Director Assay Development

miDiagnostics

Leuven, Belgium

Job description

The Director Assay Development leads an international and multidisciplinary team of scientists and lab technicians who have their main focus on developing a completely new molecular diagnostics device to be used at the point of need.

He/she operates at the intersection between two major disciplines: silicon chip (biosensor) technologies and biochemistry. In this capacity, he/she is working in close interaction with John Hopkings and imec, our founders and strategic R&D partner.

Together with clinical and regulatory team the director of assay development will define and develop new innovative diagnostic products to serve point of care patients needs and able to meet requirements of different strategic markets and will steer and plan product launch according to miDiagnostics long term commercial strategy.

He/she plans, delegates, and organizes the completion of the scientific and engineering work related to the research and development projects in molecular diagnostic testing, based on an in-depth knowledge of the miDiagnostics platform and associated technologies.

He/she is responsible to define and propose new projects required to build this new testing device. This means e.a.:

Steer and manage assay projects through concept, design, development and clinical stages;
Coordinate the development and optimization new assay development projects to be run on the silicon chip;
Facilitate the design and evaluation of innovative technology building blocks;
Apply a scientific focus to solve challenging questions related to our core programs;
Submit scientific abstracts, manuscripts, grants and patent applications;
Support submissions of grants for non-dilutive funding;
Recruit, on-board, lead and coach (new) team members.

Besides these responsibilities, the Director Assay Development:

Leads the Assay Development team and has the ability to lead teams working in an agile set-up;
Cascades the company priorities to the Assay, Clinical & Regulatory Affairs department/chapter and defines clear objectives and key results;
Ensures the right talent is hired and supports hiring via his/her network;
Acts as an inspirational leader and promotes a growth mindset across the company.

Job requirements

PhD degree in life-science- or bio-technology-related study domain with profound expertise in molecular biology and hands-on RT PCR expertise with at least 5 years of industrial development experience or a Master degree in science- or technology-related study domain with at least 10 years of industrial research experience in molecular biology and with a strong interest in cutting-edge technologies and silicon chip technology;
Excellent level of English;
Profound research and development experience in molecular biology with a focus on nucleic acids, (RT-)(q)PCR design and optimization, microarray technology;
Experience in leading and coaching high performance teams in the development is mandatory;
Experience with in-vitro diagnostics development is considered a plus;
Experience in the field of Infectious Diseases and female health is an asset;
A keen interest in technological domains such as microfluidics, biosensors and semiconductor chips;
Scientifically sound way of working (hypothesis-driven testing and experimental set-up);
Excellent scientific communication skills (presenting and writing, including abstracts, publications, grants, work instructions);
Knowledge of relevant scientific databases, Bio-IT and statistical tools;
Awareness of intellectual property and its implications;
Possess’ superior time management, leadership, communication and decision-making skills;
Highly driven to reach ambitious goals in a fast-paced, dynamic environment;
Our offices are located in Leuven (Belgium). Entitlement to work and live in Belgium is mandatory.