Group Leader, Antibody Engineering

Job description

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters. The Position JOB DESCRIPTION GROUP LEADER OF ANTIBODY ENGINEERING at China Innovation Center of Roche (CICoR) POSITION At Roche, over 100,000 colleagues worldwide are working together and doing what patients need next. Our ambition is to deliver novel therapeutics, diagnostic solutions and insights to patients with game changing clinical benefits. China Innovation Center of Roche (CICoR) is seeking a Group Leader and (Senior) Principal Scientist of Antibody Engineering in Biologics Discovery and Development Department with a keen interest and deep knowledge in drug discovery and development, who will lead the antibody generation, engineering and optimization efforts to deliver novel therapeutic antibody clinical candidates in Oncology, Immunology and CVRM. This leader will contribute to evolving the Antibody Discovery strategy. This leader will collaborate with colleagues in Biologics Discovery and Development, Lead Discovery, Pharmaceutical Sciences and disease areas to advance the biologics discovery programs into early development. This is a high impact leadership position in a multi-national company R&D setting. We are looking for someone who welcomes and thrives in challenges, shapes strategy and vision with the team and continuously supports and develops every member of the team. The position calls for urgency to constantly innovate our technologies and translate relevant disease biology into impactful therapeutic candidates, and to seamlessly interface with other modalities, disease areas and global functions and to be a part of a strong global research network. RESPONSIBILITIES ● Contribute a strong growth mindset and provide leadership in an agile and fast developing R&D environment. You leverage your experience and expertise while making it your mission to coach, mentor, empower and develop your team members. ● Collaborate with Lead Discovery and Pharmaceutical Sciences to expand antibody discovery capabilities to drive in-house antibody discovery projects ● Evolve the antibody discovery strategy in the new AI era to meet the needs of CICoR discovery area strategies ● Lead your team to contribute to delivery of novel therapeutic antibody candidates ● Balance development of internal technologies/capabilities/capacities with external innovations/collaborations. ● Establish and maintain strong relationships with CROs and biotech companies in the Chinese ecosystem. ● Possess a strong ownership of LM discovery portfolio and contribute to project strategies in the context of the portfolio. ● Collaborate with all scientific functions and enable cross-functional project teams. ● Participate in due diligence to evaluate relevant external opportunities in order to license assets or technologies. CANDIDATE PROFILE Qualification and experience The candidate qualifications include a PhD or joint MD/PhD in antibody/protein engineering, biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, or molecular biology along with significant and current expertise in antibody engineering and discovery. The candidate ideally is an experienced people leader and has at least eight years of experience in a pharmaceutical biotechnology industry research setting. Exceptional candidates from innovative academic centers will also be considered. Candidates must have a proven track record in drug discovery and evidence of scientific accomplishments. Competencies The ideal candidate will have demonstrated competence in the following areas: ● Scientific expertise: This candidate should be well recognized in the field with consistent publications in top-tier journals, and presentations at key scientific conferences. He/she has a strong track record in antibody engineering, antibody discovery and development and ideally also in experience in moving projects from target validation to clinical candidate selection. He/she has excellent knowledge in antibody engineering, diversity generation, functional characterization, developability/immunogenicity optimization, bi/multi-specific antibodies, antibody drug conjugates and AI in drug discovery. He/she also has a sound understanding of disease-relevant biology in immunology, oncology and/or cardiovascular-renal-metabolism. ● Leadership: An effective leader of direct lines as well as matrix teams, who cares about the development of his reports and is an excellent motivator and coach. ● Collaboration: The candidate is highly collaborative, internally and in partnerships with external organizations. He/she can motivate others to get things done while adopting the Roche values of integrity, courage, and passion, and embracing humility, responsibility and curiosity. He/she proactively seeks input in decision-making and shows others how their objectives align. He/she actively contributes to the broader organization, and invests in building relationships within Roche, and in the innovation ecosystem in China and worldwide. The role requires an exceptional leader with a desire to work with peers and partners in order to improve performance and meet goals. ● Communication: Exceptional communication skills for navigating and seeking opportunities within our internal and external networks. ● Agile and innovative mindset: Always ready to step out of the box for creating and exploring new ideas, yet is results and high performance driven. The candidate we seek is energized by challenges, and is not afraid of taking risks. The candidate always takes full ownership and responsibilities. Who we are A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact. Let’s build a healthier future, together. Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.