Please note that this position can be based in San Diego, CA OR San Francisco, CA OR Princeton, NJ. Acadia's hybrid model requires this role to work in our office three days per week on average.

Position Summary

The Executive Director will lead the design and implementation of disease and drug mechanism of action (MoA) studies to advance therapeutics into and through clinical development. The position requires deep experience in translational sciences, proven leadership and mentoring skills, hands-on rare disease experience, strong understanding of clinical biomarker development, and a deep understanding of drug development from discovery through late-stage clinical studies.  The ability to synthesize complex biological concepts and data into clearly communicated actionable insights is critical, as is a track record of successful partnering with functions across the drug development paradigm. 

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop translational biology strategies to interrogate disease and drug MoA, implement and drive execution for candidate targets and therapeutics

• Lead nonclinical sciences function, mentor scientists across translational sciences

• Partners with colleagues across the drug development paradigm to develop and test hypotheses designed to advance target and candidate molecule evaluation through various stages of development

• Partner with Translational Science colleagues to develop preclinical strategies supporting indication selection, PK/PD analyses, and mechanistic development for successful IND filing and clinical development

• Synthesize, analyze and integrate complex biological data, providing clear and actionable insights to drive drug development decisions

• Identify, evaluate and leverage cutting-edge technologies to expedite early-stage program development & success

• Identify and manage CROs and build strong collaborative relationships with Acadia partners to maximize the application of complementary areas of expertise

• Present programs and data for asset team, governance and senior / executive management review

• Contribute, as author and strategist, to document generation for preclinical studies & clinical protocols, clinical study reports, statistical analysis plans, research partnerships, regulatory materials (IB, IND, NDA, etc.) and publications

• Perform other responsibilities as assigned

Education/Experience/Skills

PhD in life science or related field.  Targeting 15 years of progressively responsible experience in drug development within the pharmaceutical or biotech industry.  An equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be considered.

Key Skills:

• Strong cross-functional leadership with a proven ability to build collaborative, high-performing teams and represent nonclinical sciences across Translational Sciences and program teams
  
  
• Hands-on experience across drug discovery, preclinical development, and clinical-stage programs (Phase 1–3), including rare disease
  
  
• Demonstrated success leading programs through IND filing, with deep expertise in small molecule INDs and regulatory submissions (IND, NDA, BLA)
  
  
• Expertise in preclinical  (MoA) analysis, indication selection, and supporting clinical development strategies
  
  
• Strong understanding of clinical biomarker strategy and development
  
  
• Ability to analyze complex, multifactorial datasets, with computational literacy and collaboration with computational biology; bioinformatics integration experience is a plus
  
  
• Effective communicator with high emotional intelligence; skilled in presenting complex data to senior leadership and influencing stakeholders
  
  
• Proven ability to make decisions under uncertainty, aligning with timelines and organizational objectives
  
  
• Track record of driving performance through goal-setting, accountability, continuous improvement, and leading change across teams
  
  
• Able to manage multiple priorities in fast-paced environments, with flexibility for domestic and international travel; experience in neurology and across modalities (e.g., ASO, mRNA) is a plus

Physical Requirements

This role involves regular standing, walking, sitting, and the use of hands for handling or operating equipment. The employee may also need to reach, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and maintain visual, verbal, and auditory communication in a standard office environment and while working independently from remote locations. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.  This position requires the ability to travel independently overnight and/or work after hours as required by travel schedules or business needs.

LI #SL-1

Scientist III – NGS and Cellular Assays, Ingredient Discovery

Location: San Diego, CA (Onsite full-time required)

Summary

As a member of the Ingredient Innovation team, you will design, optimize, and execute high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays to support the discovery of novel skincare ingredients. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with the bioinformatics team to design robust, reproducible assays and iterate experimental design based on sequencing outputs. This role will also lead the development and implementation of liquid handling robotics and automation solutions to scale NGS workflows. This is a highly collaborative role that will interact with bioinformatics, assay development, and AI/ML teams to bring novel, scientifically backed ingredients to market.

Essential Functions

• Design, test, and execute high-throughput NGS workflows including human cell culture, RNA extraction, RNA-seq library preparation, quality control, and sequencing on the Illumina platform
• Develop and optimize NGS library prep and cell-based protocols to enhance assay performance
• Collaborate with bioinformatics teams to interpret sequencing outputs, troubleshoot data quality issues, and iterate on experimental design
• Maintain rigorous sample tracking, QC metrics, and documentation to ensure data integrity and reproducibility
• Develop and implement liquid handling robotics and automation platforms for NGS library preparation, sample manipulations, and other high-throughput workflows
• Mentor junior scientists and associates on NGS best practices, cell culture techniques, and robotics operation 

Education and Experience

• PhD with 4 years of experience OR MS with 10 years of experience OR BS with 12 years of wet-lab experience in NGS assay development or relevant field
• At least 5 years of experience in developing, optimizing, running, and troubleshooting challenging NGS assays
• Proficiency with liquid handling robotics and automation scripting
• Proficiency in mammalian cell culture, drug discovery, and/or cell biology techniques (e.g., flow cytometry, fluorescent imaging, luciferase reporter assay, ELISA) is a plus
• Strong organizational skills with experience managing multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment

Essential Physical Characteristics

The physical characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of a job, on a case-by-case basis. 

