Senior Scientist

Senior Scientist, Research & Development

Location: Lincoln, Nebraska (Onsite)
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Flexible core hours)
Salary Range: $79,000 – $123,000 annually depending on directly relevant experience and skills
Reports To: Biological Development Manager

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Scientist to join our Research & Development team in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is a hands-on, individual contributor role focused on the development, scale-up, and technical transfer of veterinary biologics for food-producing animals.

The ideal candidate will bring industry experience in animal health, biologics, vaccines, or related biotechnology fields and possess a strong understanding of biological systems, process development, and manufacturing scale-up. This position will play a key role in advancing bacterial and viral vaccine programs from early development through commercial manufacturing.

Approximately 50–60% of the role will be laboratory-based, with the remainder dedicated to project planning, technical documentation, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration.

What You'll Do

• Lead and execute development activities for bacterial and viral biologics intended for poultry, swine, and cattle applications.
• Design, perform, and troubleshoot laboratory experiments supporting process development, optimization, and scale-up.
• Support technology transfer activities from R&D into manufacturing environments.
• Develop scalable upstream and downstream processes involving microorganisms, cells, and biological substrates.
• Collaborate closely with Production, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Regulatory Affairs, and Manufacturing teams.
• Generate, analyze, and communicate experimental results to project teams and leadership.
• Author and maintain technical documentation, protocols, reports, batch records, and SOPs.
• Support regulatory submissions and compliance efforts involving FDA and USDA requirements for veterinary biologics.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and scientific problem-solving across development programs.
• Participate in occasional weekend activities when project timelines or biological processes require support.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Biology, Immunology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, or a related life sciences discipline.
• 5-10+ years of hands-on industry experience in biologics, vaccines, bioprocessing, fermentation, cell culture, or related biotechnology environments.
• Experience working with biological systems such as bacteria, viruses, mammalian cells, microbial cultures, parasites, or other biological substrates.
• Knowledge of process development principles, including scale-up and technology transfer.
• Strong laboratory troubleshooting, data interpretation, and technical writing skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

Preferred

• Industry experience within the animal health, veterinary biologics, vaccine, or agricultural biotechnology industries is highly preferred.
• Familiarity with FDA and/or USDA regulatory requirements related to biologics or vaccine manufacturing.
• Experience with fermentation, bioreactors, upstream processing, downstream processing, and manufacturing scale-up.
• Experience supporting commercial manufacturing or process transfer activities.
• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in a related scientific field.
• Experience working in highly regulated environments.

What We're Looking For

Beyond technical expertise, we're looking for someone who:

• Has a strong work ethic and ownership mentality.
• Communicates effectively and collaborates well with diverse teams.
• Thrives in a fast-paced development environment.
• Is open to giving and receiving constructive feedback.
• Demonstrates scientific curiosity and practical problem-solving skills.
• Brings a positive attitude and contributes to a strong team culture.

About the Team

You'll join a collaborative R&D organization with approximately 45–50 professionals across analytical, clinical, regulatory, and development functions. The Lincoln-based development team consists of five scientists focused on advancing innovative veterinary biologics that support animal health and food production worldwide.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to make a direct impact on the development of next-generation veterinary vaccines and biologics while working alongside experienced scientists in a growing organization. You'll have visibility across the full product lifecycle—from development and scale-up through manufacturing and commercialization—and play a meaningful role in improving animal health globally.

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