Senior Director, AAV Process Development

Why Join Intellia? 

Our mission is to develop curative genome editing treatments that can positively transform the lives of people living with severe and life-threatening diseases. 

Beyond our science, we live our four core values: One, Explore, Disrupt, Deliver and feel strongly that you can achieve more at Intellia. We have a single-minded determination to excel and succeed together. We believe in the power of curiosity and pushing boundaries. We welcome challenging thoughts and imagination to develop innovative solutions. And we know that patients are counting on us to make the promise a reality, so we must maintain high standards and get it done. 

We want all of our people to go beyond what is possible. We aren’t constrained by typical end rails, and we aren’t out to just “treat” people. We’re all in this for something more. We’re driven to cure and motivated for change. Just imagine the possibilities of what we can do together.   

Are you an energetic and experienced leader ready to drive internal and external process development and production activities for AAVs to advance Intellia’s growing pipeline of ex vivo and in vivo CRISPR gene therapies? This is a unique opportunity for an experienced AAV development thought leader to shape the success of the AAV team central to Intellia’s knock-in and cell therapy products. If you have a proven understanding of AAV-specific product development life cycle from research to clinical development to commercial operations, are ready to be accountable for the development, design and scale-up processes and production, laboratories and the team that executes these activities, you will thrive in Intellia’s fast-paced and results-driven team. Other main responsibilities include:

• Provide strategic leadership and technical direction of external efforts at CDMOs including tech transfer and/or external process development, optimization and process characterization to define activities in support of timely clinical supply, process validation and commercial manufacture through submission, filing and launch

• Provide strategy, leadership and direction of internal process design, development and optimization, scale-up and tech transfer of high-quality AAV production including process troubleshooting in order to meet goals and timelines, to include process characterization activities phase-appropriately

• Manage and drive the Vector Core and Scale-up team to support internal stakeholders such as R&D, pre-clinical, analytical development

• Develop and manage budget, resourcing and strategic planning for AAV development and production teams

• Collaborate with MSAT leads to define and direct AAV process control strategies, define critical process parameters (CPPs) and establish acceptance criteria

• As an AAV process SME, support other functions including strategy for testing of materials for IND-enabling activities and regulatory submissions, pre-clinical development, toxicology, reference standards, assay qualification, etc.

About You:

Are you an experienced and motivated process development scientist or engineer with technical depth and proven leadership experience who is passionate about building teams and well-characterized, controlled and efficient AAV production processes for safe and effective gene therapy drugs? Your grasp of AAV analytics coupled with a strong ability to plan, execute and troubleshoot cell line development, transient transfection based AAV production, TFF and chromatography unit operations will shape your ability to lead and grow the PD team through role model behavior and your deep AAV process understanding

• BS or MS in life science disciplines such as Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or Biomedical Engineering with 10+ years relevant experience or PhD (preferred) in a life science disciplines such as Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or Biomedical Engineering with 5+ years of relevant experience.

• Must have demonstrated experience in developing commercially viable AAV processes and lead AAV drug development from conceptualization to clinical production and strategy for commercialization

• Demonstrated success in managing a team of scientists and engineers with a proven track record of leadership, people management and effective interpersonal skills

• Must possess outstanding oral and written communication skills with the ability to interface effectively at all levels within the organization to include pertinent input on scientific, technical and compliance issues

• Embrace agility and possess a "can-do" attitude with a focus on team success with the ability to build strong cross-functional relationships

Meet your future team

In this role, you will be part of the Tech Ops thought leadership in this pivotal stage in Intellia’s development, You will be accountable and empowered to influence and define the AAV strategy for Intellia’s in vivo and ex vivo CRISPR medicines and be the SME and spokesperson across the organization driving AAV development and manufacture. You will provide vision and leadership to an enthusiastic, skilled and growing team comprised of upstream and downstream process scientists, vector production engineers and a technology innovation team. You will thrive in our fast-paced and cross-functional teams and define the path for AAV manufacturing and characterization to deliver gene therapy drugs that change the lives of patients in need. In this highly visible and key leadership role, you will report to the Vice President, Cell Therapy and Viral Vector Process Development, who embraces a culture of trust, respect and collaboration so that each team member can reach their full professional and personal potential.

Covid-19 Vaccination Policy: All Intellia employees, regardless of work location, must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This requirement includes a booster dose once eligible. Requests for exemption for medical or sincerely held religious beliefs will be considered.

EEOC Statement: Intellia believes in a diverse environment, and is committed to equal employment opportunity for all its employees and qualified applicants. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Intellia will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.