Principal Scientist, Bacteriology Immunology

Use Your Power for Purpose At Pfizer, our purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Your work will directly impact the development of therapies and vaccines that improve patients' lives globally. By leveraging advanced science and cutting-edge technologies, you will play a crucial role in transforming innovative ideas into life-changing medical solutions. Whether you are involved in discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy, or supporting clinical trials, your contributions will be vital in accelerating the delivery of top-tier medicines to patients worldwide. POSITION SUMMARY The Principal Scientist role is a laboratory-based position and best suited for an experimental scientist with deep expertise in microbial immunology research to support bacterial vaccine preclinical research and development. The incumbent will drive preclinical research investigations for early bacterial vaccine candidates and delineate preclinical mechanisms of protective immunity by generating, analyzing, and interpreting laboratory data in a highly collaborative environment. The Principal Scientist will work closely with cross‑functional partners to ensure assay approaches are scientifically robust, fit‑for‑purpose, and aligned with program objectives, while representing the research function on multidisciplinary vaccine teams. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Lead the design, execution, and interpretation of complex preclinical research studies to evaluate early-stage bacterial vaccine candidates and elucidate mechanisms of protective immunity, providing scientific direction and data-driven recommendations that advance program objectives. • Develop, implement, and continuously improve innovative immunological, microbiological, cellular, and molecular assay platforms that are scientifically robust, fit-for-purpose, and aligned with bacterial vaccine research and development needs. • Drive the integration of multidimensional datasets spanning immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, and preclinical models to generate mechanistic insights, identify potential correlates of protection, and inform candidate selection and development strategies. • Provide scientific leadership on multidisciplinary project teams by identifying key scientific questions, assessing technical risks, evaluating emerging technologies, and influencing project decisions through deep subject matter expertise and sound scientific judgment. • Author and communicate scientific findings through high-quality technical reports, publications, presentations, and strategic recommendations, while fostering productive collaborations with internal partners and external scientific collaborators to advance bacterial vaccine research objectives. • Provide technical mentorship and scientific guidance to junior scientists and project team members, as appropriate. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS • PhD in Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, or a related scientific discipline with 4+ years of relevant experience. • Demonstrated success leading independent research programs with a strong record of scientific achievement and influence in multidisciplinary, collaborative research environments. • Extensive hands-on expertise in the design, development, optimization, and application of immunological assays to address scientific questions. • Proven ability to independently design, execute, interpret, and communicate complex preclinical research studies, including generation of mechanistic insights that inform scientific and project decisions. • Demonstrated expertise in microbial immunology and/or host-pathogen interactions. • Experience integrating multidimensional datasets and applying scientific judgment to develop hypotheses, solve technical challen