Principal Scientist/Associate Director Immunology

Hillstar Bio, is a precision immunology company that recently completed a sizable Series A financing with a syndicate of blue-chip investors. Our passionate team of drug developers is based in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood.

Hillstar is advancing a portfolio of programs against autoimmune diseases with unmet or underserved medical needs. Its lead program is an antibody designed to selectively target a root cause of Cold Agglutinin Disease (CAD) and other autoimmune diseases. CAD is a chronic, rare (incidence 15/million) but debilitating condition with high morbidity (anemia, fatigue, cold-induced circulatory symptoms). Existing treatment options for CAD have limited effectiveness, carry considerable safety risks, and fail to address key disease symptoms in a large proportion of patients, leading to significant chronic morbidity and excess mortality. By bringing this new precision modality to patients, Hillstar aims to improve on safety and efficacy, as well as durability of response, setting a new gold standard for the management of CAD, and other serious autoimmune conditions with a common biological origin.

Job Description

Join Hillstar Bio as a Principal Scientist/Associate Director of Immunology, acting as the immunology project leader for our second program, HLST-002. This will include designing, managing, and overseeing the execution of the in vitro and in vivo mechanistic, efficacy, and safety studies for HLST-002. This role requires scientific and technical expertise in adaptive immune cell biology and strategic thinking in how we expand our team to advance HLST-002.

This pivotal role offers someone the opportunity to lead the immunology design of an exciting program targeting a significant unmet need for patients. We seek a passionate, collaborative scientist, who is a team player and ready to thrive in a dynamic, close-knit team environment.

Requirements

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Design and oversee execution and analysis of in vitro and in vivo experiments to investigate disease-causing mechanisms and generate proof-of-concept studies
• Research and identify high quality in vitro and in vivo models of autoimmune diseases; working with the VP of Immunology create the overall preclinical strategy for HLST-002 and support the design of subsequent PK, tox, dosing studies
• Work with Scientists and RAs on detailed experimental plans and processes, including identification of appropriate controls, assay optimization, reagent selection, etc. for standard immunology and cell bio techniques (ELISA, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, cell sorting, Western blotting, etc.)
• Identify high quality external CRO, vendor, and academic collaborators, and determine how they fit into a broader scientific workplan for HLST-002; work with external collaborators on detailed experimental design and interpretation of results
• Present finding and project updates to internal research and executive teams
• Assist in authoring technical reports for IP and regulatory filings
• Play a key role in building and fostering Hillstar’s culture and contribute to the growth and leadership of the immunology team
• Collaborate on various aspects of general business, lab operations, and people operations as needed

Qualifications

• PhD in Immunology or related field.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in drug development in biotech or pharma setting, with research experience in autoimmune diseases
• Prior experience with adaptive (B and/or T cell)-mediated autoimmune diseases, experience seeing these programs through non-clinical into early clinical studies is highly preferred
• Prior experience advancing a program from early stage of conceptualization through in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies in a biotech or pharma context
• Prior experience managing junior lab-based scientists (e.g., RA, Scientist, Sr Scientist) and CRO/academic collaborations
• Relevant experience is reflected by a track record of patents and high impact publications.
• Demonstrated excellence as a team player as evidenced by positive reviews from reports, peers, and managers
• Self-motivated, collaborative, excellent time management and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate scientific workplans, strategy, and findings through presentations and slides.
• Experience with antibody development is a plus

Benefits

Hillstar Bio offers a competitive compensation and benefits package that includes unlimited vacation and market-leading parental leave.

Additional Information

This is a full-time position located in our Boston, MA office. Hillstar is committed to creating a diverse work culture and we are seeking individuals of all backgrounds, orientations, and identities. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.