• Continuous upward and downward flexion of the neck. 
• Frequent: sitting, repetitive use of hands to operate computers, printers and copiers. 
• Frequently uses hands to feel objects or control tools (e.g. pipetting).  Laboratory operations require dexterity and care to perform studies as required.
• Occasional: walking, standing, climbing stairs, bending and twisting of neck, bending and twisting of waist, squatting, simple grasping, reaching above and below shoulder level, and occasional lifting and carrying of files or material weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Must be willing to work with biohazardous agents (up to BSL2) and chemicals.
• The R&D laboratory will result in exposure to hot and cold temperatures, noise, fumes, limited dust, and oily coolants.
• The performance of this position will present exposure to an industrial environment and requires support and compliance with the published Company PPE policy including but not limited to the use of personal protective equipment such as safety glasses with side shields, appropriate attire, safety shoes, hard hat, hearing protection, etc.

Condition of Employment

As part of Debut’s pre-employment process, prospective candidates will undergo a background check prior to beginning employment. Additional types of background investigations may be conducted based on the job-related activities of the position.

Debut is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

Salary: $110,000 - $140,000

What You Will Contribute To Altos

As part of our team, you will help to accelerate and optimize our progress in agentic AI methods for biological and clinical data curation and analysis.

In this role, you will be an integral part of our multidisciplinary teams building the computational platforms that will enable Altos to achieve its mission. You will collaborate with biomedical research experts as well as other machine learning scientists and engineers across the Institute of Computation to contribute to the Altos research and translation ecosystem, focusing on designing and building state-of-the-art agentic AI systems and workflows that tackle biological questions, accelerate clinical data analysis, and aid in the discovery of novel interventions for aging and disease.

The successful candidate will combine deep expertise in agentic AI methods with a strong foundation in bioinformatics and/or clinical R&D. You will work closely with domain experts to translate complex biological and clinical data challenges into intelligent, automated solutions. You will thrive in a fast-paced environment that stresses teamwork, transparency, scientific excellence, originality, and integrity.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop agentic AI workflows for biological and clinical data curation tasks
• Research and implement advanced context engineering techniques (RAG, agentic RAG, graph RAG) tailored to biomedical data
• Develop and optimize prompts and agent architectures for reliability, accuracy, and scientific rigor
• Build LLM-based tool-use systems and integrations relevant to bioinformatics and clinical R&D pipelines
• Collaborate with bioinformatics scientists, clinical researchers, and domain experts to identify automation opportunities and translate them into agentic solutions
• Evaluate and benchmark agentic systems, establishing rigorous metrics for performance and correctness in scientific contexts
• Stay current with the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic AI methods and contribute to internal best practices

Who You Are 

• Proven track record leveraging machine learning and AI to solve real-world problems
• Expertise in agentic AI methods development, including prompt optimization, LLM-based tool use, context engineering (RAG, agentic RAG, graph RAG), and agent evaluation
• Experience writing production-quality code with agentic frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, Pydantic-AI, DSPy, or similar)
• Deep familiarity with bioinformatics and/or clinical R&D, with the ability to engage meaningfully with domain experts on biological and clinical questions
• Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) to iterate rapidly
• A team player who thrives in collaborative environments and is committed to enabling colleagues to reach their full potential through giving and requesting feedback focused on professional growth
• Able to advise others across the wider function / company on cutting edge agentic AI practices and approaches to enable the science / research. Desire to constantly expand your skillset and knowledge. Keen to learn more about biology, machine learning, and medicine
• Inspired by the Altos mission of restoring cell health and resilience to reverse disease, injury, and age-related disabilities

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Bioinformatics, or a related field
• Demonstrated experience developing agentic AI systems, including LLM-based tool use, prompt engineering, and context engineering techniques
• Strong foundation in machine learning principles and their application to real-world problems
• Strong background in bioinformatics, computational biology, or clinical R&D
• Familiarity with MCP server development and agent skill creation
• Very strong programming skills in Python, with experience writing production-quality, well-documented code
• Strong track record of published peer-reviewed research in AI/ML and/or computational biology

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with AWS services (S3, Bedrock, Lambda) in the context of AI/ML workflows
• Experience with clinical trial data, regulatory data curation, or biomedical ontologies (e.g., CDISC, SNOMED, MedDRA)
• Track record working with NGS data (e.g., RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, DNA methylation) or other biological data modalities
• Experience designing evaluation frameworks and benchmarks for agentic AI systems
• Familiarity with knowledge graph construction and graph-based retrieval methods

The salary range for Redwood City:

• Senior Scientist I, Machine Learning: $257,400 - $330,000

The salary range for San Diego:

• Senior Scientist I, Machine Learning: $239,500 - $307,000

Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.

