Scientific Fellow (Director), Immunology

PsiThera; Watertown (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k match

Competitive salary

Impactful work

Job summary

PsiThera, Inc. is seeking an experienced drug discovery biologist to lead immune and inflammatory signaling programs from hit identification through DC nomination and IND submission.

You will balance program leadership with hands-on lab work, building and running the research plan, mentoring scientists, and driving key experiments to milestones in inflammation and autoimmunity models. You will collaborate with CROs, shape translational strategies, and present program updates to senior leadership

Qualifications

• PhD in Immunology or related field with 12+ years biotech/pharma drug discovery experience.
• Track record of advancing small molecules from hit identification to DC selection as project team leader or lead biologist.
• Hands-on experience in hit finding, including screening assay development, HTS or DEL campaigns, and hit triage and confirmation.
• Prior people management experience and demonstrated leadership of cross-functional project teams or workstreams.
• Hands-on expertise with primary human immune cells and whole blood, and in building assay cascades for screening, SAR and mechanism-of-action studies.
• Broad knowledge of in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation and autoimmunity, with experience designing and interpreting in vivo pharmacology and PK/PD studies.
• Experience managing CRO collaborations.
• Scientific achievement shown through peer-reviewed publications and/or patents.

Responsibilities

• Lead program teams from hit identification through DC nomination and IND submission.
• Develop and manage research plans, budgets, risks and milestones for programs.
• Oversee hit finding campaigns (HTS/DEL) and assay cascades for screening and SAR.
• Design and run in vitro pharmacology studies using human cells and whole blood; oversee in vivo studies.
• Mentor scientists and build in-house capabilities; engage with CROs and external experts.
• Present program progress to senior leadership and partners.

Skills

Immunology expertise

Drug discovery

Project leadership

In vitro pharmacology

Team mentoring

Scientific communication

Education

PhD in Immunology

Tools

HTS

DEL

Job description

Position Summary:

PsiThera is looking for an experienced drug discovery biologist with deep expertise in immune and inflammatory signaling to lead small-molecule and macrocycle discovery program teams from hit identification through development candidate (DC) nomination and IND submission. You'll build and run the research plan for your programs, lead the project team that carries it out, and stay closely involved in the lab. The ideal candidate will strike a balance between program leadership and hands‑on laboratory science. Your lab time will focus on high-impact creative work: establishing key assays, running decision‑critical and mechanistic experiments, troubleshooting and training others. You may lead a small team of scientists as needed. This role suits a rigorous scientist who enjoys both designing the key experiments and getting a program across major milestones.

Key Responsibilities

Program team leadership:

• Create and update research operating plans, including resource planning, budget management, risk assessment and contingency planning for your programs
• Secure cross-functional alignment and organizational support for program plans
• Lead multidisciplinary program teams and be accountable for meeting program goals, milestones and timelines
• Define stage-gate success criteria and timelines for your programs, recommend resource allocation and go/no-go decisions to leadership
• Manage CRO partnerships across all biology activities in support of your programs, including study design, execution, data quality and delivery to project teams

Strategic alignment and influence:

• Shape the validation of targets and the scientific strategy for the immunology portfolio, advising leadership on opportunities and trade-offs
• Engage key opinion leaders and external experts to pressure-test program hypotheses, align priorities with leadership and inform business and partnering decisions
• Present program progress to senior leadership, and represent programs to prospective partners and at scientific conferences

Hands‑on lab science:

• Design and oversee hit finding campaigns (e.g., HTS and DEL), including hit triage and confirmation
• Build and transfer fit-for-purpose assay cascades (biochemical, biophysical, cellular and whole blood) that support hit triage, SAR, target engagement and mechanism of action, to team members in-house and at CROs
• Design and run in vitro pharmacology studies using primary human immune cells, whole blood and, where available, patient‑derived samples, and design and oversee in vivo pharmacology and PK/PD studies in models of inflammation and autoimmunity, to link compound exposure to immune‑cell function and disease‑relevant outcomes
• Contribute to the development and execution of translational biology biomarker strategies

Mentoring and capability building:

• Build new in‑house capabilities and technologies (e.g., assay platforms, human‑cell and whole‑blood systems) that serve multiple programs and keep PsiThera at the leading edge
• Evaluate emerging technologies, CROs and academic or industry collaborations
• Mentor scientists across the organization and constructively challenge scientific thinking

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in Immunology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, or a related field with 12+ years of biotech or pharma drug discovery experience, or an MS with 16+ years of equivalent experience
• Track record of advancing small molecules from hit identification to DC selection as project team leader or lead biologist
• Hands‑on experience in hit finding, including screening assay development, HTS or DEL campaigns, and hit triage and confirmation
• Prior people management experience and demonstrated leadership of cross‑functional project teams or workstreams
• Hands‑on expertise with primary human immune cells and whole blood, and in building assay cascades (biochemical, biophysical, cellular) for screening, SAR and mechanism‑of‑action studies
• Broad knowledge of in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation and autoimmunity, with experience designing and interpreting in vivo pharmacology and PK/PD studies
• Experience managing CRO collaborations
• Scientific achievement shown through peer‑reviewed publications and/or patents
• Strong scientific rigor in generating, analyzing and presenting data to drive program decisions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with scientific, executive and partner audiences

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience across multiple target classes and therapeutic areas
• Experience working with clinical teams on translational research or biomarker strategy
• Experience leading programs through IND submission
• Experience in a small or growing biotech environment

Read More About Us

• Our Story: https://psithera.com/company/
• Team: https://psithera.com/company/team-and-leadership/

Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits package including 401k match
• Opportunity to make a significant impact on the development of novel therapeutics
• Work with a talented and passionate team of scientists
• Be a part of a cutting-edge company that is revolutionizing drug discovery

Psivant Therapeutics, Inc. (d/b/a PsiThera) is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations, ensuring that all qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.