Scientist / Principal Research Associate, Beta Islet
Sana Biotechnology, Inc.
Full-time
Remote friendly (Cambridge, MA)
United States
Clinical Research and Development
Want to see how your resume matches up to this job? A free trial of our JobsAI will help! With over 2,000 biopharma executives loving it, we think you will too! Try it now — JobsAI.
Role Summary
Sci entist / Principal Research Associate, Beta Islet. Role involves performing and executing routine stem cell islets differentiation, driving innovation in R&D, and supporting translation to clinical manufacturing. Reports to the Senior Scientist of the Beta Islet Team. Location: Cambridge.
Responsibilities
- Lab-based role focused on culture and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells
- Perform and optimize iPSC culture, expansion in both 2D and 3D platforms
- Operate and optimize closed and automated bioreactor systems under aseptic and GMP-aligned conditions
- Collaborate with PD team to enable scale-up and technology transfer
- Experience bridging between R&D and PD is a plus
- Analysis of differentiated cell product – flow cytometry, PCR, fluorescent microscopy
- Participate in design and execution of experiments critical for SC-451 product development
- Document experiments, analyze data, and prepare summaries
- Maintain excellent scientific documentation and contribute to SOP development
- Assuring compliance with all relevant lab safety and biosafety regulations
Qualifications
- PhD, MSc, or BSc in Stem cell biology, biomedical engineering or related field with 1–2 years (PhD), 5+ years (MSc), or 7+ years (BSc) of direct cell therapy industry experience
- Expertise in iPSC culture and directed differentiation, preferably toward pancreatic islet lineages
- Experience handling large-scale directed differentiations
- Proficiency in aseptic techniques and single-use or closed-system workflows
- Proficient with standard flow cytometry and imaging software (e.g. FACS, Diva, FlowJo, ImageJ, Prism)
Skills
- Hands-on experience with closed systems (tube welder, sealer, single-use assemblies)
- Expertise in controlled bioreactor setup, operation, automation, and process control (DO, pH, perfusion, agitation)
- Knowledge or direct experience in directed stem cell differentiation toward pancreatic islet lineage
- Proven ability to optimize differentiation yield and reproducibility across platforms
- GMP transition, automation, and continuous process improvement
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and enthusiasm for advancing cell therapies to the clinic
Education
- PhD, MSc, or BSc in relevant field as listed in Qualifications