#LI-NN1

For UK applicants, before submitting your application:

- Please click here to read the Altos Labs EU and UK Applicant Privacy Notice (bit.ly/eu_uk_privacy_notice)
- This Privacy Notice is not a contract, express or implied and it does not set terms or conditions of employment.

Quantum-Si is seeking a highly execution-oriented Director of Business Development & Alliances to launch and operationalize strategic partnerships that expand our ecosystem, unlock new workflows and applications, and accelerate commercial adoption of our proteomics platform. This role is accountable for end-to-end partnership execution, from scoping and kickoff through cross-functional delivery, governance, and value realization. The ideal candidate is a hands-on operator who can drive complex internal and external workstreams, deliver measurable outcomes, and grow into expanded leadership over time. This position will report directly to the Senior Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development. 

As part of our team, your core responsibilities will be:  

Partnership Execution & Alliance Management: 

• Own execution of a portfolio of strategic partnerships, including newly established and existing relationships, ensuring clear objectives, deliverables, timelines, and internal alignment 

• Drive partnerships through the full lifecycle (launch → delivery → expansion), accountable for execution and outcomes 

• Identify, structure, and execute ecosystem partnerships that expand Quantum-Si workflows and applications, including areas such as sample preparation, reagents/consumables, software/bioinformatics, automation, services, and workflow integrations 

• Lead partner kickoffs, governance cadence, milestone tracking, and issue resolution to ensure partnerships deliver tangible outcomes 

• Serve as the primary day-to-day relationship owner with strategic partners, driving accountability and momentum on both sides 

• Establish joint operating structure and cadence (working teams, steering committee updates, QBRs where appropriate) and ensure decisions and actions are closed 

• Translate product and commercial priorities into partner engagement strategies that accelerate adoption, utilization, and customer value 

Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnership Operating Model 

• Drive execution across Commercial, Product, R&D, Operations, Legal, Finance, Market Development, and Scientific Affairs to deliver partner commitments 

• Drive alignment on partnership scope, success metrics, and operating model, working closely with Legal to finalize agreements 

• Build business cases and recommendations for new partnerships based on strategic fit, feasibility, and expected impact 

• Convert partnership obligations into actionable internal plans, ownership, resourcing needs, and decision points 

• Create and maintain lightweight execution mechanisms (dashboards, milestone plans, risk logs, escalation paths) to keep workstreams moving 

Outcomes & Continuous Improvement 

• Define and track partnership KPIs tied to outcomes (commercial pull-through and product acceleration) 

• Drive expansion/renewal discussions where partnerships are performing and recommend pivots where they are not 

• Build repeatable partnership playbooks and templates to improve speed and consistency over time 

Qualifications 

Baseline skills/experiences/attributes: 

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, PhD) a plus 

• 8–12+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, alliance management, or cross-functional commercial/product programs in life sciences or adjacent industries 

• Proven ability to execute partnerships post-signature, including governance, milestone delivery, and cross-functional coordination 

• Experience in life sciences tools and platforms (proteomics, genomics, multi-omics, mass spectrometry ecosystem, or adjacent workflows), with the ability to engage credibly with scientific and commercial stakeholders 

• Strong internal leadership and external relationship management skills; able to influence without authority 

• Experience operating in ambiguous environments with a bias toward execution and measurable outcomes 

• Familiarity with life sciences tools and products ecosystems and RUO partnering models strongly preferred 

Ideally, you also have these skills/experiences/attributes (but it’s ok if you don’t!): 

• Experience building ecosystem partnerships (integrations, workflow partnerships, partner programs) 

• Comfort translating product strategy into partner-driven execution plans 

• Familiarity with life sciences workflows spanning research through translational settings (RUO) 

• Ability to scale processes and operating cadence as partnership volume grows over time 

The estimated base salary range for this role based in the United States of America is: $210,000 - $250,000. Compensation decisions are dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, level of the position,  an individual’s skills, knowledge and abilities, location where the role is to be performed, internal equity, and alignment with market data. Additionally, all full-time employees are eligible for our discretionary bonus program and equity as part of the compensation package.  

Quantum-Si does not accept agency resumes. 

Quantum-Si is an E-Verify and equal opportunity employer regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability or Veteran status. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.