(Sr.) Director, Research

Company Information

Legend Biotech is a global biotechnology company dedicated to treating, and one day curing, life-threatening diseases. Headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, we are developing advanced cell therapies across a diverse array of technology platforms, including autologous and allogenic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy.

Legend Biotech entered into a global collaboration agreement with Janssen, one of the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, to jointly develop and commercialize ciltacabtagene autolecuel (cilta-cel) in 2017. Our strategic partnership is designed to combine the strengths and expertise of both companies to advance the promise of an immunotherapy in the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Legend Biotech is seeking a (Sr.) Director, Research as part of the US R&D team based in Piscataway, NJ.

Role Overview

This position plays a key role in Legend US Research. The selected candidate will assume accountability to all research activity within his/her team, from project idealization to Development Candidate selection. Core responsibility include building and leading a research team to advance pipeline projects. In addition, the selected candidate will focus on novel technology development and collaborate with other Legend R&D teams to enrich the company’s autologous and allogeneic cell therapy portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and lead a talented team to develop novel technology and platforms for autologous and allogeneic cell therapy.
• Stay on top of the latest technology and development in the cell therapy field and act as SME.
• Develop and implement research plan with high scientific and technical rigor, provide good assessment and/or solutions to key issues.
• Effectively collaborate with research team in US, China, and Ireland and participate in cross functional activities to advance company autologous and allogeneic cell therapy pipeline.
  
  
  

Requirements

• Ph.D. or M.D with a focus in immunology or cancer biology or related field.
• 10+ years of relevant industry experience in immunotherapy of cancer.
• 6+ years of management experience in building, leading teams successfully.
• Expertise in engineering, characterization, and manipulation of immune effector cells, such as T cell and NK cells.
• Experience working with CAR-T therapy animal models.
• Experience with allogeneic cell therapy research is a plus.
• Self-motivated, strategic thinking and strong ability to solve problems.
• Proven leadership skills to build and lead a research team to advance company pipelines from discovery to preclinical study leading to clinical study.
• Ability to plan and organize projects and deliver result of key milestones within timeline and budget.
• Innovation in CAR-T cell therapy and platform technology development as evidenced by publication and patents.
• Deep knowledge of auto/allo product design and characterization.
• Ability to collaborate across functional teams internally and effectively manage external CRO.
• English, ability to speak Chinese (Mandarin) is a plus.
  
  
  

Legend Biotech is a proud equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to attracting, retaining, and maximizing the performance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is Legend’s policy to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status, uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Legend Biotech maintains a drug-free workplace.

Benefits:

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Matched 401K
• Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account
• AD&D Insurance
• Short-Term Disability
• Long-Term Disability
• Paid Maternity Leave
• Paid Paternity Leave
• Pet Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Hospital Indemnity Insurance
• Accident Insurance
• Legal Insurance
• Commuter Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program