Vice President, Therapeutics Immunology

The Role: Moderna is seeking an exceptional scientific leader to lead its Therapeutics Immunology organization as Vice President, Therapeutics Immunology. Reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer, Therapeutics, this leader will be responsible for developing and driving the scientific strategy for the immunology mRNA portfolio. This leader will build a differentiated T cell receptor capability and advance immunology programs from discovery through preclinical development, while shaping broader portfolio and technology decisions. The role will connect deep immunology expertise with Moderna's mRNA, delivery, protein engineering, and computational platforms to create medicines that address the underlying biology of immune-mediated disease. The successful candidate will be a recognized T cell immunologist and experienced drug-discovery leader with a demonstrated ability to build high-performing multidisciplinary teams and establish new scientific capabilities. They will lead teams spanning T cell biology, immune repertoire and TCR discovery, functional immunology, protein and antibody engineering, and preclinical research. As a senior member of the Research organization, they will work closely with Bioinformatics / AI teams, Platform Science, Nonclinical Development, Clinical Development, Translational Medicine, CMC Development, Regulatory, and R&D Strategy teams to ideate product concepts and modalities, define therapeutic hypotheses, select candidates, and guide programs toward the clinic. Here’s What You’ll Do: Set and execute the scientific strategy for the mRNA therapeutics immunology pipeline, establishing clear priorities across autoimmune disease, TCR-based medicines, and immune-modulating therapeutics. Oversee internal TCR capabilities including TCR deconvolution and an end-to-end TCR discovery and engineering engine to generate therapeutic TCRs at scale. Lead the autoimmune research portfolio from concept ideation to target and disease hypothesis through lead generation, candidate selection, pharmacology, translational strategy, and preclinical development. Establish rigorous decision criteria for efficacy, selectivity, cross-reactivity, developability, manufacturability, and translational relevance across immune-mediated mRNA modalities – including but not limited to T cell engagers and in vivo cell therapy. Translate insights from patient samples, single-cell and immune-repertoire data, human genetics, functional genomics, and disease models into therapeutic concepts. Partner with mRNA science, lipid nanoparticle delivery, protein engineering, structural biology, computational biology, and AI teams to design medicines that exploit Moderna's technology platform and are differentiated from the external landscape. Serve as a key scientific partner to Clinical Development. Shape mechanism-based development plans, biomarker and patient-selection strategies, clinical pharmacology hypotheses, proof-of-mechanism studies, and interpretation of emerging clinical data. Shape Moderna’s R&D strategy by representing therapeutics immunology and autoimmune programs in senior cross-functional forums and integrating Therapeutics Immunology priorities with enterprise portfolio decisions. Regularly engage with senior Research and Development leaders and Executive Committee members. Present clear recommendations, identify scientific and execution risks early, and make evidence-based portfolio and resource decisions. Lead Therapeutics Immunology organization through senior scientific and functional leaders, establishing clear expectations and recruiting, developing, and retaining a high-performing multidisciplinary team. Set a high bar for scientific rigor, candid debate, reproducibility, and timely delivery while creating strong succession and development plans. Serve as Moderna’s external representative for Therapeutics Immunology, establishing and leading productive external collaborations with academic investigators, biotech / pharma, CROs, and technology providers. Evaluate partnership and licensing opportunities that accelerate the strategy. Maintain an active external scientific presence through publications, conferences, advisory relationships, and engagement with leaders in immunology. Establish and manage the function's budget, headcount, technology investments, and portfolio commitments in alignment with Research priorities. Here’s What You’ll Bring to the Table: PhD, MD, or MD/PhD in immunology, cell biology, molecular biology, or a related discipline, with deep training in T cell immunology. At least 15 years of relevant experience after the terminal degree in biotechnology, pharmaceutical research, or an equivalent translational research setting, including at least 5 years leading multidisciplinary scientific teams and leaders. Internationally recognized expertise in human T cell biology, including TCR peptide-MHC biology, antigen-specific Treg responses, immune tolerance, and mechanisms of autoimmune disease. A record of advancing therapeutic programs from discovery through development candidate nomination and preclinical development; experience supporting an IND or early clinical development is required. Demonstrated ability to build or scale a discovery platform, functional area, or research organization and to convert platform capabilities into a portfolio of therapeutic programs. Expertise in TCR discovery, repertoire analysis, antigen-specific T cell identification, functional screening, and the experimental and computational approaches used to assess TCR specificity and cross-reactivity. Strong working knowledge of therapeutic protein or receptor engineering, developability, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, translational biomarkers, and nonclinical safety considerations. Substantial experience in autoimmune or inflammatory disease research, including use of human data and disease-relevant models to prioritize targets and evaluate mechanism. A record of influential scientific contributions demonstrated through therapeutic programs, publications, patents, invited presentations, or implementation of important discovery technologies. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex science into clear strategic choices, make portfolio decisions under uncertainty, and align audiences from scientific teams to senior executives and external partners. Comfortable being uncomfortable: thrives in ambiguity, challenges assumptions, invites candid debate, and makes high-quality decisions without waiting for perfect information. Operates with exceptional urgency and accountability, setting ambitious goals, focusing teams on the highest-value work, and removing barriers while maintaining scientific rigor. A thoughtful risk taker who pursues bold hypotheses, designs decisive experiments, learns quickly from setbacks, and changes course when the evidence demands it. An enterprise-minded, low-ego collaborator who builds trust, develops leaders, and brings together diverse disciplines to deliver outcomes beyond the boundaries of the function. Preferred: Experience developing TCR-based therapeutics, including one or more of TCR-T, soluble TCRs, TCR engagers, TCR-directed antibodies, or in vivo immune-cell reprogramming. Preferred: Experience building integrated workflows across single-cell profiling, TCR sequencing, peptide-MHC technologies, functional assays, display-based engineering, biophysical characterization, and computational protein design. Preferred: Experience with tolerance biology, pathogenic T cell depletion or modulation, regulatory T cell approaches, immune reset st