Principal Scientist - Nkarta, Inc.

Nkarta is a publicly traded (Nasdaq symbol NKTX), biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco focused on the discovery, development and manufacturing of off-the-shelf, natural killer (NK) cell therapies. Our near-term goal is to bring cell therapy out into the community setting, dramatically expanding access for patients. 

Founded in 2015 at the birthplace of biotechnology, Nkarta is a fast-growing, fast-moving, clinical-stage company that has built an extensive cell therapy manufacturing operation in anticipation of product commercialization. Our developmental pipeline of engineered NK cell therapies includes clinical programs in B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases.

Complementing our broad research and development capabilities, Nkarta has also built an extensive cell therapy manufacturing operation.  We recently built out a 23,000-square foot clinical good manufacturing practice, or cGMP, facility on-site at our primary corporate location in South San Francisco, California.

Nkarta is a people-driven company looking for passionate, collaborative, driven team members galvanized by a paradigm-shifting opportunity to change the cell therapy landscape.  

Nkarta is seeking a highly motivated, collaborative, detail-oriented Principal Scientist to join our Translational Medicine team. The successful candidate will have expertise in immunology, immune cell therapy and/or autoimmune diseases. This individual will work independently and collaboratively within Translational Medicine and cross functionally to advance and support and execute on biomarker assay development, MOA investigations and data analysis from clinical samples to support translational and clinical strategies in early development. This role is ideal for an individual who is driven and passionate about cell therapy for the treatment of hard-to treat diseases.

• Lead development of biomarker strategies and discovery with design, development and execution of experiments, validation, and transfer of assays to a third-party vendor
• Lead translational research projects and design, plan, and execute experiments to support hypotheses that address high priority questions such as those related to clinical efficacy, MOA and immunogenicity
• Collaborate with bioinformatics to implement and support functional genomic research using cutting edge technology platforms
• Perform in-depth scientific literature reviews on autoimmune disease biology and indications
• Work independently; accurately record, analyze, and communicate data to senior staff and team members
• Communicate results and data effectively in internal team and cross functionally during company presentations and/or external scientific conferences
• Collaborate with team members and serve as scientific mentor to Scientists and Research Associates

• PhD in immunology or related discipline and 4-5 or more years of industry experience.
• Strong background in immunology and B cell biology and in-depth experience in the principles and practices of cellular immunology and cell biology methodologies, including primary human immune cell isolation, culture, differentiation and activation, cell transfection, and viral transduction.
• Experience in addressing clinically relevant questions and novel biomarkers using functional genomics
• Expertise in developing and executing in vitro cellular characterization assays including immune cell phenotyping, cytotoxicity (FACS & image based), proliferation, migration, 3D cultures, and cytokine analysis.
• Proficiency in designing and performing complex multi-color flow cytometry is required.
• Experience with NK or CAR-T based cancer therapy is preferred.
• Ability to work on complex problems where analysis requires an in-depth evaluation of multiple factors.
• Exercises independent judgment and provides strong scientific rationale in selecting experimental methods, techniques, evaluation criteria for obtaining results and data analysis.
• Strong verbal and writing skills for documentation of data, drafting of technical reports, and communication of progress to supervisor and project teams.
• Ability to multi-task and work independently as well as in collaboration with peers within a fast-paced team environment with a positive outlook and high degree of self-motivation and organization.

The common requirements of an office environment (computers, computer screens, workstations, etc.) apply when not working in or around the laboratory environment. Car and airplane travel might be required of this role for conferences and meetings. This role is local to the office in South San Francisco; however, the work hours are flexible as agreed upon.

A reasonable estimate of the current salary range for this position is $175,000 - $213,000.  There are several factors taken into consideration in determining base salary, including but not limited to: job-related qualifications, skills, education and experience, as well as the value of other elements of an employee’s total compensation package.  Nkarta also offers an annual discretionary bonus, equity grant(s), medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverage, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.  Other benefits include 401K plan, flexible spending account, ESPP, employee assistance program, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid parental, pregnancy, and bereavement leave.

The 150+ team members describe working at Nkarta through some of the following comments. While getting better work-life balance and improving communications between groups in an early stage start up environment are two areas on which we are working, here are real, anonymous comments about or regarding why people think Nkarta is a great place to work.

• “People are always open to ideas. This company provides a safe place for its employees (covid testing, etc.)”
• “Exceptionally talented, committed, *kind* & supportive team.”
• “The CEO is transparent and honest with expectations for the whole company. There is genuine care amongst the leadership team for their peers and employees. I believe this is unique.”
• “Not to sound corny, but the emphasis on people as a valuable resource is something I recognize doesn't often exist elsewhere, and it's here in ample supply, which is great.”
• “It's the first place that I've worked where the executive team truly values the employees. It's a pretty amazing thing not to hear that employees can be replaced with someone new. Institutional knowledge is understood.”
• “We have a very diverse team with executives that are friendly and accessible.”
• “Smart and dedicated colleagues. Mission to make a difference in patients’ lives. Empower us with tools needed to succeed. Open and transparent culture. Transparent leadership. Handling of covid and running the company was done very well.”

To learn more about our work at Nkarta and the career opportunities that will drive us forward to serve patients, please visit the company’s website at https://www.nkartatx.com.