About the roleInvaio is seeking a Senior Director, Product & Field Development to lead field development and formulation for our peptide crop protection portfolio and to connect development with the commercial side of the business. This is a hands-on role. A successful candidate will personally drive field trial strategy and execution with external trial partners, lead the formulation team, and support our partnerships and collaborations, with room to grow as the business grows. This position is located in Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC but could be remote for the right candidate.
What you'll do- Field development: Lead field development strategy and execution across the portfolio, including the design, oversight, and delivery of field trials with CROs, universities, extension partners, and collaborators.
- Formulation: Manage the formulation team, setting formulation direction and specifications to meet field, partner, and commercial needs.
- Partnerships and collaborations: Serve as the development lead for partners and collaborators, including technical input to diligence and delivery of field development milestones.
- Development-to-commercial bridge: Translate field and product performance data into inputs for product positioning, target product profiles, and partner discussions, and make field data available to our data science teams for use in our AI/ML models.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely across the organization to align field development activities with broader product development and commercialization objectives. Provide relevant field and formulation data, technical insights, and support to enable cross-functional decision-making, including regulatory submissions, product development, and commercial readiness.
QualificationsRequired- 8+ years in agricultural biologicals, crop protection, or a related regulated ag/life-sciences field, spanning both development and commercial or business-facing work
- Direct experience managing or closely overseeing field trials run by CROs or other external partners, including partner selection, scoping, and quality oversight
- Demonstrated ability to translate technical/development data into materials usable by commercial, BD, or partner audiences
- Experience working in or with partnership/collaboration structures (licensing, co-development, or joint development agreements)
- Self-starter with initiative and a hands-on approach, comfortable doing the work as well as directing it, and working independently in a growing organization
Preferred- 5+ years leading a formulation and/or analytical team, including hiring, developing, and managing scientists, with enough formulation chemistry depth to set specifications, evaluate trade-offs, and manage the team against field and commercial timeline
- Familiarity with peptide-based, biological, or novel-mode-of-action crop protection products
- Exposure to regulatory data package requirements (EPA, EU, or comparable) as they relate to field data
- Prior experience as the technical/scientific counterpart in partner or M&A diligence
Recruitment Agency PolicyInvaio does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms, staffing agencies, or recruiting firms. Resumes submitted to any employee of Invaio without a valid, fully executed search agreement for the specific position will be considered unsolicited.
By submitting an unsolicited resume, the submitting agency acknowledges that Invaio reserves the right to pursue and hire the candidate without any financial obligation, fee, or payment to the agency. Such submissions become the property of Invaio and may be retained and used for current or future employment opportunities.
What's nextThe estimated salary range for this position is $195,000-$230,000 per year. At Invaio, we are committed to transparency and accuracy in our hiring practices. Our salary offers are aligned with Invaio's compensation philosophy and take into account various factors, including education, training, experience, external market conditions, the criticality of the role, and internal equity. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. The actual base salary offered will be in accordance with state or local wage requirements for the job location.
