Sr. Dir, Biology-Discovery

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a high-performing translational and biomarker research team, setting scientific direction, prioritizing portfolio opportunities, and fostering a collaborative, rigorous, and innovative culture.
• Drive the translational and biomarker research portfolio by identifying and advancing opportunities to interrogate assets through strategically structured experiments, including in vitro systems, ex vivo studies using selected patient samples, and animal models, ensuring clear linkage among mechanism of action, disease biology, PK/PD, and translatable clinical endpoints.
• Oversee and guide the team in the design and execution of translational experimental plans, analysis strategies, and forward- and reverse-translational research studies in collaboration with internal teams and external partners, ensuring operational feasibility, fit-for-purpose approaches, and readiness for FIH/PoC studies aligned with early development indication plans.
• Provide leadership for biomarker strategy implementation across preclinical and clinical settings in partnership with Discovery, Non-Clinical Drug Safety, Translational Medicine, and Data Science teams.
• Champion adoption of emerging technologies, platforms, and therapeutic modalities to enable discovery and prosecution of novel targets in immunological disease, including small molecules, peptides, biologics & T cell engagers.
• Maintain and share awareness of scientific developments within the area of expertise, including new findings, research methodologies, novel platforms, and emerging modalities, to strengthen team capability and portfolio decision-making.
• Engage scientific investigators, KOLs, and external partners to enable high-quality execution, scientific exchange, and strategic collaboration.
• Oversee and guide preparation of abstracts, presentations, and manuscripts for conferences and peer-reviewed publications, ensuring scientific quality and appropriate team contributions.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's (with 20+ years), Master's (with 18+ years) or Ph.D. (with 10+ years) in Immunology, Cell Biology or related field and relevant immunology research experience, with at least seven (7) years of direct industry experience.

Required Experience and Skills

• Knowledge and experience of immune-mediated diseases including a strong understanding of molecular pathways driving disease and of relevant clinical trial results and competitive landscape in immunology and autoinflammation.
• Prior experience in ideating, establishing, and executing translational research strategies in immune diseases, including strategic fit, coordination of data generation and interpretation with computational scientists and other functions.
• Prior experience shaping and executing in discovery research and drug development in the field of immunology with a focus on autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.
• Experience developing clinically relevant biomarkers for target engagement and pharmacodynamic measures.
• A minimum of five years of direct management experience overseeing multiple teams and proven leadership with the ability to align, motivate and empower team members and a demonstrated passion for team building and talent development.
• Strong awareness of safety and environmental requirements.
• A good understanding of integration and partnering necessary for pharmaceutical development with Translational Medicine, Clinical, CMC, Regulatory, Operations, and other functional areas.
• Effective communication, collaboration, and negotiation skills with the ability to work with senior level managers in meeting venues that include multiple cross-functional representatives.

Required Skills

Assay Development, Biochemical Assays, Business Development, External Collaboration, High Performance Team Building, High Throughput Drug Screening, Immunoassays, Immunology, Innovation, In Vitro Studies, Mechanism of Action Studies, Motivating Teams, People Leadership, Research Methodologies, Translational Research.