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About this role
Position Summary:
PsiThera is looking for an experienced drug discovery biologist with deep expertise in immune and inflammatory signaling to lead small-molecule and macrocycle discovery program teams from hit identification through development candidate (DC) nomination and IND submission. You'll build and run the research plan for your programs, lead the project team that carries it out, and stay closely involved in the lab. The ideal candidate will strike a balance between program leadership and hands-on laboratory science.
Your lab time will focus on high-impact creative work: establishing key assays, running decision-critical and mechanistic experiments, troubleshooting and training others. You may lead a small team of scientists as needed. This role suits a rigorous scientist who enjoys both designing the key experiments and getting a program across major milestones.
Key Responsibilities
- Program team leadership:
- Create and update research operating plans, including resource planning, budget management, risk assessment and contingency planning for your programs
- Secure cross-functional alignment and organizational support for program plans
- Lead multidisciplinary program teams and be accountable for meeting program goals, milestones and timelines
- Define stage-gate success criteria and timelines for your programs, recommend resource allocation and go/no-go decisions to leadership
- Manage CRO partnerships across all biology activities in support of your programs, including study design, execution, data quality and delivery to project teams
- Strategic alignment and influence:
- Shape the validation of targets and the scientific strategy for the immunology portfolio, advising leadership on opportunities and trade-offs
- Engage key opinion leaders and external experts to pressure-test program hypotheses, align priorities with leadership and inform business and partnering decisions
- Present program progress to senior leadership, and represent programs to prospective partners and at scientific conferences
- Hands-on lab science:
- Design and oversee hit finding campaigns (e.g., HTS and DEL), including hit triage and confirmation
- Build and transfer fit-for-purpose assay cascades (biochemical, biophysical, cellular and whole blood) that support hit triage, SAR, target engagement and mechanism of action, to team members in-house and at CROs
- Design and run in vitro pharmacology studies using primary human immune cells, whole blood and, where available, patient-derived samples, and design and oversee in vivo pharmacology and PK/PD studies in models of inflammation and autoimmunity, to link compound exposure to immune-cell function and disease-relevant outcomes
- Contribute to the development and execution of translational biology biomarker strategies
- Mentoring and capability building:
- Build new in-house capabilities and technologies (e.g., assay platforms, human-cell and whole-blood systems) that serve multiple programs and keep PsiThera at the leading edge
- Evaluate emerging technologies, CROs and academic or industry collaborations
- Mentor scientists across the organization and constructively challenge scientific thinking
Qualifications
- Required
Qualifications
- PhD in Immunology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, or a related field with 12+ years of biotech or pharma drug discovery experience, or an MS with 16+ years of equivalent experience
- Track record of advancing small molecules from hit identification to DC selection as project team leader or lead biologist
- Hands-on experience in hit finding, including screening assay development, HTS or DEL campaigns, and hit triage and confirmation
- Prior people management experience and demonstrated leadership of cross-functional project teams or workstreams
- Hands-on expertise with primary human immune cells and whole blood, and in building assay cascades (biochemical, biophysical, cellular) for screening, SAR and mechanism-of-action studies
- Broad knowledge of in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation and autoimmunity, with experience designing and interpreting in vivo pharmacology and PK/PD studies
- Experience managing CRO collaborations
- Scientific achievement shown through peer-reviewed publications and/or patents
- Strong scientific rigor in generating, analyzing and presenting data to drive program decisions
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with scientific, executive and partner audiences
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience across multiple target classes and therapeutic areas
- Experience working with clinical teams on translational research or biomarker strategy
- Experience leading programs through IND submission
- Experience in a small or growing biotech environment
PsiThera is creating better therapeutics through an integrated molecular design paradigm that leverages best-in-class physics-based and AI technologies honed through decades of research and innovation. Our focus is first-in-class inflammation and immunology (I&I) small molecule therapeutics. We have assembled a diverse team with extensive experience across disciplines ranging from physics and computer science to chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and structural biology.
This continuum of complementary skills drives our scientific vision to deliver meaningful therapeutics to patients in need. We are patient-inspired, perseverant, synergistic, supportive, intrepid, and inclusive. If you’re passionate about advancing medicine in a fast-paced, innovative environment, and eager to contribute to a team that blends advanced computation with drug discovery, PsiThera might be the perfect fit for you.
At PsiThera, we are a lean, high-performing team dedicated to pushing boundaries and achieving growth—both personally and scientifically. We seek individuals who are smart, collaborative, and thrive in a dynamic, early-stage biotech environment.
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Benefits
- Competitive salary and benefits package including 401k match
- Opportunity to make a significant impact on the development of novel therapeutics
- Work with a talented and passionate team of scientists
- Be a part of a cutting-edge company that is revolutionizing drug discovery
Psivant Therapeutics, Inc. (d/b/a PsiThera) is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations, ensuring that all qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.
Please note that we do not accept unsolicited resumes and kindly request that recruiters do not contact our team regarding this job posting. If a resume is submitted without a prior agreement, we will not be obligated to pay any referral or placement fees. Thank you for your understanding!