Senior Director, Genetic MedicineLocation: San Carlos, CA (Hybrid - 2-3 days per week on-site)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Salary Range: $170,000-$190,000
Reporting to: CEO
The RoleWe are seeking a visionary and hands-on
Senior Director, Genetic Medicine to lead our scientific strategy, R&D execution, advanced therapeutic initiatives and bioplatform development. Operating out of our
San Carlos, CA office, this pivotal leader will sit at the intersection of drug discovery, genome engineering, AI technology, and commercial growth.
The ideal candidate brings deep experience in the end-to-end drug discovery process and has a proven track record of thriving in high-growth
startup environments. You will be responsible for defining our scientific roadmap, managing physical lab environments, and mentoring cross-functional teams. Crucially, you will bridge the gap between scientific innovation and commercial viability, working alongside our business development, engineering, and AI teams to transform technical discoveries into tangible revenue streams.
ResponsibilitiesR&D Strategy & Execution- Define, scale, and execute Form Bio's comprehensive R&D strategy for genetic medicine and therapeutic optimization platforms.
- Lead the scientific roadmap for genome engineering and gene editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR, base editing, and advanced viral vector design).
- Direct the translation of high-level scientific hypotheses into executable research plans, clear timelines, and milestones that advance the company's core platform.
- Stay at the absolute forefront of trends in cell therapy, gene therapy, manufacturing and synthetic biology to ensure Form Bio remains an industry leader.
Commercial Productization & Revenue Growth- Partner closely with Business Development, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics and AI/ML teams to identify high-value platform discoveries.
- Develop strategies to package, validate, and implement product discoveries into revenue-generating services, software features, or strategic biopharma partnerships.
- Assist business development in high-stakes technical meetings, translating complex genetic medicine capabilities into clear value propositions for potential clients.
Wet Lab Management & Cell Therapy Mentorship- Lab Management: Oversee operations, budgets, data integrity, and compliance protocols within our physical laboratory environment.
- Team Teaching & Mentorship: Actively manage, train, and upscale wet-lab and computational scientists, with a specific focus on teaching and working on cell therapy techniques and analytical workflows.
- Optimize the "design-build-test-learn" cycle by tightly integrating wet-lab experimental validation with dry-lab AI/ML training loops.
Required Skills/Abilities- Educational Foundation: PhD in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a related scientific discipline.
- Drug Discovery & Cell Therapy: 10+ years of experience in drug discovery, with deep technical expertise in cell therapy applications and advanced biologics.
- Genome Engineering Expertise: Expert-level knowledge of gene editing platforms and their real-world application in genetic medicine.
- Wet Lab & Lab Management: Proven track record of managing a physical wet lab environment, hands on, overseeing equipment/protocols, and directly training/mentoring laboratory staff.
- Commercial Mindset: Demonstrated ability to collaborate with commercial, product, and engineering teams to turn R&D innovations into scalable, revenue-generating products or services.
- Startup Track Record: Proven success leading scientific teams and managing scientific pivot points in a fast-paced, high-visibility startup environment.
- On-Site Presence: Ability and willingness to work out of the San Carlos, CA office 2-3 days per week.
- Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate complex scientific plans clearly, objectively, and timely across executive, technical, and commercial audiences.
Nice-to-Have Qualifications- Experience working with cloud-native bioinformatics platform delivery (GCP preferred).
- Existing network within the Bay Area biotechnology and cell/gene therapy ecosystem.
- Familiarity with high-throughput screening and automated lab systems.
