VP of Biology & Translational Research

US$300000.00 - US$350000.00 per annum
  1. Permanent
  2. Senior/Director & VP
  3. United States
Newark, USA
Posting date: 25 Aug 2025
66765

VP of Biology & Translational Research - Permanent - Newark, CA

Proclinical is looking for an entrepreneurial, strategic, driven, and visionary scientific leader to join a team as VP Biology and Translational Research.

This leader will be a key member of the R&D Leadership Team, driving the expansion of the discovery pipeline and enabling the development of best-in-class medicines and new therapeutic modalities. The VP will oversee the biology organization, advancing innovative science and operational excellence to expand the company's technology platform and deliver new clinical candidates. This individual will play a pivotal role in shaping discovery strategy, integrating translational insights, and fostering collaborations across disciplines to accelerate impactful therapies to patients.

Primary Responsibilities:

The ideal candidate will possess strong expertise in leading biology efforts toward the discovery and development of multiple peptides and small-molecule drugs across a broad range of target classes, experience in creating new chemical candidates, and in developing productive high-throughput functional and biochemical screening platforms. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record across target identification, validation, and initiating new drug discovery programs across various disease areas.

Skills & Requirements:

  • A proven scientific leader with a PhD in Biology, Biochemistry, or Cell Biology.
  • 15+ years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical drug discovery R&D experience.
  • Demonstrated expertise and a track record of success in advancing discovery programs from target validation through lead optimization and into clinical development.
  • Track record of target discovery and validation, cell biology assay and model development, and biomarkers across therapeutic areas and target classes. Strong focus on using new cutting-edge technologies to drive deep mechanistic insights into disease biology.
  • Therapeutic domain expertise in immunology, metabolic diseases, hematology, oncology, and rare diseases.
  • Experience with various advanced peptide display technologies, such as phage display and mRNA display. Experience with DNA-encoded libraries for drug discovery is a plus.
  • Extensive experience in managing CROs for drug discovery programs.
  • A highly engaged self-starter who is creative, proactive, innovative, and communicative, and possesses both a collaborative and goal/results-oriented style.
  • A track record of effectively communicating scientific concepts and strategies, including publication records in top-tier peer-reviewed journals.
  • Excellent leadership capabilities with experience guiding and motivating successful teams.
  • Very strong communication and partnering skills, including identifying new collaboration opportunities and conducting due diligence.

The VP of Biology & Translational Research's responsibilities will be:

  • Lead the discovery biology team responsible for target identification, discovery, and pre-clinical development leading to new clinical candidates.
  • Build and lead a discovery biology group, including creating a high-throughput discovery engine. Direct the creation of enabling various in vitro assays and assist with in vivo models and pharmacology experiments in support of program objectives.
  • Provide creative and innovative leadership in discovery biology, enabling biological hypotheses to translate into transformative medicines.
  • Design and lead research and drug discovery projects, including related discovery biology, biochemistry, protein sciences, and cell biology.
  • Collaborate closely with chemistry and DMPK groups to drive discovery, lead optimization, and pre-clinical characterization of multiple candidates across different discovery programs.
  • Ensure effective interaction and communication between Biology, Chemistry, and DMPK Strategy teams in alignment with the leadership team.
  • Communicate discovery strategy and progress to executive management, the scientific board of directors, and external partners.
  • Expand the company's external network of advisors and establish deep domain expertise in program areas such as immunology-inflammation, hematology, and metabolic diseases.
  • Build and lead a strong team of directors, scientists, and RAs to achieve company milestones.
  • Construct and manage spending budgets and project resourcing.
  • Stay up to date with the latest scientific advances, technologies, and trends in hematology and immunology research and development to deliver the next generation of therapies.

Compensation:

  • $300 000.00 - $350 000.00 Per Annum

This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned scientific leader to make a significant impact in the field of drug discovery and development. If you are passionate about advancing innovative therapies and leading a dynamic team, we encourage you to apply.

If you are having difficulty in applying or if you have any questions, please contact Sofia Amark at s.amark@proclinical.com

If you are interested in applying to this exciting opportunity, then please click 'Apply' or to speak to one of our specialists please request a call back at the top of this page.

Proclinical is a leading life sciences recruiter focused on finding exceptional people and matching them with the finest positions across the globe. Proclinical is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

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