Senior Associate Scientist, Viral Vaccines

Pfizer; Pearl River (NY); On-site; USD 69,000 - 114,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching

Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution

Paid vacation, holidays, and personal/

Health benefits (medical, dental,視)

Job summary

Pfizer is seeking a Senior Associate Scientist to join the Viral Vaccines group. You will generate and optimize viral reagents for pre-clinical vaccine research, maintain cell cultures, and perform assays.

Collaboration across early bioprocess, preclinical, and clinical development is expected to accelerate vaccine programs. You will manage virus stocks, inventories, and documentation while contributing to data transfer and method development to support decision-making.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in life sciences with relevant laboratory experience (3+ years for BS or 1+ year for MS).
• Experience in a BSL-2 setting and aseptic techniques.
• Experience with mammalian cell culture and data handling.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work independently as part of a team.
• Proficient with MS Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and scientific documentation.

Responsibilities

• Produce and optimize high-titer virus stocks and maintain mammalian cell cultures.
• Perform viral characterization assays and manage reagent inventories.
• Write and update SOPs, test methods, and technical reports.
• Procure clinical isolates from vendors and prepare reagents for virus production.
• Collaborate with Pfizer Vaccines teams across preclinical and development groups.
• Present progress and results to colleagues and management.
• Collect and analyze laboratory data to inform production methods.

Skills

BSL-2 lab experience

Mammalian cell culture

Multitasking

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Education

MS degree in life sciences or related discipline

BS degree in life sciences or related discipline

Tools

Word Processing

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Why Patients Need You

Pfizer’s purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Research and Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer’s purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies and vaccines that matter most. Whether you are in the discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy or supporting clinical trials, you will apply cutting edge design and process development capabilities to accelerate and bring the best-in-class medicines to patients around the world.

What You Will Achieve

As a Senior Associate Scientist, you will join Pfizer's Viral Vaccines organization, a team dedicated to advancing innovative vaccines that help protect people from serious infectious diseases around the world. In this role, you will become part of a highly collaborative virology team responsible for generating and supplying viral reagents to support pre-clinical vaccine research. Viruses of particular interest will include Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), pathogens that contribute to significant disease burden across vulnerable populations worldwide. Responsibilities will include producing and optimizing high-titer virus stocks, maintaining mammalian cell cultures, performing viral characterization assays, managing reagent inventories, and coordinating the distribution of critical viral reagents across vaccine research programs. Beyond laboratory operations, you will contribute to scientific collaboration and innovation by ensuring data and information transfer between groups, developing and integrating immunoassays, and supporting high-throughput testing activities for non-clinical research programs. Your efforts will help generate the robust scientific data required to assess vaccine performance and guide development strategies. Your work will be essential to ensuring that research teams have access to the high-quality viral materials needed to evaluate vaccine candidates and accelerate scientific decision‑making. The viral reagents, data, and scientific insights you help generate will directly contribute to programs aimed at preventing infectious diseases, improving public health, and bringing promising vaccine candidates closer to the people who need them most. Through your technical expertise, problem‑solving abilities, and commitment to quality, you will play an important role in helping Pfizer deliver breakthroughs that change patients' lives.

How You Will Achieve

• Exercise key team effectiveness skills (e.g., commitment, feedback, consensus management) within the immediate work group


• Grow and maintain different mammalian cell lines and propagate virus stocks to support downstream assays


• Perform virus titrations using methods such as TCID50, focus forming assays, and plaque assay


• Manage and maintain detailed virus and reagent inventories


• Write, review, and update documents associated with virus production and functional assays, including standard operating procedures, test methods, and technical reports


• Procure clinical isolates from external vendors and prepare reagents necessary to produce virus stocks


• Collaborate with colleagues in Pfizer Vaccines organization including early bioprocess, preclinical, and clinical development groups


• Present progress and results on viral production and processes to colleagues and management


• Collect and analyze laboratory data to interpret results and develop novel methods for virus production

Qualifications

Must-Have

• BS degree in life sciences (e.g. biology, immunology, virology, microbiology) or related discipline with 3+ years of laboratory experience or MS degree in life sciences or related discipline with 1+ years of laboratory experience


• Experience in a BSL-2 setting and aseptic techniques


• Experience with mammalian cell culture


• Ability to multitask and carry out responsibilities independently as an influential team member


• Strong attention to detail, good verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to collaborate and work in team environment


• Proficient computer skills including word processing, Excel, and PowerPoint

Nice-to-Have

• Background in virology, especially respiratory and/or herpes viruses


• Experience with PyMOL or UCSF Chimera, GraphPad Prism, Geneious Prime or related software


• Experience analyzing gene sequences and mutations


• Experience developing and troubleshooting cell-based immunoassays such as neutralization and focus forming assays


• Experience with instruments such as CTL ImmunoSpot and Softmax Pro


• Experience using common AI tools, including generative technologies such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot to support problem solving

Physical/Mental Requirements

Ability to meet the standard requirements for a lab-based role and perform all typical lab related activities (lifting

Ability to work with infectious agents

Work Location Assignment: On Premise

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $68,600.00 to $114,300.00. In addition, this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 7.5% of the base salary. We offer comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support each of life’s moments. Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage. Learn more at Pfizer Candidate Site – U.S. Benefits | (uscandidates.mypfizerbenefits.com). Pfizer compensation structures and benefit packages are aligned based on the location of hire. The United States salary range provided does not apply to Tampa, FL or any location outside of the United States.

Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.

Candidates must be authorized to be employed in the U.S. by any employer.

U.S. work visa sponsorship (such as TN, O-1, H-1B, etc.) is not available for this role now or in the future.

Sunshine Act

Pfizer reports payments and other transfers of value to health care providers as required by federal and state transparency laws and implementing regulations. These laws and regulations require Pfizer to provide government agencies with information such as a health care provider’s name, address and the type of payments or other value received, generally for public disclosure. Subject to further legal review and statutory or regulatory clarification, which Pfizer intends to pursue, reimbursement of recruiting expenses for licensed physicians may constitute a reportable transfer of value under the federal transparency law commonly known as the Sunshine Act. Therefore, if you are a licensed physician who incurs recruiting expenses as a result of interviewing with Pfizer that we pay or reimburse, your name, address and the amount of payments made currently will be reported to the government. If you have questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact your Talent Acquisition representative.

EEO & Employment Eligibility