Description
Overview of Department & Mentor:
The Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center (CBC) is a 22,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomanufacturing facility that is comprised of a cGMP cell manufacturing facility housing multiple cleanroom cell production suites, and process development rooms for producing the next-generation of cell and gene therapies.
Lakshman Balajepalli is a senior Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, and Quality Management Systems professional with more than 35 years of life sciences industry experience, including over 18 years in QA, QMS, regulatory compliance, manufacturing quality, validation, audits, and quality operations. He currently serves as Manager of Quality Assurance at the Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center, where he provides QA oversight for cGMP cell and gene therapy manufacturing, quality risk management, documentation practices, validation activities, clinical batch release, and regulatory audit support. His background spans cell and gene therapy, vaccines, in vitro diagnostics, molecular diagnostics, medical devices, and regulated manufacturing environments. As a mentor, he is well positioned to train interns in quality systems, GMP documentation, deviation/CAPA management, change control, audit readiness, validation principles, and cross-functional collaboration within a regulated biomanufacturing setting.
Role Activities & Timeline:
During month 1, the intern will complete onboarding, GMP orientation, safety training, documentation training, and an introduction to QA systems and internal procedures.
During months 2–3, the intern will assist with SOP and form routing, formatting, revision control, document archival, and digitalization of controlled documents.
During months 3–4, the intern will support deviation, CAPA, and change control activities, including logging records, tracking status, organizing supporting documentation, and helping monitor follow-up actions.
During months 4–5, the intern will assist with training record maintenance and quality data collection for metrics and trending.
During month 6, the intern will help summarize quality system activities, support reporting, and present key learnings to the QA team. T
hroughout the appointment, the intern will receive mentorship through regular check-ins, task-based training, feedback on documentation quality, and collaboration with QA, Manufacturing, QC, and Facilities teams.
Systems Access: Outlook, Teams, MS Office
Qualifications
Required Education & Experience:
- Must be 18 years of age or older.
- Must have a HS Diploma or GED.
- Must reside in the greater Los Angeles area or surrounding cities while conducting all activities related to the intern appointment.
- This internship is unpaid and must receive academic credit for the duration of the internship. The duration of this internship is January 2027 - June 2027.
Our compensation philosophy
We offer competitive total compensation that includes pay, benefits, and other recognition programs for our employees. The base pay range shown above takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including knowledge/skills; relevant experience and training; education/certifications/licensure; and other business and organizational factors. This base pay range does not include our comprehensive benefits package and any incentive payments that may be applicable to this role. Pay Transparency Non Discrimination Provision (PDF) (opens in new window)
Diversity and Inclusion at Cedars-Sinai
We are caretakers and innovators committed to the pursuit of equitable healthcare. But health equity is not possible without representation. Our commitment to diversity goes beyond demographics or checking boxes. Our people must reflect the diverse identities, experiences and geographies of the communities and patients we serve – because that’s what our patients, colleagues and communities deserve. Quality Care and Research—For All, By All (opens in new window).
Cedars-Sinai is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.
Cedars-Sinai does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of the race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, physical or mental disability, legally protected medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics or any genetic information), marital status, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, age (40 or older), military and/or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal or state law. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at Applicant_Accommodation@cshs.org and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.
Cedars-Sinai will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories, in accordance with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.
At Cedars-Sinai, we are dedicated to the safety, health and wellbeing of our patients and employees. This includes protecting our patients from communicable diseases, such as influenza (flu) and COVID-19. For this reason, we require that all new employees receive a flu vaccine based on the seasonal availability of flu vaccine (typically during September through April each year) as a condition of employment, and annually thereafter as a condition of continued employment, subject to medical exemption or religious accommodation. For the same reason, you may also be required to receive other vaccines such as COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Cedars-Sinai reserves the right to make modifications to its required list of vaccines as required by law and/or policy. Cedars-Sinai’s AA Policy Statement (PDF) (opens in new window)