Insitro

(Senior) Director, Translational Medicine and Diagnostics

Insitro$224K — $299K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Advanced degree in life sciences, technology, chemistry, or related discipline, or equivalent experience
  • 10+ years in translational science within biotech/pharma
  • Direct experience as a translational lead from FIH through NDA/BLA submission
  • Experience applying AI/ML in drug discovery and development
  • Deep understanding of diagnostic regulations, clinical trial design, and biostatistics

Responsibilities

  • Build and lead the translational medicine function from IND/CTA to clinical proof-of-concept
  • Serve as translational lead for pre-clinical and initial clinical-stage assets
  • Accountable for overall translational medicine strategy and regulatory interactions
  • Design innovative patient stratification strategies using biomarkers
  • Generate proof-of-mechanism evidence for data-driven therapeutic decisions
  • Interpret regulatory requirements and assess return on investment for strategies
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams and influence AI/ML policy in translational science

Benefits

  • 401(k) plan with employer matching
  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with mental health support
  • Flexible vacation policy
  • Paid parental leave of 16 weeks for birthing parents, and 10 weeks for all new parents
  • Quarterly budget for personal development resources
  • New hire stipend for home office setup
  • Monthly stipends for cell phone and internet
  • Free onsite lunch and access to baristas
  • Complimentary commuter bus service from various Bay Area locations
Full Job Description
The Opportunity

This role is an opportunity to directly improve patients' lives by leading translational medicine across our three therapeutic areas - neurology/neurodegeneration, metabolism/cardiovascular, and ophthalmology - and by making clinical trials more efficient and beneficial for patients and drug developers through AI/ML and innovative translational strategies.

Reporting directly to the Chief Medical Officer, you will lead the translational medicine function at insitro, supporting the development of multiple therapeutics - biologics, oligonucleotides, and small molecules - along with multimodal biomarkers and diagnostics. This position can be onsite (three days per week) or hybrid (~one week per month) in our South San Francisco office, with additional travel to relevant medical and translational science conferences and health authorities.

Responsibilities

Translational Strategy & Leadership
  • Build the Function: Build and lead insitro's translational medicine function, from IND/CTA through clinical proof-of-concept, across biologics, oligonucleotides, and small molecules
  • Lead Key Assets: Serve as translational lead for advanced pre-clinical and initial clinical-stage assets
  • Own End-to-End Strategy: Be accountable for translational medicine strategy, GCP adherence, and regulatory-authority interactions, including biospecimen CRO selection and oversight

Biomarker Science & Patient Stratification
  • Design Stratification Strategies: Design innovative approaches to patient stratification using laboratory and digital biomarkers
  • Generate Proof-of-Mechanism Evidence: Generate proof-of-mechanism evidence that drives objective, data-driven, and timely go/no-go decisions

Regulatory Strategy, Partnership & Influence
  • Interpret Regulatory Requirements: Interpret regulatory translational medicine requirements and quantify the return on investment of translational strategies
  • Partner Across Functions: Collaborate closely with preclinical, clinical, regulatory, and computational teams
  • Shape the Field: Influence emerging AI/ML policy in translational science through original publications, presentations, and stakeholder engagement


About You

Experience & Qualifications
  • Advanced Degree: Advanced degree in life sciences, technology, chemistry, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience
  • Proven Tenure: 10+ years of experience in translational science in biotech and/or pharma, including direct experience as a translational lead delivering therapeutics and diagnostic biomarkers from FIH through proof-of-concept to NDA/BLA submission
  • AI/ML Exposure: Experience applying AI/ML approaches to drug discovery and development
  • Technical Breadth: Deep understanding of diagnostic and device regulations, good clinical practice, clinical trial design and execution, clinical pharmacology, biostatistics, and the application of computation to drug development

Core Competencies
  • Cross-Functional Collaborator: Track record of communicating and collaborating effectively with diverse stakeholders across clinical, translational, computational, and life sciences functions
  • Motivating Leader: Strong interpersonal skills that inspire others to do their best work
  • Patient-Driven: Genuine passion for bringing better medicines to patients in need


Compensation & Benefits at insitro

Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $224,000 - $299,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data.

This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies.

In addition, insitro also provides our employees:
  • 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions
  • Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support
  • Open, flexible vacation policy
  • Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)
  • Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development
  • New hire stipend for home office setup
  • Monthly cell phone & internet stipend
  • Access to free onsite baristas and daily lunch for employees who are either onsite or hybrid
  • Access to a free commuter bus network that provides transport to and from our South San Francisco HQ from locations all around the Bay Area


#LI-Hybrid

Please be aware of recruitment scams: we never request payments, all recruitment communications are from @insitro.com, and if in doubt, contact us at [email protected].

About Insitro

Insitro is a biotechnology company that uses machine learning and data analysis to develop new treatments for diseases. The company's platform combines large-scale data generation, machine learning, and high-throughput biology to create predictive models of disease and drug response. Insitro aims to accelerate the drug discovery process and improve the success rate of clinical trials. The company was founded in 2018 by Daphne Koller, and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Learn more about Insitro
Size
50 employees
Industry
Founded
2018

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