Associate Engineer, Polysaccharide Downstream Process Development

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 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 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-XP, a PCV with an expanded breadth of coverage of greater than 30 strains; VAX-A1, a prophylactic vaccine candidate designed to prevent Group A Strep infections; and VAX-PG, a therapeutic vaccine candidate designed to slow or stop the progression of periodontal disease. 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 100 employees and anticipates continued, significant growth. On January 6, 2022, Vaxcyte announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for VAX-24, its lead vaccine candidate. The Company initiated the VAX-24 Phase 1/2 clinical proof-of-concept study in adults in the first quarter of 2022 and expects to announce Phase 2 topline immunogenicity, safety, and tolerability results by the end of the year. VAX-24 was designed to prevent 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-XP, is designed specifically to address this need and has the potential to deliver the broadest protection for this very serious disease.

Summary:

Vaxcyte is looking for an energetic and talented Associate Engineer 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 some laboratory experience developing processes related to biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, or vaccine industries. 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 - 75% 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 will interface closely with the CMC team, write detailed technical reports, present experimental results internally, and potentially interface with external CMO partners.
Essential Functions:

• Operate and maintain instrumentation for polysaccharide purification including automated TFF systems, AKTA chromatography skids, automated filtration units and continuous 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 Engineering, Biochemistry, or a related discipline, with 2-5 years of industry experience; MS with 1+ years of industry experience.
• Practical experience with and theoretical knowledge of traditional processing unit operations including TFF, depth filtration, continuous centrifugation, and chromatography.
• Hands-on experience with high-throughput screening techniques and instrumentation is a plus. 
• Familiarity with DoE (Design of Experiments) principles; practical experience with DoE software a plus.
• 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: Sr Engineer, Polysaccharide Development and Manufacturing

Location: San Carlos, CA

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


Send resumes to:
careers@vaxcyte.com

Vaxcyte, Inc.
825 Industrial Rd.
Suite 300, San Carlos, CA 94070