Engineer II

Polysaccharide Downstream Process Development

Confirmed live in the last 24 hours

201-500 employees

Website

Develops broad-spectrum vaccines for bacterial diseases

Company Overview

Vaxcyte is a pioneering vaccine company that is redefining the production of complex immunizations through advanced synthetic techniques, including the XpressCFᵀᴹ cell-free protein synthesis platform, which is designed to expedite the creation and delivery of high-fidelity vaccines. The company's lead candidate, VAX-24, a broad-spectrum pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, has been granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation, demonstrating its potential in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease. With a culture focused on eradicating or treating invasive bacterial infections, Vaxcyte is leading the industry in developing vaccines with an expanded breadth of coverage, including candidates designed to prevent Group A Strep infections and slow the progression of periodontal disease.

Biotechnology

Company Stage

IPO

Total Funding

$1.5B

Founded

2013

Headquarters

San Carlos, California

Growth & Insights

Headcount

6 month growth

↑ 21%

1 year growth

↑ 48%

2 year growth

↑ 159%

Locations

San Carlos, CA, USA

Experience Level

Entry

Junior

Mid

Senior

Expert

Desired Skills

PowerPoint/Keynote/Slides

Communications

Excel/Numbers/Sheets

CategoriesNew

Product

Requirements

BS in Chemical/Bio Engineering, Biochemistry, or a related discipline, with 6+ years of industry experience; MS with 3+ years of industry experience
Hands-on experience with high-throughput screening techniques and liquid-handling robotic programming with Tecan Fluent or similar instrument
Practical experience with and theoretical knowledge of traditional processing unit operations including TFF, depth filtration, continuous centrifugation, and chromatography
Familiarity with DoE (Design of Experiments) principles; practical experience with DoE software
Demonstrated proficiency with engineering principles involved in scaling processes from lab to pilot scale
Proficient with computer programs such as Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio and JMP
Experience with process modelling software a plus
Working knowledge of the requirements of GMPs
Ability to travel internationally to a CMO as some international travel may be required
Demonstrated success working in a cross-functional team environment on multiple projects; ability to work effectively as a member of a team to deliver results
Strong interpersonal skills, with excellent written and verbal communication skills
All Vaxcyte employees require vaccination against COVID-19

Responsibilities

Operate and maintain instrumentation for polysaccharide purification including automated liquid-handling robot (Tecan Fluent), TFF systems, Akta chromatography skids, automated filtration units and centrifuges
Perform analysis and interpret results for polysaccharide and impurity assays (Anthrone, Lowry, SEC-MALS, HPAEC-PAD etc…)
Assists in design and execution of downstream process characterization studies
Work with team to develop purification strategies for pipeline projects
Keep accurate and current records of development experiments and/or project related activities in laboratory notebooks or electronic notebook
Review executed protocols and batch records
Present/communicate data to polysaccharide team
Contribute to technical discussions within the polysaccharide team
Writes, reviews, and approves R&D protocols, batch records, and reports in support of process development
Works within a team environment and provides support as necessary to further the team's initiatives

Desired Qualifications

Late-stage process characterization experience is a plus

Company Profile:

Vaxcyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCVX) is a vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases. The Company is developing broad-spectrum conjugate and novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent, broad-spectrum, carrier-sparing pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) being developed for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The Company is re-engineering the way highly complex immunizations are made through modern synthetic techniques, including advanced chemistry and our exclusively licensed XpressCFTM cell-free protein synthesis platform. Unlike conventional cell-based approaches, the Company’s system for producing difficult-to-make proteins and antigens is intended to accelerate its ability to efficiently create and deliver high-fidelity vaccines with enhanced immunological benefits. Vaxcyte’s pipeline also includes VAX-31, a 31-valent PCV candidate; VAX-A1, a prophylactic vaccine candidate designed to prevent Group A Strep infections; VAX-PG, a therapeutic vaccine candidate designed to slow or stop the progression of periodontal disease; and VAX-GI, a vaccine program designed to prevent Shigella. The Company is driven to eradicate or treat invasive bacterial infections, which have serious and costly health consequences when left unchecked. For more information, visit www.vaxcyte.com.

