Head of Scientific Programs

📋 Description

• • As the Head of Scientific Programs at Parallel Biologics, you will be at the forefront of a revolutionary approach to drug discovery, leveraging the power of the human immune system to create safer and more effective therapeutics. This pivotal leadership role offers genuine ownership over the scientific operations of a company built on a unique proprietary biological platform and an unparalleled patient biobank.
• • You will serve as the primary day-to-day leader of the scientific function, wielding significant authority over team composition, operational strategies, and the ultimate scientific output of the organization. This is an opportunity to shape the scientific direction, build and mentor a high-performing team, and drive the execution of critical programs across multiple global sites.
• • Your core responsibility will be to shape the scientific direction of the company. This involves critically evaluating whether research programs are asking the most pertinent questions and are structured to yield meaningful insights, rather than merely executing protocols. You will possess the unique ability to identify cross-programmatic connections and emergent themes that may not be apparent to domain-specific team leads, thereby contributing to strategic decisions regarding scientific investment and necessary course corrections.
• • A crucial aspect of your role will be to uphold and enforce scientific rigor and delivery across all programs. You will conduct in-depth reviews of experimental designs, data interpretations, and program-level decisions, ensuring the soundness of the underlying reasoning and challenging assumptions where necessary. This oversight guarantees the integrity and reliability of the scientific endeavors.
• • You will lead and cultivate a growing scientific team, managing approximately 15 scientists distributed across multiple sites and diverse disciplines. This leadership extends to all facets of talent management: hiring exceptional individuals, fostering their professional development, and ensuring retention of top talent. Furthermore, you will be instrumental in establishing the norms, systems, and culture that will guide the team's collaborative efforts as the company scales.
• • Driving execution across geographically dispersed sites will be a key objective. You will coordinate the day-to-day operations spanning our San Francisco, Watertown, and Vienna locations. This involves translating high-level strategic goals into actionable work packages, ensuring that team members understand the significance and impact of their contributions, and meticulously keeping programs on schedule.
• • Your role will necessitate seamless operation across various functional areas. You will serve as a key interface with our Automation, AI, and Software Engineering teams, collaborating on shared technical priorities. Additionally, you will provide essential scientific context to support government and business development initiatives. You will also play a vital role in managing partner collaborations and ensuring the timely delivery of contractually obligated scientific outputs.
• • You will own the critical functions of resource allocation and operational infrastructure. This includes strategically allocating budget, personnel, and laboratory capacity to address competing priorities effectively. You will design and implement robust reporting structures, optimize meeting cadences, and establish clear communication systems to ensure alignment across a distributed team. Proactive risk identification and mitigation will be paramount.
• • This position demands a scientist with a profound instinct for experimental design, capable of scrutinizing the structure of experiments to ensure they accurately address the intended questions, considering controls, confounds, and interpretability across diverse biological domains.
• • You will leverage your experience in evaluating scientific work beyond your immediate area of expertise, making informed decisions about programs that span immunology, translational biology, biobanking, and analytical technology development. Your intellectual breadth and ability to assess reasoning across unfamiliar fields will be more critical than deep specialization in any single area.
• • A proven track record of tangible delivery is essential. Your career highlights should reflect accomplishments in building, shipping, or delivering tangible outcomes, demonstrating your proactive approach to ensuring plans translate into executed results.
• • You will engage with leadership with candor and confidence, flagging potential problems early, challenging reasoning that lacks substantiation, and holding your ground when you believe your scientific judgment is sound.
• • Comfort operating under genuine ambiguity is a must. You should be energized by making consequential decisions with incomplete information, viewing such challenges as opportunities for innovation and progress.
• • A deep grounding in immunology, cultivated through translational or drug development work, is fundamental. You must possess a sufficient understanding of the biology to critically assess whether experimental approaches are asking the right questions of the immune system, going beyond mere protocol execution. This expertise will also serve as the foundation for your credibility in leading scientists, coaching teams, and establishing systems for repeatable scientific excellence.