Research Associate 1, Global MSAT Gene Therapy Center of Excellence

Who We Are

BioMarin’s Technical Operations group is responsible for creating our drugs for use in clinical trials and for scaling production of those drugs for the commercial market. These engineers, technicians, scientists and support staff build and maintain BioMarin’s cutting-edge manufacturing processes and sites, provide quality assurance and quality control to ensure we meet regulatory standards, and procure the needed goods and services to support manufacturing and coordinating the worldwide movement of our drugs to patients.
 

Come join our team and make a meaningful impact on patients’ lives. 

SUMMARY

Manufacturing Science and Technology (MSAT) at BioMarin is the technical partner for clinical and commercial operations and actively supports manufacturing processes throughout the product lifecycle. We are an inclusive, high-performing, highly motivated, and collaborative group looking for an innovative and passionate individual with strong cell culture skills and an engineering background to become an integral part of our upstream team. You will join a team of scientists and research associates working to resolve manufacturing challenges, evaluating new technologies, and facilitating continuous process improvement to ensure robustness for our biologics and adeno associated virus (AAV) viral vector production process.

The selected candidate will be a highly motivated individual, who has strong cell culture skills and familiar with large scale cell culture operations. Applicants who have experience with troubleshooting bioprocesses and are familiar with chemical engineering principles (e.g. mass balances, reactor design, mass/heat transfer, etc.) are preferred. Majority of the work will be lab based involving mammalian cell culture, lab-scale bioreactor operations and execution of analytical methods. The individual will develop experimental studies to troubleshoot and better understand BioMarin’s commercial cell culture and fermentation processes. This individual must have strong communication skills, as they will be involved in projects that involve presenting data to collaborators and will assist in writing memos, protocols and reports.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter, who focuses on transparent and honest communication, is dependable, cares intensely about helping others, and is comfortable making decisions while dealing with uncertainty.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• You will assist in the design and execution of studies to enable continuous process improvements of BioMarin's commercial manufacturing processes.
• Working with other researchers and scientists in the team, you will operate bench scale bioreactors and automated, high throughput bioreactor systems (ambr15 and ambr250) for routine commercial manufacturing support.
• You will perform analytical assays (HPLC, ELISA, ddPCR) related to experimental studies.
• You will support investigations that help us understand and resolve complex manufacturing issues and assess their potential impact to product quality.
• You will evaluate raw materials for use in commercial manufacturing processes for our enzyme replacement therapies and gene therapies.
• You will have opportunities to evaluate novel technologies that will support future commercial manufacturing processes.
• As a researcher, you will document experimental data, interpret results and support data analysis. You will also assist in writing memorandums, protocols and reports.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE

• Bench scale or commercial scale cell culture experience including mammalian fed batch or perfusion processes, bacterial fermentation is desired.
• Knowledge of viral vector production and/or related analytical assays (ELISA, ddPCR) is a plus.
• Experience with troubleshooting of cell culture processes.
• Accurate documentation of experimental work, data analysis and results.
• Demonstrated record of strong communication skills.

EDUCATION

 B.S. in Chemical/Biochemical/Biomedical Engineering or related disciplines. Candidates with Associate's degree and 2+ years of manufacturing experience are also encouraged to apply. 

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITY

 None.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

In the U.S., the salary range for this position is $ 65,600 to $ 98,400 per year, which factors in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A discretionary bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.