Senior Director, Quality Control

About Us … Obsidian Therapeutics is pioneering engineered cell and gene therapies to deliver transformative outcomes for patients. Obsidian’s programs apply our cytoDRiVE® technology in Cell and Gene therapy products to control expression of proteins for enhanced therapeutic efficacy and safety. Obsidian’s lead program is currently in clinical development for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. We’re proud of our diverse talented team and committed to cultivating an environment of inclusion where each person feels a strong sense of belonging and is supported to continuously learn and contribute their best work. Our Research team is based in the heart of Cambridge, MA, and Technical Operations team is based in our purpose built facility in Bedford, MA. Obsidianites enjoy a highly collaborative culture, competitive salary and benefits, and potential for ownership through stock options. Our Opportunity... We are looking for a highly motivated Senior Director, Quality Control, with a strong background in Cell Therapy and experience in BLA readiness. As a key contributor within the Technical Operations Team and player-coach, you will lead Quality Control activities supporting the development of our first clinical-stage autologous cell therapy program targeting solid tumors and drive a culture of rigorous thinking, exceptional collaboration and transparency, continuous learning, and outcomes focus. The selected candidate will be responsible for establishing and executing phase-appropriate QC strategies, ensuring analytical and testing operational readiness, and driving oversight of CDMOs and external testing partners in support of product quality, regulatory compliance, and clinical advancement. You will provide subject matter expertise and strategic and operational leadership for the QC organization, aligning QC vision, phase appropriate strategies, and activities with CMC and corporate objectives to ensure scientific, operational, and compliance excellence. You will be a vital part of a highly collaborative team working to achieve Obsidian’s vision by translating innovative science into medical breakthroughs for patients starting with our lead program OBX-115, a novel engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. This is a unique opportunity to be a contributor in a well-funded clinical company with blue chip investors, field-leading advisors, best-in-class partners, and an experienced team. You'll help us build a dynamic, innovative, passionate, collaborative, and successful organization focused on delivering transformative therapies in areas of greatest clinical need. This is a hybrid role based out of our Bedford, MA location. You Will... Develop and implement a phase-appropriate QC strategy and operations for clinical and commercial stages of development to support external manufacturing of autologous cell therapy products ensuring compliance with regulations and alignment with applicable global standards. Serve as the QC subject matter expert (SME) for analytical methods, method qualification/validation, CMC strategy, regulatory filings, relationship management with external laboratory partners, and interactions with regulatory agencies. Ensure methods are fit-for-purpose, phase-appropriate, and robust for QC environments. Define analytical control strategies for drug substance (DS) and drug product (DP), raw materials, in-process controls (IPCs), and release testing. Champion continuous improvement to strengthen method lifecycle management, documentation practices, and analytical robustness. Partner with External Manufacturing and QA Operations to manage and oversee contract testing laboratories (CTLs) and CDMOs; lead method transfer, qualification, testing, validation, and lifecycle management in line with business needs and quality and regulatory standards. Support lot release and disposition decisions in collaboration with QA including QC input into Investigations a