Full-Time

Associate Director

Global Drug Substance Commercialization, Conjugation

Updated on 11/19/2024

Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte

201-500 employees

Develops vaccines for bacterial infections

Biotechnology
Healthcare

Compensation Overview

$190k - $197kAnnually

Senior

Remote in USA

Position can be based in San Carlos, CA or remote.

Category
Bioinformatics
Biology Lab & Research
Biology & Biotech
Required Skills
Data Analysis
Requirements
  • Degree(s) in Chemical or Biochemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or related discipline with a minimum of 9+ years of relevant experience for Ph.D., 11+ years for M.S./M.A., or 14+ years for B.S./B.A.
  • Extensive experience in conjugate production processes, including polysaccharide activation, conjugation to carrier proteins, and associated purification processes across multiple operational scales. Experience with glycoconjugate vaccines is highly preferred.
  • Leadership experience in MSAT or Process Development in supervisory and/or matrixed team roles.
  • Able to leverage deep technical knowledge in a collaborative manner to establish strategic plans and achieve collective goals.
  • Excellent organization, problem solving and strategic planning skills.
  • Highly skilled in both verbal and written communication with the ability to interact effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
  • Proactively recognizes needs and potential challenges and directs activities to implement effective solutions.
  • The ability to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions and to align others with the organization's overall strategy.
  • An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative ideas that will stretch the organization and push the boundaries within the industry.
Responsibilities
  • Provide strategic and scientific leadership for polysaccharide activation and conjugation processes with internal and external stakeholders and ensure successful execution of launch plans and post-launch commercial activities.
  • Support building a strong and highly-skilled team for the global network with special focus on conjugation manufacturing processes. Support resourcing recommendations on staffing requirements to meet organizational goals.
  • Continuously improve process understanding and process robustness by working with staff and laboratory resources across the organization to monitor, trend, and optimize operations.
  • Collaboration with cross-functional teams across the network, including Regulatory, CMC, Quality, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Process Engineering, to drive the successful development and commercial launch of conjugate drug substances for pipeline products.
  • Ensure robust processes exist to support technical transfers and integration of new technologies.
  • Support of our internal and external manufacturing network, including materials management and data analytics.
  • Provide leadership for the execution of process validation and process comparability activities. Effectively communicate the scientific and commercial rationale for conjugation processes to the Manufacturing organization for commercialization.
  • Engage in technical reviewing and authoring of regulatory filings and responding to questions received from health authorities. Effectively communicate the scientific and commercial rationale for conjugation processes to the Boards of Health for regulatory submissions for commercialization.
  • Effectively and efficiently communicate process performance to key stakeholders (internal-facing and external-facing). Connect and build strong working relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively.
  • As a member of the Global DS Commercialization organization, lead matrixed teams focused on Conjugation drug substance commercialization with an aim to ensure effective and efficient delivery of our life-enhancing therapies to our patients.
  • 10-30% travel required.

Vaxcyte develops vaccines aimed at preventing bacterial infections, focusing on diseases like invasive pneumococcal disease, Group A Strep, periodontitis, and Shigella. Their lead product, VAX-24, is a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that targets 24 strains of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria and has received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA for adult use. Vaxcyte employs advanced chemistry and a proprietary cell-free protein synthesis platform, XpressCF™, to create vaccines that can effectively address the complex defenses of bacteria while eliciting a strong immune response. Unlike traditional cell-based methods, their approach allows for the development of broad-spectrum vaccines. Vaxcyte's goal is to provide effective vaccines that can significantly reduce the impact of bacterial infections on global health.

Company Stage

IPO

Total Funding

$273.3M

Headquarters

Foster City, California

Founded

2013

Growth & Insights
Headcount

6 month growth

23%

1 year growth

61%

2 year growth

132%
Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Significant investments from major financial entities like Vanguard and Mutual of America Capital Management indicate strong market confidence in Vaxcyte's potential.
  • The recent $816.5 million raised through stock and warrant sales provides substantial capital for advancing their vaccine pipeline.
  • The appointment of experienced board members like John Furey can provide strategic guidance and enhance corporate governance.

What critics are saying

  • The success of Vaxcyte heavily depends on the clinical and commercial success of its lead product, VAX-24, which is still subject to regulatory approval.
  • The competitive landscape in vaccine development is intense, with numerous established players potentially overshadowing Vaxcyte's market entry.

What makes Vaxcyte unique

  • Vaxcyte leverages its proprietary XpressCF™ cell-free protein synthesis platform, which allows for more efficient and versatile vaccine production compared to traditional cell-based methods.
  • Their focus on broad-spectrum vaccines, such as VAX-24 targeting 24 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, sets them apart in the vaccine development landscape.
  • The FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for VAX-24 underscores the innovative potential and clinical significance of their lead product.

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