Senior Director, Bacterial Vaccine Discovery & Strategy

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

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,