Head of Systems Engineering

Cell therapies have been shown to cure devastating and previously untreatable diseases like cancer by re-programming the patient's own immune system. Giving more patients access to these life-saving therapies requires a revolution in manufacturing and process automation.  

Cellular Origins, a TTP Company, is enabling scalable, cost-effective and efficient manufacture of cell and gene therapies. Our technology addresses the challenges associated with manufacturing at scale with an elegant robotic manufacturing automation solution that reduces cost and labour, eliminates human error, and increases efficiency. 

As Head of Systems Engineering at Cellular Origins you’ll be an integral part of our senior leadership team. Reporting to our CTO and collaborating closely with our executive leadership team, development teams and customers, you'll be the crucial link between our vision and its realisation. You’ll be responsible for both defining Cellular Origins’ processes for systems engineering at the company level and leading the development of Cellular Origins’ system definition.

This role is pivotal in ensuring that the development of our scalable manufacturing system meets customer and Cellular Origins’ goals. You’ll ensure the seamless integration of complex subsystems and deliver on ambitious project timelines. You will deliver robust and efficiently managed technical solutions.

Responsibilities

You’ll show strategic leadership by defining and implementing a comprehensive systems engineering strategy aligned with Cellular Origins’ business objectives and platform roadmap. This strategy will integrate customer and regulatory requirements with our modular architecture to deliver tailored solutions to our customers to scale their cell therapy processes.

You’ll lead and develop the systems engineering team in systems definition, requirements engineering, system architecture, and the identification and management of modular interfaces.

Working closely with multiple cross-functional departments, including hardware, software, robotics, and quality teams, you’ll make cross-disciplinary trade-offs to best meet system and company goals, and to ensure regulatory compliance.

You’ll maintain a customer-focused approach, by understanding and addressing their needs. You’ll translate user requirements into scalable automation platforms, while managing expectations, and aligning with Cellular Origins’ business goals. You’ll be involved in verification tests and strategies to assess that these requirements have been met, understanding risk management by proactively identifying and mitigating technical risks associated with system development and deployment.

You’ll be an experienced and collaborative systems lead, with a deep understanding of systems engineering and the requirements for effectively developing complex, multidisciplinary systems with modular architectures for factory or pharmaceutical automation.

You’ll possess strong influencing skills, capable of inspiring teams from a diverse range of experience backgrounds to excel. This will allow you to bring people together, motivating everyone towards a shared objective. Your ability to engage with stakeholders effectively, understanding their influence and interests, will be crucial in ensuring success.

• Experience across the systems engineering lifecycle from requirements through to project completion, ideally within a factory automation and/or pharmaceutical setting.
• Experience delivering factory automation systems from user requirements through to site acceptance tests and supporting customer validation.
• Expertise in systems engineering, with a deep understanding of mechanical, electrical, software, and automation systems. Preferably experience working on cross-disciplinary systems and problems that impact biology, chemistry or similar.
• Experience with generation of technical documentation at all levels. Preferably experience pulling together technical files for regulated industry such as GMP.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with experience growing and developing high-performing teams.

Cellular Origins is part of TTP Group, an employee-owned business. It is based on the TTP Campus, within purpose-built sustainable offices, labs and green surroundings, 10 miles south of Cambridge.  TTP Group takes a long-term approach to investment and has been at the forefront of bioprocess automation for over 20 years.  Our working culture encourages entrepreneurship, shared ideas and collaboration, while providing you the freedom to do your best work.   

Our employee benefits include:  

• Annual bonus  
• 25 days holiday  
• Employer pension contribution of 10% of salary 
• Free lunch and all-day refreshments  
• Private medical insurance for employees and dependants  
• Enhanced family friendly leave  
• Life insurance worth 6x salary  
• Electric car leasing scheme  
• Cycle to work scheme  
• Season ticket loan  
• An activities and community fund that supports healthy activities that bring colleagues together; whether it’s lunchtime squash or football, Zumba or our own rock band. Colleagues initiate new clubs and outings whenever they feel there’s something missing!  
• Local sports facilities and theatre discounts and memberships.