Senior Director, Bacterial Vaccine Discovery

AstraZeneca; Gaithersburg (MD); On-site; USD 260,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca's Early Infectious Disease team in Gaithersburg seeks a Senior Director, Bacterial Vaccine Discovery to lead the bacterial vaccines pillar within the Bacterial mAbs and Vaccines Team. You will shape the discovery strategy across carbohydrate conjugate, mRNA, and protein-based approaches and guide a multidisciplinary team to advance candidates.

You will partner with leaders across functions, manage external collaborations, and communicate strategy and progress to senior stakeholders,

Qualifications

• PhD in microbiology, immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or related discipline with 12+ years of industry experience.
• Proven leadership experience managing a team of junior scientists (PhD and non-PhD).
• Strong track record in bacterial vaccine research and/or bacterial pathogenesis.
• Experience leading interdisciplinary vaccine discovery programs from early research through candidate selection.
• Proven ability to develop and manage budgets for research programs and external partnerships.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with strong business analysis and consultancy capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of scientists to discover and characterize candidate vaccine antigens, delivering robust in vitro and in vivo research packages that support pipeline progression and regulatory interactions.
• Serve as subject matter expert and research lead for multiple programs, presenting strategy and data to senior leaders at governance meetings.
• Present key findings and research progress at top-tier scientific conferences.
• Partner with Early Vaccines and Immune Therapies Translational Sciences to develop and transfer assays for characterizing immune responses in future clinical trials.
• Oversee and maintain accountability for partnerships with third parties, including academic institutions and biotech collaborators.
• Evaluate external science and partnering opportunities in collaboration with Business Development and the extended scientific team to expand the bacterial vaccine pipeline.
• Engage regularly with intellectual property attorneys to define and refine IP strategy for early-stage programs.
• Oversee and maintain accountability for third-party partnerships, including academic institutions, biotech collaborators, and CROs.
• Build and foster effective relationships with senior leaders across Research, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Clinical and Translational Medicine, and Global Project Teams to ensure cross-functional alignment.
• Ensure clear and objective communication of results, associated risks, uncertainties, and limitations across all projects and teams within the function.
• Define training and development opportunities for junior colleagues in line with best practices and scientific principles.

Skills

Leadership experience

Bacterial vaccine discovery

Immunology expertise

Team management

Strategic planning

Education

PhD in relevant discipline

PhD in microbiology/immunology/biochemistry

Job description

At AstraZeneca, we are pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines to patients facing the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and serious bacterial infections. Our Early Infectious Disease (eID) team, based at our Gaithersburg, is a leading center for the discovery and development of novel biologics targeting bacterial and viral pathogens.

We are seeking a Senior Director, Bacterial Vaccine Discovery to lead the bacterial vaccines pillar within our Bacterial mAbs and Vaccines Team. This senior scientific leader will define and deliver the discovery strategy for novel bacterial vaccines — spanning carbohydrate conjugate, mRNA, and protein-based approaches — lead a multidisciplinary team, and partner closely with other leaders on the team.

Accountabilites:

• Lead a team of scientists to discover and characterize candidate vaccine antigens, delivering robust in vitro and in vivo research packages that support pipeline progression and regulatory interactions.
• Serve as subject matter expert and research lead for multiple programs, presenting strategy and data to senior leaders at governance meetings.
• Present key findings and research progress at top-tier scientific conferences.
• Partner with Early Vaccines and Immune Therapies Translational Sciences to develop and transfer assays for characterizing immune responses in future clinical trials.
• Oversee and maintain accountability for partnerships with third parties, including academic institutions and biotech collaborators.
• Evaluate external science and partnering opportunities in collaboration with Business Development and the extended scientific team to expand the bacterial vaccine pipeline.
• Engage regularly with intellectual property attorneys to define and refine IP strategy for early-stage programs.
• Oversee and maintain accountability for third-party partnerships, including academic institutions, biotech collaborators, and CROs.
• Build and foster effective relationships with senior leaders across Research, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Clinical and Translational Medicine, and Global Project Teams to ensure cross-functional alignment.
• Ensure clear and objective communication of results, associated risks, uncertainties, and limitations across all projects and teams within the function.
• Define training and development opportunities for junior colleagues in line with best practices and scientific principles.

Required Skills:

• PhD in microbiology, immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or a related discipline, with 12+ years of industry experience.
• Proven leadership experience managing a team of junior scientists (PhD and non-PhD level).
• Strong track record in bacterial vaccine research and/or bacterial pathogenesis.
• Demonstrated experience leading efforts to characterize immune responses and protective efficacy of vaccine antigens in small animal disease models.
• Familiarity with functional immunological assays, such as opsonophagocytic killing assays and serum bactericidal assays, used to measure vaccine-elicited immune responses.
• Cross-functional collaboration experience, successfully delivering research and development programs in a biotech or pharmaceutical setting.
• Experience supporting or leading interdisciplinary vaccine discovery or development programs from early research through candidate selection.
• Proven ability to develop and manage budgets for research programs and external partnerships.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with strong business analysis and consultancy capabilities.

Date Posted 20-Oct-2026

Closing Date 25-Oct-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.