Cell Therapy Specialist I

We’re here for one reason and one reason only – to cure cancer. Every moment is dedicated to developing treatments and every action moves us one step closer to our goal. We’ve made incredible scientific breakthroughs and our pioneering personalized CAR T-cell therapies have changed the paradigm. But we're not finished yet.

Join Kite, as we make even bigger advances in cancer therapies, and help shape where our business and medical science goes next.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Kite and help create more tomorrows.

Job Description

Cell Therapy Specialist

Kite is seeking a highly motivated individual with cell culture experience to work on innovative T cell therapy for cancer treatment. The Cell Therapy Specialist will be responsible for cell processing and cell expansion in a cGMP manufacturing facility.

In this role, you will work with other Cell Therapy Specialists utilizing GMP and Aseptic practices to manufacture and assemble blood-derived components in a cleanroom environment. Due to the nature of the starting material (patient cells), this role requires a high level of proficiency and ownership of the process, with the highest skill level of aseptic and sterile techniques.

Department Description

As Cell Therapy Specialist you’ll be joining a team in which people of all backgrounds and experiences are respected, and where working together focused on saving lives, by finding the cure for cancer, is a daily activity.

You will be reporting to one of Team Leads Manufacturing.

Your responsibilities, among others, will be:

• To perform all tasks associated with the manufacturing of clinical and commercial products in A and B grade area following batch records and standard operating procedures (SOPs);

• To work as part of a dedicated and committed team to execute GMP runs in close collaboration with Product Sciences, Material Management, and Quality Assurance & Quality Control;

• Draft new and revise existing manufacturing Batch records / SOP’s / WI’s to support process improvements and maintain GMP compliance;

• Assist in investigations required to manage deviations;

• Assist in managing change controls;

• To successfully troubleshoot processing and equipment issues;

• To strictly comply with SOPs and cGMP regulations; accurately complete documentation associated with clinical and commercial manufacturing;

• To ensure a consistent process execution to guarantee high-quality output;

• To maintain cleanroom in an optimal state;

• To continuously look for improvements to the processes to increase quality and efficiency;

Additional information:

• This role requires you to work in a shift schedule (including weekends)

• Because you will work with blood products, Kite strongly recommends a vaccination against hepatitis B. Either you have already been vaccinated, or are willing to get vaccinated

Your profile

The ideal candidates for this position, in combination with skills and knowledge, should also have a ‘hands-on, can-do’ mentality. You must also be comfortable with working in full gowning requirements in a completely aseptic environment.

Education

• MBO/HBO (MBO Level +) with a background in Life Sciences

• Vapro A and B, or LITOP A and B are considered a plus

Knowledge/experience

• Minimum of 3 years of cGMP experience in preferably a pharmaceutical / biotechnology or similar manufacturing environment;

• Must have demonstrated knowledge of pharmaceutical manufacturing of biotechnology products.

• Aseptic processing and cell culture processing in combination with cell culture equipment experience is a prerequisite;

• Skilled in Microsoft Word, Excel and data analysis.

Personal skills

• Be aware of following SOPs, curious and interested in learning and growing;

• Be comfortable in a fast-paced, growing company environment with minimal direction and able to adjust workload based upon changing priorities;

• Be self-motivated and willing to accept temporary responsibilities outside of the initial job description;

• Have excellent interpersonal, verbal and written English communication skills (essential in our collaborative work environment)

What we offer you as your future employer

• Meaningful work where employees in all areas contribute to our mission of finding a cure for cancer

• Innovative organization with a multicultural working environment

• Very competitive and performance-based remuneration

• Paid vacation leave

• Very good pension contribution plan

• Health and Welfare Benefits

• Commuting support

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

• Employee recognition and anniversary awards

Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies with a goal of providing rapid, long-term durable response and eliminating the burden of chronic care. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system's ability to recognize and kill tumors. Kite is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com . Sign up to follow @KitePharma on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kitepharma .

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

It is the policy of Gilead Sciences, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively "Gilead" or the "Company") to recruit select and employ the most qualified persons available for positions throughout the Company.  Except if otherwise provided by applicable law, all  employment actions relating to issues such as compensation, benefits, transfers, layoffs, returns from layoffs, company-sponsored training, education assistance, social and recreational programs are administered on a non-discriminatory basis (i.e. without regard to protected characteristics or prohibited grounds, which may include an individual’s gender, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, medical condition, veteran status, and age, unless such protection is prohibited by federal, state, municipal, provincial, local or other applicable laws).  Gilead also prohibits discrimination based on any other characteristics protected by applicable laws.

For Current Kite Pharma Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.