Leader, Professional Services

About this role

We are rebuilding biotech for the AI era.

When a breakthrough is delayed, the world waits. Getting a molecule from discovery to patients, or a crop from lab to field, involves thousands of slow, manual, disconnected steps. AI has the potential to change this, compressing decades of R&D work into years. But that only happens when clean, structured scientific data and AI are built into how science gets done.

Benchling is the AI platform for biotech R&D. Scientists use Benchling to design experiments, capture structured data, and run AI agents and models directly in their workflows. Over 200,000 scientists around the world trust Benchling to power their most important work, from academic labs to Sanofi, Moderna, and more than half of the world's top 50 biopharma.

We’re building an AI scientist for our customers. We can’t do that if we haven’t built the muscle ourselves. AI fluency is the foundation we build on; it's core to how we work, and we're committed to helping every new hire integrate it into their day-to-day. As part of our interview process, you'll complete a brief AI-focused exercise or discussion so we can understand how you think about and use AI to drive impact in your role. Feel free to reference any tools, platforms, or workflows you use today.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Benchling is building a world-class Professional Services team to support implementations for our rapidly expanding customer base, from small Biotech startups to the largest BioPharmas in the world.

This is a player-coach role: you'll lead implementations directly as needed, while managing a team of Implementation Managers based on the east coast. You'll bring your solution expertise to guide complex engagements and coach newer team members, working closely with customers and cross-functionally across Benchling to drive successful outcomes.

Beyond day-to-day delivery, you'll shape how the practice scales — refining methodologies, developing your team's careers, and ensuring customers achieve their scientific and business goals with Benchling.

To be successful in this role, you must be comfortable with Life Sciences R&D processes and scientific concepts, and be able to develop deep relationships with Scientific and IT leaders at Pharma and Biotech organizations. You must be an expert in Benchling implementation project methodology and execution, and be an inclusive leader who has mentored and worked with teammates to deliver transformational solutions.

RESPONSIBILITIES

- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Implementation Managers fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning

- Help to define PS strategy, optimize implementation processes, and scale the team effectively

- Provide hands-on guidance during complex implementations, serving as an escalation point for technical challenges or critical customer situations

- Drive accountability for successful project delivery across your team, ensuring implementations are completed on time, on budget, and with high quality

- Build strong relationships with cross-functional partners in Sales, Customer Success, Product, and Engineering to deliver seamless customer experiences

- Understand customer needs and scientific workflows, translating insights into actionable recommendations for product improvements and PS best practices

- Represent Benchling's scientific and technical credibility with customers, demonstrating deep understanding of biotech R&D processes

- Track team performance metrics, identify improvement opportunities, and implement changes to increase implementation velocity and customer satisfaction

- Contribute to global PS initiatives by collaborating with PS leadership across regions

QUALIFICATIONS

- MS or PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Immunology, Bioinformatics, Biological Engineering, or a related field

- At least 4 years of experience in a lab or R&D setting, ideally in antibody discovery, strain engineering, chemistry or process development

- Software implementation experience with a SaaS software company is required

- Empathize with scientists and quickly understand complex scientific concepts

- 2+ years in a lead or people manager role, with demonstrated success building and developing high-performing teams

- Strong communication skills—you must be able to quickly and effectively connect with a range of stakeholders, including scientists, IT project leads, and executives

- Self-starter with the ability to thrive in a startup environment where priorities shift and you need to navigate ambiguity

- Curious, creative, and tenacious—you're excited to collaborate with customers and Benchling teammates as a thought partner

- Ability to travel up to 25% based on customer and project needs

HOW WE WORK

We offer a flexible hybrid work arrangement that prioritizes in-office collaboration. Employees are expected to be on-site 3 days per week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday).

#LI-Hybrid

#BI-Hybrid

Benchling welcomes everyone.

We believe diversity enriches our team so we hire people with a wide range of identities, backgrounds, and experiences.

We are an equal opportunity employer. That means we don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

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