Associate Director/Director

What if… you could join an organization that creates, resources, and builds life sciences companies that invent breakthrough technologies to transform human health and sustainability?

Flagship Pioneering’s venture creation engine has conceived and created companies such as Moderna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRNA), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Generate Biomedicines, and Tessera Therapeutics. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has applied its unique hypothesis-driven innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $212 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $2.5 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $19 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. In 2021, Flagship Pioneering was ranked 12^th globally 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.

The Company:

Quotient Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held, early-stage company developing a novel genomics platform and therapeutics for diseases with a large unmet need.

Position Summary:

Quotient Tx is seeking a talented and highly motivated Associate Director/Director Oncologyto play a vital role in the company’s efforts to progress lead candidates to IND and early clinical studies.
The candidate will be responsible for the translational validation of discovery platform targets in cell-based and disease-relevant pharmacological models. This role requires a dynamic leader capable of designing, planning, and implementing high-quality in vitro and in vivo assays, and will be pivotal in advancing our precision oncology research programs. They will be comfortable working in and contributing to a highly dynamic and cross-functional team environment. The ideal candidate must be independent, open-minded, goal-oriented, have excellent communication skills and work in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Experimental Design and Implementation: Work independently and collaboratively with a team to design, plan, and implement high-quality in vitro and in vivo assays.
• Target Validation Leadership: Lead target validation activities, including target assessment, prioritization, and the development and execution of workplans.
• Mechanism of Action Studies: Design and implement in vitro assays to evaluate the mechanisms of action of the target. This includes thorough assessment and validation in disease-relevant models.
• Animal Studies Coordination: Plan and execute animal studies by coordinating with external research vendors, defining tissue and disease-specific target engagement levels, and establishing biomarker plans and translational PK/PD assessments.
• Project Oversight: Lead cross-functional project teams to design, plan, and execute experimental studies, ensuring milestones and objectives are met within established timelines. Provide strategic direction and oversight for concurrent research projects. Collaborate with drug design, pharmacology, and translational research teams to advance candidate molecules through the drug discovery pipeline.
• Team Leadership: Ensure the timely delivery of key team deliverables and mentor and train junior scientists within the group as needed.
• Data Analysis and Communication: Communicate findings effectively through written and oral presentations.

Qualifications:

• Educational Background: Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, Immunology, or a related discipline with 8 - 10 years of experience in a biotech or pharmaceutical company. The title will be adjusted to reflect the level of experience and expertise.
• Subject Matter Expertise: Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of tumor intrinsic mechanisms (oncogenic drivers, cancer vulnerabilities) and target validation for drug discovery. Proven experience in screening and prioritizing targets derived from target identification efforts. Demonstrated ability to lead target programs from identification to late drug discovery phases.
• Technical Skills: Extensive hands-on experience in mammalian cell culture, including primary cells and tissue handling. Proficiency in designing and executing tumor animal models, as well as conducting pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) analyses.
• Leadership Experience: Proven experience in directly supervising and mentoring scientists and research associates, and collaborating in cross-functional/matrix environments.  The ideal candidate will have had project leadership experience to advance molecular entities through the drug discovery pipeline.
• Communication Skills: Outstanding written and oral presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences.
• Personal Attributes: Highly motivated, results-oriented, and team-focused individual with a strong commitment to advancing innovative therapies.

Preferred Attributes:

• Industry Experience: Previous experience in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on precision oncology research.
• Advanced Assay Development: Experience in developing and implementing advanced cell-culture assays in Oncology, working with both primary cells and established cell lines.

Location: Cambridge, MA 

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 more than $90 billion in aggregate value. 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.