engineering

Project leadership

B cell screening

Immunization design

Display technologies

Molecular biology

Data analysis

Team mentoring

Education

PhD in immunology

Tools

Biacore

Carterra

Octet

Job description

Moderna is seeking a Principal Scientist to join the Antibody Discovery team within Therapeutics Research. You will lead discovery campaigns from concept to nomination, guiding strategies across target evaluation, immunization design, B cell screening, and display‑based engineering.

You will oversee antibody generation across IgG, Fab, scFv and multispecific formats, and characterize candidates using binding and developability assays, mentoring scientists and coordinating CRO work.