Director, Research Portfolio and Program Management

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly strategic and scientifically driven Director of Research Portfolio and Program Management (RPPM) to lead portfolio strategy, governance execution, and cross-functional coordination across our research organization. This role is central to shaping and advancing a sustainable, modality-diverse pipeline—including small molecules, biologics, mRNA, and cell therapies—through close partnership with governance committee chairs and R&D leadership.

In addition to internal portfolio responsibilities, the Director will play a key role in business development activities, contributing scientific and strategic perspectives to external opportunity assessments and leading due diligence efforts on high-priority partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions.

The Director will serve as a core member of governance committees, provide strategic and scientific insights, lead select high-priority programs as Scientific Team Leader, manage the new target review process, and manage a team of portfolio and program managers to deliver cross-functional execution and drive organizational impact.

This is a high-impact leadership position requiring strong scientific acumen, cross-functional influence, and forward-thinking portfolio stewardship to shape the future of our discovery engine.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Strategy & Governance

• Act as a strategic partner to governance committee (GC) chairs across modality-specific sub-portfolios (e.g., small molecule, biologics, mRNA, cell therapy), ensuring a balanced, sustainable, and high-impact pipeline.
• Serve as a core member of respective GCs, contributing scientific insight, portfolio analytics, and scenario-based trade-off recommendations to support data-driven prioritization and resource allocation.
• Drive the development of portfolio-level reviews, including milestone tracking, program interdependencies, and risk mitigation strategies.

Scientific & Program Leadership

• Propose new scientific ideas aligned with internal capabilities and external trends; champion endorsed concepts as Scientific Team Leader, guiding cross-functional execution from target validation through PCC nomination.
• Partner with Biology, Chemistry, Biologics, Translational Sciences, and other stakeholders to facilitate critical stage-gate decisions and shape preclinical strategy.
• Integrate cross-functional inputs to develop and align on program-level goals, risk assessments, and development strategies.

Business Development & External Innovation

• Serve as a key scientific and strategic contributor in business development evaluations, including target and asset due diligence across early-stage and preclinical opportunities.
• Collaborate with BD, Legal, and functional SMEs to evaluate scientific merit, strategic fit, risk, and integration feasibility of external programs and platforms.
• Translate BD insights back into internal strategy, identifying potential gaps or opportunities in the internal pipeline.

Pipeline Growth & Target Evaluation

• Manage the new target proposal review process, coordinating cross-functional assessment of scientific rationale, unmet need, modality alignment, competitive differentiation, and validation feasibility.
• Provide recommendations to governance based on a comprehensive, multi-dimensional review process.

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing team of portfolio and program managers to deliver scientific, operational, and strategic excellence.
• Provide ongoing mentorship, feedback, and career development guidance aligned with individual growth and organizational needs.
• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and strategic curiosity, enabling continuous improvement and innovation within the team.

Qualifications

• PhD in life sciences or related discipline, with a minimum of 10 years of biopharma R&D experience.
• Strong track record in preclinical-stage drug discovery and/or translational science, with deep understanding of key phases: target validation, hit-to-lead, lead optimization, PCC selection, and IND-enabling studies.
• Demonstrated expertise in multiple therapeutic modalities, such as small molecules, biologics, ADCs, TCEs, mRNA, and/or cell therapies.
• Proven leadership in matrixed, cross-functional environments, including experience influencing at the executive or governance level.
• Prior involvement in portfolio/program management, governance frameworks, or business development/due diligence is strongly preferred.

Preferred Attributes

• Experience in oncology, hematology, or immunology drug discovery.
• Familiarity with platform-based innovation, including CDAC, dual-TAA ADCs, TopoII payloads, CD20×CD28 TCEs, iPSC-derived cell therapies, and/or mRNA platforms.
• Strong communication and synthesis skills; able to convert complex scientific and strategic data into clear, actionable recommendations for governance, leadership, and external stakeholders.