Scientist Process Development (USP)

Work for an Organization that brings innovative therapies to patients worldwide.

VectorY combines the potential of antibodies and gene therapy to develop long-lasting therapeutic solutions for disease areas of high unmet medical need.

Founded in August 2020, and based in the Amsterdam Science Park, VectorY is a fully integrated gene therapy company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics.

With R&D and manufacturing facilities in Amsterdam, VectorY develops proprietary & partnered programs based on its novel AAV-based vectorized antibody gene therapy platform. Next generation vector technologies are applied to develop product candidates, which will enable a proprietary and highly scalable manufacturing process within VectorY’s own manufacturing facilities.

Your position within the organization

The Process Development (PD) department is an essential part of VectorY, which is taking the lead for the in-house development, scale-up and manufacture of novel gene therapies. The upstream processing (USP) team is responsible for the development of the fermentation process, securing the biopharmaceutical produced at high yield and product quality. The USP team will also support tech-transfer to Contract Manufacturing Organisations (CMOs) to support the manufacture of AAV-based gene therapies for clinical trials. 

Main responsibilities of the role

  • Make study designs to develop and optimize the upstream manufacturing process

    • Apply Design of Experiments (DoE) to aid efficient process development and use of Quality by Design principles in scale-down models

    • Rocking Motion bioreactor for cell seed trail and viral production development (includes insect cells and Baculovirus)

    • Strirred Tank bioreactor for cell seed trail and viral production development (includes insect cells and Baculovirus co-infection for rAAV process development)

    • Scale-up and further optimize the manufacturing process to pilot scale (processing 50 L harvest)

  • Manage the technical execution of the studies to meet the set timelines and deliverables

  • Manage the day-to-day execution of upstream process development activities through a combination of hands-on work and supervision of technicians

  • Write SOP’s and document the work in study plans and reports. Draft the manufacturing documentation

  • Support the implementation of an EDMS 

  • Secure data-management, processing of the results and presentation to key stakeholders

  • Develop training plans and mentor (junior) technicians and students

  • Contribute to the maintenance and housekeeping of the small and pilot scale laboratory equipment and a safe laboratory working environment 

  • Work collaboratively with scientists in Downstream Process Development, Vector Development and Analytical Development

Skills and Qualifications: 

  • PhD, with a minimum of 2 years of relevant working experience 

  • Hands-on experience with small scale bioreactors; experience with both Rocking Motion and Stirred Tank Reactors desirable

  • Industrial experience with development of the manufacturing process for biopharmaceuticals, such as vaccines or gene therapies is considered a plus

Your Natural Strengths and Drivers

You are thorough, have strong scientific, organizational and people management skills and have the ability to distinguish main priorities from lower priority matters. You deliver well thought-through study designs and work consistently and in a steady pace. 

Working at VectorY

We offer a personal and authentic experience within a young, ambitious biotech company on the path to bring innovative therapies to patients worldwide. 

For more information: sandra.lemmens@vectorytx.com