Senior Scientist, Protein Therapeutics – Mammalian Expression & Cell Line Engineering

Biopharma Careers; Thousand Oaks (CA); On-site; USD 124,000 - 167,000; Full time

Job summary

Amgen is seeking a Senior Scientist in Mammalian Expression & Cell Line Engineering to drive expression platforms for large-molecule therapeutics. Lead efforts in mammalian systems for antibodies, bispecifics, and novel modalities, contributing to discovery and optimization.

You will develop innovative strategies, accelerate workflows with automation, and mentor junior scientists while collaborating across teams to advance programs and publish findings.

Qualifications

• PhD/MD/PharmD with postdoc experience or Master’s plus 3 years, or Bachelor’s with 5 years in cell biology.
• Expertise in mammalian expression and host cell engineering for a broad range of protein therapeutics.
• Experience with data-rich, automated, or high-throughput expression workflows and automation.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical strategy in mammalian expression and cell line engineering across programs.
• Develop and implement innovative expression platforms to improve productivity and quality.
• Evaluate and adopt new technologies and automation to enhance throughput.
• Collaborate with protein engineering, analytics, process development, and data sciences.

Skills

Mammalian expression

Cell line engineering

Biologics / protein therapeutics

Data-driven optimization

Automation workflows

Team collaboration

Education

PhD, PharmD or MD with postdoctoral experience

Masters + 3 years of cell biology experience

Bachelor’s degree + 5 years of cell biology experience

Tools

Mammalian expression platforms

Host cell engineering methods

Job description

Career Category

Scientific

Job Description

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients

At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission, to serve patients living with serious illnesses, drives all that we do.

Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas –Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease– we reach millions of patients each year. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives.

Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Senoir Scientist, Protein Therapeutics – Mammalian Expression & Cell Line Engineering

What you will do

Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role you will join the Protein Therapeutics organization within Research. This role will lead scientific efforts in mammalian expression and cell line engineering to support the discovery and optimization of large-molecule therapeutics, including antibodies, bispecifics, and next-generation protein modalities.

The successful candidate will be an experienced scientist with deep technical expertise in mammalian expression systems, cell line engineering strategies, and enabling technologies. The individual will contribute to the development and implementation of innovative expression platforms, data‑driven optimization strategies, and automation‑enabled workflows that accelerate biologics discovery.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific Leadership and Innovation

Serve as a technical expert in mammalian expression and cell line engineering, contributing to technical strategy across protein therapeutic programs.

Develop and implement innovative approaches in mammalian expression and host cell engineering to improve productivity, product quality, and speed.

Evaluate, develop, and implement new technologies, platforms, and automation solutions that enhance the robustness, scalability, and throughput of expression workflows.

Stay current with emerging scientific and technological advances and recommend new approaches that strengthen research capabilities.

Technical Execution, Data, and Problem Solving

Execute wet laboratory experiments to express therapeutic proteins in mammalian cells using both high-throughput bench‑scale and medium-scale shake flask production systems.

Independently solve technically complex problems related to protein expression, post‑translational modification, stability, and developability.

Apply data‑driven approaches to optimize expression systems, cell engineering strategies, and experimental workflows.

Partner closely with informatics and automation teams to develop reproducible, scalable, and high‑throughput expression workflows.

Collaboration and Technical Contribution

Collaborate effectively with cross‑functional teams including protein engineering, molecular biology, analytics, process development, and data sciences to advance discovery programs.

Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior scientists and contribute to knowledge sharing within the organization.

Represent the mammalian expression and cell engineering function on multidisciplinary project teams and technical working groups.

Scientific Growth and External Engagement

Maintain awareness of advances in mammalian expression, cell engineering, automation, and data‑enabled biology through scientific literature and external engagement.

Contribute to Amgen’s scientific impact through publications, patents, presentations, and internal scientific forums.

Participate in the evaluation and implementation of external technologies and collaborations as appropriate.

What we expect of you

We are all different, yet we all use our outstanding contributions to serve patients. The Professional we seek is an agile leader with these qualifications.

Basic Qualifications

• Doctorate degree- PhD, PharmD or MD with relevant postdoctoral experience
• OR
• Master’s degree and 3 years of cell biology experience
• OR
• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of cell biology experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D.with postdoctoral and/or industry experience in biotechnology or pharmaceutical research, with a strong focus on mammalian expression and cell line engineering.
• Strong expertise in mammalian cell biology, expression construct design, host cell engineering, and expression strategies for a broad range of protein therapeutics.
• Demonstrated experience developing or implementing data‑rich, automated, or high‑throughput expression and cell engineering workflows.
• Strong understanding of how protein sequence, structure, and biophysical properties influence expression, quality attributes, and downstream developability.
• Demonstrated scientific productivity through publications, patents, presentations, and/or successful implementation of new technologies or platforms.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams and operate successfully in a highly matrixed research environment.

What you can expect of us

As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, we’ll support your journey every step of the way.

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include:

• A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts
• A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales‑based incentive plan
• Stock‑based long‑term incentives
• Award‑winning time‑off plans
• Flexible work models where possible. Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies.

Application deadline

Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Salary Range

123,777.00USD -167,463.00 USD