Senior Director, Process Development at Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge, MA

Company Summary:

LARONDE is an early-stage biotechnology company with the mission to become the leader in the development of nucleic acid medicines by leveraging its multi-modality eRNA platform. LARONDE has established a powerful technology exploiting the properties of naturally occurring eRNAs allowing the development of therapies with exceptional precision and durability of expression to address unmet needs across multiple disease areas.

LARONDE was founded by Flagship Pioneering, a team of entrepreneurial scientists that conceives, creates, resources and grows first-in-category life sciences companies. Since 2000, Flagship has created over 100 groundbreaking companies pioneering novel and proprietary biological, industrial and engineering approaches to solve major needs in human health and sustainability. These companies include Moderna Therapeutics (MRNA), Seres Therapeutics (MCRB), Syros Pharmaceuticals (SYRS), Rubius Therapeutics (RUBY), Evelo Biosciences (EVLO), Kaleido Biosciences (KLDO) and Indigo Agriculture.

Position Summary:

LARONDE is seeking a Senior Director of Process Development (PD) to drive the PD team to establish and develop the production process for our platform. The candidate will develop and optimize upstream and downstream unit operations. The candidate will work directly with a team of scientists on synthesis, purification, and scaling, to enable specific therapeutics areas. The candidate will interface with external technology companies, research institutes/universities, and contract manufacturing organizations as required to accelerate the development effort. We are searching for driven, enthusiastic and self-motivated individuals who are comfortable multitasking and working independently on various aspects of the platform.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop a team focused on optimization and development of novel methods in production and separation of nucleic acids
• Work closely with the Platform Development and Translational teams to enable platform acceleration and scaling
• Provide scientific leadership by coordinating teams across diverse backgrounds, spanning in vivo biology to machine learning
• Oversee and direct product engineering strategy and pipeline
• Establish and oversee external project and scientific collaborators and contract research organizations
• Maintain scientific and technical expertise through familiarity with scientific literature, attending conferences, and developing relationships with thought leaders
• Work closely with an entrepreneurial, highly-collaborative, interdisciplinary team and actively contribute to creating, shaping and executing the scientific vision of the company

Qualifications:

• PhD+ 10 years industry experience, MS+15 years industry experience or equivalent in bioengineering, chemical engineering, biology, virology, biochemistry or related field
• 5-10 years of experience developing technology platforms for therapeutic programs in industry
• Experience with developing strategic timelines and executing successful on corporate goals
• Expertise in nucleic acid synthesis, purification, manufacturing and/or delivery
• Demonstrated ability in working with highly skilled teams in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and technical environment
• Strong management experience and success in developing a scientific team and program

Flagship Pioneering is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.