Scientist or Senior Scientist, Cell Line Development

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

Position Summary

We are seeking an enthusiastic candidate to join Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cell Line Development team in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This group is part of the larger GUCLD (Global Upstream and Cell Line Development) organization, which primarily focuses on delivering high-quality cell lines and cell culture processes to advance clinical and commercial programs. This position involves fundamental responsibilities, including the development of expression vectors and mammalian cell lines for the production of monoclonal antibodies, bi-specific antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates, and requires close collaboration across functions with upstream, downstream, analytical development, and R&D teams. The successful candidate will leverage expertise in protein folding, trafficking, and advanced cell engineering to drive innovation in mammalian cell line development for recombinant protein production. This role requires strong experimental skills, scientific leadership, and the ability to collaborate effectively in cross-functional teams within a fast-paced research environment. This position offers excellent opportunities for professional growth and career development in biologics process development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead cell line development projects and perform key activities associated with production cell line development, including transfection, selection, single cell cloning, high-throughput screening, characterization of clonal cell lines using scale-down models, cell banking, and cell line stability studies.
• Design and optimize mammalian expression vectors and systems; perform transcript quantitation and genetic characterization as needed.
• Serve as a subject matter expert to support cell line development in cross-functional CMC teams, as well as author and review regulatory filings for early and late-stage projects.
• Evaluate and introduce innovative technologies to optimize therapeutic protein folding and production.
• Generate hypotheses, plan and execute experiments, analyze data, and draw actionable conclusions.
• Collaborate closely with upstream, downstream, and analytical development teams.
• Present technical summaries to peers and upper management, as well as prepare technical writing for development reports and regulatory filing support. Publish and/or present scientific findings at external conferences.

This role may be appointed at the Scientist or Senior Scientist level. Candidates with demonstrated experience and expertise will be considered for the appropriate level.

Qualifications & Experience

• Scientist: Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, or relevant disciplines, with 0-2 years of relevant experience or MS with 2-4 years relevant experience or BS with 5-7 years relevant experience.
• Senior Scientist: Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, or relevant disciplines, with 2-4 years of relevant experience or MS with 4-6 years relevant experience or BS with 7-9 years relevant experience.
• Hands-on experience in mammalian cell line development. Familiarity with Western blotting, cell staining, and FACS sorting.
• Strong molecular biology skills in vector design, plasmid construction, cloning, purification, and characterization.
• Proficient in transcript quantification and genetic characterization, with hands-on experience in RNA-based technologies such as siRNA and miRNA.
• In-depth knowledge of protein and antibody folding and trafficking in the cell.
• Experience with advanced cell engineering, omics, and synthetic biology is preferred.
• Experience operating AMBR microbioreactors and automated liquid handling systems is a plus.
• Strong organizational skills and a proven ability to independently lead scientific projects from hypothesis generation through execution and conclusion. Demonstrated ability to think critically and possess excellent problem-solving skills.
• Excellent collaboration, oral, and written communication skills; demonstrated success working in cross-functional teams and contributing to shared goals in a fast-paced research environment.
• Proven record of publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at conferences.

#LI-Onsite

#GPSProdDev

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

New Brunswick - NJ - US: $96,340 - $116,740

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience. 

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans then in effect and may include the following: Medical, pharmacy, dental and vision care. Wellbeing support such as the BMS Living Life Better program and employee assistance programs (EAP). Financial well-being resources and a 401(K). Financial protection benefits such as short- and long-term disability, life insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection and survivor support. Work-life programs include paid national holidays and optional holidays, Global Shutdown Days between Christmas and New Year’s holiday, up to 120 hours of paid vacation, up to two (2) paid days to volunteer, sick time off, and summer hours flexibility. Parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military leave. Family care services such as adoption and surrogacy reimbursement, fertility/infertility benefits, support for traveling mothers, and child, elder and pet care resources. Other perks like tuition reimbursement and a recognition program.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.

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