Senior Scientist

Legend Biotech is seeking a Senior Scientist as part of the R& D team based in Philadelphia, PA.

Role Overview

Legend Biotech is a global biotechnology company dedicated to treating, and one day curing, life-threatening diseases. Headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, we are developing advanced cell therapies across a diverse array of technology platforms, including autologous and allogenic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, T-cell receptor (TCR-T), and natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy. From our three R&D sites around the world, we apply these innovative technologies to pursue the discovery of safe, efficacious and cutting-edge therapeutics for patients worldwide.
Legend Biotech entered into a global collaboration agreement with Janssen, one of the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, to jointly develop and commercialize ciltacabta gene autolecuel (cilta-cel). Our strategic partnership is designed to combine the strengths and expertise of both companies to advance the promise of immunotherapy in the treatment of multiple myeloma.
Legend Biotech seeks an experienced molecular biologist to join the Vector Biology team in Philadelphia, focusing on lentiviral vector design, construction, and functional evaluation, as well as cell line development to support CAR-T and other cell therapy programs. This role is pivotal in advancing vector innovation and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality solutions aligned with strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and construct viral vector plasmids and helper plasmids to support gene overexpression, knock-down, and knock-out studies for CAR-T and other cell therapy programs.
• Plan and execute cloning strategies and verify constructs (restriction analysis, Sanger/NGS sequencing).
• Act as an internal plasmid/viral vector design liaison, managing plasmid inventories, sequence databases, and construct requests from research and development teams.
• Generate and characterize engineered mammalian cell lines (e.g., CRISPR-KO, stable overexpression, multiplexed gene edits), including single-cell cloning and expansion.
• Perform small-scale viral vector production using suspension cell lines (e.g., transient transfection in shake flasks or small bioreactors) to support discovery, assay development, and early process development activities.
• Develop, optimize, and execute molecular and cellular assays to assess vector performance using qPCR/ddPCR based assay, Western blot, ELISA and Flow cytometry.
• Independently plan, perform, analyze, and interpret experiments, delivering clear data summaries and recommendations to the Vector Biology and cross-functional teams.
• Prepare high-quality technical reports, study summaries, and slide decks to support decisions on vector design, comparability, and progression of exploratory projects into process development.
• Collaborate closely with other internal teams in Vector Biology and coordinate cross-functional activities as needed for tech transfer and CMC support.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by scouting and implementing new tools and best practices in vector design and analytics.
• Adhere to BSL-2 biosafety standards and Legend policies, maintaining accurate and compliant electronic lab notebooks and documentation.

Requirements

• Ph.D. with 3+ years or M.S. with 5+ years in Molecular Biology, Virology, Cell & Gene Therapy, Biochemistry, or related field with 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in lentiviral vector production and characterization (required).
• Expertise in molecular and cell biology techniques, including plasmid/vector design, sequence analysis, cloning, and gene engineering.
• Proven ability in viral vector engineering, encompassing plasmid construction, production, and analytical characterization.
• Proficiency in mammalian cell culture (adherent and/or suspension), including transient transfection and maintenance of engineered cell lines under BSL-2 conditions.
• Proven experience establishing stable producer cell line for viral vector production, including clone screening and productivity characterization.
• Experience producing and characterizing lentiviral vectors at small scale, including titer determination and basic functional readouts (e.g., transduction efficiency, gene expression).
• Hands-on experience with Western blotting and flow cytometry for protein and cell-based analyses.
• Experience with high-throughput assays, techniques using PCR/qPCR, and ddPCR preferred.
• Adaptable to a fast-paced biotech environment with the ability to prioritize and adjust workload as needed.
• Experience with CRISPR/Cas-based gene editing or other genome engineering tools for creation of KO/KI or multiplexed cell lines.
• Familiarity with upstream and/or downstream viral vector process development.
• Exposure to NGS-based methods for vector or genome characterization.
• Prior experience contributing to tech transfer and/or CMC activities for cell or gene therapy products.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple projects in parallel and work independently.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills to develop innovative solutions and meet project objectives.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to operate effectively within a team environment.
• Proficiency in maintaining accurate and detailed records of experimental procedures, data, and results in an electronic lab notebook to ensure reproducibility and accessibility.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills for documenting work and presenting data to teams.

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