Career Areas
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Feel our passion for creating transformative results.
We have a strong belief that the results of our work have potential to create positive change. But we think it’s best to hear from our employees regarding the kind of impact you can make with Atara—and why it matters.
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Employees
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And we are rapidly growing!
Specialist QA
Bethany Frey
Quality Control Associate
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Why did you join Atara?
I joined Atara because the company’s mission of transforming the lives of patients with serious medical conditions aligns perfectly with my passion for making peoples’ lives better and is the reason I pursued biomedical science as a career. Also, I’ve been interested in immunology and biotechnology since I was in college and I was very excited to join a company that is actively pioneering breakthroughs in these fields.
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What excites you about your role?
The thing that excites me most about my role is that it presents me with numerous opportunities to learn and grow. I am able to leverage my experience and skills to deliver consistent results and support production, while also being challenged to tackle new projects and learn new things.
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What inspires you on a daily basis?
I am inspired on a daily basis by the knowledge that the work I’m doing can have meaningful impact to individuals with serious medical conditions and their families, and that I am playing a part in that.
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Which TRAIT value do you relate to the most?
One of Atara’s values is accountability, and to me that means having the privilege of being entrusted with the ownership of my projects and my contributions to Atara’s mission. Being accountable for my work and accountable to my coworkers motivates me to work hard and makes me feel like I am an equal player in a team effort.
Marketing
Brett Masterson
Senior Director, Global Marketing
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Why did you join Atara?
Much of my career I was in oncology, which I really enjoyed, and then I moved to a traditional rare disease start-up. I enjoyed the complexity of rare disease, but I missed the dynamics of oncology. Atara married both. I also really enjoyed the people I met during my interviews. Taken together, it was a great fit.
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What excites you about your function?
The cross-functional nature and the mix of science, strategy, creativity, analytics and execution. Marketing touches everything.
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What inspires you on a daily basis?
The growing potential impact of our platform and the rapid strengthening of our culture.
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What excites/inspires you to be part of Atara?
The potential to be a part of one of the next great advancements in medicine.
Finance
Brian Schoelkopf
Director, FP&A
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Why did you join Atara?
I joined Atara because I felt that it provided the opportunity to be a part of a potentially transformational— rather than incremental—advancement in the biopharma industry.
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What excites you about your function?
Collaboration with functional business partners to determine how we can most effectively invest in our business to have the greatest and most expedient impact for patients, while creating value for our shareholders.
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What inspires you on a daily basis?
The commitment, passion and intelligence of my peers at Atara.
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What excites you about our science?
We are on the frontier of cell therapy, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with off-the-shelf allogeneic therapeutics.
Safety
Venkat Anumala
Sr. Manager, Drug Safety & Pharmacovigilance
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What excites (inspires) you to be here?
What inspires me here at Atara is the allogeneic technology, developing T cells to treat specific conditions like Epstein-Barr virus-associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and autoimmune diseases. I strongly feel that there is a high unmet medical need for effective immunotherapies for these patients. Our off-the-shelf, allogeneic EBV T-cell immunotherapy has the potential to transform the lives of patients. At Atara, I feel the sense of urgency for the patients, because patients cannot wait.
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How do you feel about the work you do?
I am a proud Atarian and privileged to be on the mission to bring novel cellular therapies to the patients and to change the way we treat certain rare and devastating life-threatening diseases like post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD).
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Which TRAIT value do you relate to the most?
One of our values is accountability, and to me that means we act quickly in pursuit of our objectives and goals. We plan ahead, overcome hurdles and assist one another as we move forward. We take ownership of decisions and outcomes. We learn from our flaws. We are motivated and supported by our fellow Atarians along the way.
Manufacturing
Melissa Reynoso
Sr. Manager, Manufacturing
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Why did you join Atara?
I missed working with cells. I worked with T cells in the past, then moved to biologics and it wasn’t the same. With T-cell therapies, the actual cell is the drug product which makes the processes novel and exciting.
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What excites you about your role?
In manufacturing, I am really at the center of everything. I get to work with different departments to bring in new products, equipment, people, and most important, work on commercializing medicines for very sick patients.
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What excites you about your function?
I like that my role is still very science-based. I enjoy learning about new technology. I enjoy learning about how new processes are developed by very smart people. I like that I get to learn about how our work can affect people and how to scale up products for manufacturing. It is really cool that I get to see some of these ideas turn into products that my team gets to make.
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What inspires you on a daily basis?
My team, especially the associates who manufacture our products. Our process is a combination of art and science.
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What excites you about our science?
I can go on and on about this, but I think cells are fascinating. So learning more about what we can do with cells is fun for me.
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Which TRAIT value do you relate to the most?
Probably transparency. I am very open with my team when I can be. I like everyone to be in the know. I think it helps us get ahead of things and be able to anticipate issues as they arise in manufacturing and deal with them in real time.
People
Kelli Arriola
Project Specialist
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Why did you join Atara?
The opportunity to work at a start-up company pioneering something new for patients was really exciting.
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What excites you about your role?
I have the amazing opportunity to interface with everyone during their first week with Atara.
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What excites you about your function?
My function is broader and allows me to provide not only for my immediate team but for the entire company.
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What inspires you on a daily basis?
Knowing patients could benefit from us crossing that finish line to get product to patients in need.
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What excites/inspires you to be part of Atara?
Actually, meeting and hearing from patients is one of the many things I find exciting and it inspires me to continue doing what I do.
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What excites you about our science?
Everything we are doing is exciting and simply being on the pioneering side of this science is really cool.
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Which TRAIT value do you relate to the most?
One of our values is integrity, which means a lot to me in the sense of how I deliver. I want you to know that you are going to get my best whenever/whatever I do for the team at Atara, which is all to help our patients in the bigger scheme of things.
FUNCTIONS
Explore our many roles. Help achieve one major objective.
Our quest is to discover, create and deliver breakthrough biotherapeutic solutions through pioneering science, teamwork and a commitment to excellence. Yet we contribute in many different and engaging ways. Regardless of role, you’ll play an important part in helping us to realize our long-term objectives and do work of significance and impact.
Tech Ops
Maximize your talent and ambition with Technical Operations. This cross-functional support team features opportunities in Process Sciences, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Quality.
Research & Development
Within Research & Development, we pursue the discovery, creation and delivery of new treatments designed to fight cancer and other autoimmune conditions. Play a vital role in Preclinical, Translational Science, HEOR/Epi, Safety, Regulatory Affairs, Medical Affairs, Clinical Development or Program/Project Management.
Commercial
We’re currently building our Commercial capabilities. This team currently includes highly motivated individuals who possess exceptional expertise in Commercial Planning, Strategy, Marketing, Market Access and Pricing, and we plan to add more talent as we grow and succeed.
General Administration
Provide the support our teams need to create targeted treatments for cancer and other autoimmune diseases as part of our General Administration team. Whether you contribute in Finance, People, IT or Legal, you’ll help to advance our mission.
Internship
Join a team that never stops learning.
Atara is committed to partnering with graduate and undergraduate programs to find the most promising talent. We begin recruiting in the fall for internship programs that take place the following summer. These opportunities feature real-world projects and the potential to build a career with our innovative organization.