Head of Biology

Flagship Pioneering is a bioplatform innovation company that invents and builds platform companies that change the world. We bring together the greatest scientific minds with entrepreneurial company builders and assemble the capital to allow them to take courageous leaps. Those big leaps in human health and sustainability exponentially accelerate scientific progress in areas ranging from cancer detection and treatment to nature-positive agriculture.   

What sets Flagship apart is our ability to advance biotechnology by uniting life science innovation, company creation, and capital investment under one roof in a way that is largely without precedent. Our scientific founders, entrepreneurial leaders, and professional capital managers are each aligned around an institutionalized process that enables us to innovate and transform for the benefit of people and planet.

Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.  

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.  

Position Summary:

Flagship Pioneering is seeking a Head of Biology with a strong track record of leading projects from early target discovery to progression of development candidates. The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to develop effective strategies and execution plans to lead a growing scientific team and be responsible for driving platform discovery, identification and validation of therapeutic targets. The successful candidate must be independent, results oriented, have excellent communication skills and be able to effectively lead in a highly dynamic and fast-paced entrepreneurial environment. The position will provide a unique opportunity to play a foundational leadership role in the development of a translational bioplatform.

Responsibilities:

• Lead platform development, therapeutic target discovery, and target validation
• Formulate, articulate, and implement strategies to drive the enhancement and expansion of the company’s platform across many conditions.
• Facilitate effective collaboration and communication within multi-disciplinary teams comprised of cellular and molecular biologists, computational biologists, data scientists.
• Develop and manage external research collaborations with academic, clinical, and industrial partners.
• Develop relationships within Flagship Pioneering’s broader scientific community
• Develop and manage external consultants to support platform and pipeline needs.
• Communicate scientific strategy, insights, and key conclusions to broader leadership team and executive management.
• Provide hands-on leadership, mentoring, and training for the experimental team.
• Establish and foster a culture of resilience, ambition, boldness, creativity, and collaboration.

Qualifications:

• PhD or equivalent in molecular biology, cellular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, or related fields with 12+ years of postdoctoral / industry research experience
• Deep knowledge of cellular and molecular biology, in vitro assay development, in vivo experimental design and execution across multiple therapeutics areas
• Proven platform discovery and development experience
• Deep expertise and demonstrated leadership in molecular and cellular biology research, clear understanding of the role of translational research/medicine in drug development
• Experience managing critical path activities and strategy for indications in key areas of interest
• Capable of managing multiple projects concurrently in a fast-paced environment while leading a team of highly motivated, dedicated scientists
• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead, mentor, and manage successful laboratory team
• Excellent oral and written communication skills across all levels within an organization and with external partners; highly attentive to detail
• Strengths in the following areas: creativity, problem-solving, flexibility, and relationship management
• Demonstrated ability to successfully work in cross-functional teams with an emphasis on teamwork, collaboration, and communication within the team and across departments

About Flagship

Flagship Pioneering is a bioplatform innovation company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in generation of over 500 patents, initiation of over 50 clinical trials for novel therapeutic agents and an aggregate value of more than $90 billion. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture. Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

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.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.