Head of Partnerships (AI & Biotech)
Adaptyv
Summary
As AI designs more of biology, the bottleneck moves to experiments: running them fast, at scale and with data people can trust. Adaptyv is the company best positioned to become the verification layer for biology, and long-term partnerships with pharma, biotech and frontier AI labs are how we get there.
Job description
About the Role
As AI designs more of biology, the bottleneck moves to experiments: running them fast, at scale and with data people can trust. Adaptyv is the company best positioned to become the verification layer for biology, and long-term partnerships with pharma, biotech and frontier AI labs are how we get there.
You find the partners where Adaptyv can become core infrastructure. You shape the terms, and you run the deal: scientific scope, pricing, legal, and the internal plan to deliver it. You also design new partnership models and the deals that do not fit a standard quote.
What You'll Do
- Lead the largest deals. Source, structure and close strategic partnerships with pharma, biotech and frontier AI labs.
- Set the terms. Pricing, data rights, exclusivity, milestones. You find structures where both sides win.
- Align the company behind each deal. The lab, the scientists and engineering deliver what you sign, so you bring them in early.
What We're Looking For
- Deal-maker with a track record. You have closed complex, high-value deals in life sciences, AI or deep tech. Biopharma BD, corporate development or partnerships experience is ideal. We will also bet on rising talent.
- Credible with scientists. You can follow a discussion about binding data and assay design, and you know when to bring in the expert.
- High agency. Nobody hands you a pipeline. You build it, and you own the outcome.
- AI-native. It's 2026: you use Claude and similar tools every day for research, modeling and drafting, and you check what they produce.
- Low ego, high EQ. Partners trust you, and so does the team.
Requirements
- Closed complex, high-value deals in life sciences, AI or deep tech
- Biopharma BD, corporate development or partnerships experience is ideal
- Can follow a discussion about binding data and assay design
- High agency: build and own a partnership pipeline
- AI-native: daily use of Claude and similar tools for research, modeling and drafting
- Low ego, high EQ
Company overview
Adaptyv Bio is a pioneering biotechnology company based in Lausanne, Switzerland, that is revolutionizing protein engineering through automated laboratory infrastructure. Founded in 2021 and backed by YCombinator, the company has raised $8 million in seed funding to build what it calls a 'cloud lab for protein designers.' Their mission is to make proteins easier to engineer by providing automated wet lab services that enable rapid experimental validation of AI-designed proteins. Adaptyv addresses a critical bottleneck in the protein design field: while AI models can generate novel protein sequences, testing these designs in physical laboratories remains slow, expensive, and complex. The company's automated foundry allows protein designers to upload their computational designs and receive experimental data through standardized assays, dramatically reducing the time and cost of protein validation. Their platform has already tested over 10,000 proteins for more than 30 companies, including major pharmaceutical firms and AI research labs. Adaptyv also operates Proteinbase, an open data platform that serves as a central repository for experimental protein design data, promoting transparency and collaboration in the field. By bridging the gap between computational protein design and experimental validation, Adaptyv is accelerating the development of novel therapeutics, enzymes, and functional materials.