Vaxcyte, headquartered in San Carlos, CA, went public in June 2020 and currently has a team of approximately 180 employees and anticipates continued, significant growth. Following equity offerings in October 2022 and April 2023, which generated over $1.1 billion in net proceeds, the Company’s balance sheet is further strengthened to advance its pipeline of novel vaccines, including VAX-24. These financings followed positive data readouts from Vaxcyte’s Phase 1/2 proof-of-concept study evaluating VAX-24 in adults aged 18-64 and Phase 2 study in adults 65 and older. The Company believes these results support a best-in-class potential for VAX-24, which was designed to replace the current standard-of-care in adults and children. VAX-24 is being investigated for the prevention of IPD, which can be most serious for infants, young children, older adults and those with immune deficiencies or certain chronic health conditions. Given the global impact of pneumococcal disease remains significant, the public health community continues to advocate for vaccines that can offer broader protection to prevent IPD. Vaxcyte’s PCV franchise, consisting of VAX-24 and VAX-31, is designed specifically to address this need and has the potential to deliver the broadest protection for this very serious disease. We believe that our PCVs could receive regulatory approval based on successful completion of clinical studies utilizing well-defined surrogate immune endpoints, consistent with how other PCVs have obtained regulatory approval in the past, rather than requiring clinical field efficacy studies.

Summary:

Vaxcyte is looking for an energetic and talented Engineer I/Engineer II to contribute to the Polysaccharide development and manufacturing group within the CMC team. Vaxcyte is developing a multi-valent polysaccharide-based conjugate vaccine, based on a novel carrier protein produced using the Xpress CF platform. Polysaccharides are a critical component in conjugate vaccines.

The successful candidate will have practical laboratory experience related to biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, or vaccine industries. Specifically, the candidate will have experience developing high-throughput screening methods utilizing liquid handling robotics to support polysaccharide downstream and analytical development. The candidate will be eager to utilize and learn new laboratory skills as this person will be responsible for collaboration on experimental design and execution of experiments to further the polysaccharide development and manufacturing programs. This position will require >50% time in the lab initially and this person will be able to independently detail experimental procedures/results in written and presentation formats. The successful candidate may interface closely with the CMC team, write detailed technical reports, present experimental results internally, and may potentially interface with external CMO partners.

Essential Functions:

Operate and maintain instrumentation for polysaccharide purification including automated liquid-handling robot (Tecan Fluent), TFF systems, Akta chromatography skids, automated filtration units and centrifuges.
Perform analysis and interpret results for polysaccharide and impurity assays (Anthrone, Lowry, SEC-MALS, HPAEC-PAD etc…).
Assists in design and execution of downstream process characterization studies.
Work with team to develop purification strategies for pipeline projects.
Keep accurate and current records of development experiments and/or project related activities in laboratory notebooks or electronic notebook.
Review executed protocols and batch records.
Present/communicate data to polysaccharide team.
Contribute to technical discussions within the polysaccharide team.
Writes, reviews, and approves R&D protocols, batch records, and reports in support of process development.
Works within a team environment and provides support as necessary to further the team’s initiatives.

Requirements:

BS in Chemical/Bio Engineering, Biochemistry, or a related discipline, with 6+ years of industry experience; MS with 3+ years of industry experience
Hands-on experience with high-throughput screening techniques and liquid-handling robotic programming with Tecan Fluent or similar instrument.
Practical experience with and theoretical knowledge of traditional processing unit operations including TFF, depth filtration, continuous centrifugation, and chromatography.
Familiarity with DoE (Design of Experiments) principles; practical experience with DoE software.
Late-stage process characterization experience is a plus.
Demonstrated proficiency with engineering principles involved in scaling processes from lab to pilot scale.
Proficient with computer programs such as Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio and JMP.
Experience with process modelling software a plus.
Working knowledge of the requirements of GMPs.
Ability to travel internationally to a CMO as some international travel may be required.
Demonstrated success working in a cross-functional team environment on multiple projects; ability to work effectively as a member of a team to deliver results.
Strong interpersonal skills, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
All Vaxcyte employees require vaccination against COVID-19.

Reports to: Associate Director, Polysaccharide Process Development

Location: San Carlos, CA

Compensation:

The compensation package will be competitive and includes comprehensive benefits and an equity component.

Salary Range: $124,000 - $138,000

Send resumes to:

[email protected]

Vaxcyte, Inc.

825 Industrial Road, Suite 300

San Carlos, CA 94070

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.