Senior Director, Project & Portfolio Management

About this role

THE OPPORTUNITY

The unprecedented convergence of multi-modal data, advanced disease modeling, and computational power is revolutionizing drug discovery. insitro is harnessing this moment to redefine how medicines are developed for complex diseases. Our AI/ML-enabled platforms integrate and scale data to rapidly discover novel biological insights to redefine complex diseases and identify new targets and drugs. To enable this vision we are seeking a Senior Director of Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) who will build an AI-forward PPM organization that will partner with Therapeutic Area, Operations, Clinical and Business Development teams to discover and advance a high-value portfolio of exciting drug candidates into the clinic for neurological, ophthalmological and metabolic indications.

Reporting into the CSO, you and your staff will partner with project team leaders in developing rightsized project strategies and create successful team environments to foster high performance and rapid advancement. You will develop and execute high quality integrated project plans with clear timelines spanning research, discovery, clinical development, software engineering, and data science/machine learning. As the leader of PPM you will partner with Compute, Operations and Finance colleagues in establishing agentic AI project management, decision and resource allocation tools and methodologies across our portfolio to support critical initiatives.

This role will be hybrid, coming onsite to our South San Francisco headquarters with three days per week in the office.

ABOUT YOU

- BS degree required in a life science field, MS or PhD preferred

- Minimum of 15 years of experience in biotech/pharmaceutical industry in the R&D and clinical development space, including 8+ years in project/portfolio leadership leading cross-functional matrix teams

- Extensive knowledge of the drug development process and deliverables at each stage of the pipeline across at least one preferred drug modality (recombinant biologic, small molecule, oligonucleotide), with deep experience in translational stages, CMC workflows, early commercial assessment and clinical development (IND into Phase 2)

- Highly skilled at conventional project management – driving execution while balancing speed, quality, and cost including proficiency with project management tools and software, e.g., critical path analyses, scenario planning, budget and resource management

- Exposure to the design and implementation of agentic workflows in a pharma or biotech environment

- Experience with setting up or leading decision making bodies (governance) and/or portfolio planning and reviews processes with appropriate decision tools

- Solid understanding of metabolism, neuroscience or ophthalmology disease areas and its competitive environment with the ability to take part in strategic discussions

- Previous experience in high visibility roles requiring the ability to think strategically and summarize complex information into important concepts for broader communication including executive leaders

- Deep experience leading matrix team meetings to enable collaboration, decision-making, and alignment with internal and external customers while leading all aspects of project scope, deliverables, risks, and resources

- Ability to resolve complex problems using strong interpersonal skills while building and maintaining positive working relationships with collaborators

- Comfortable working in dynamic startup settings; adept at navigating ambiguity, evolving priorities, and time/resource constraints.

- Self-directed and proactive with ability to exercise good judgment and respond quickly and effectively to changing environments

NICE TO HAVE

- Project Management Certification (PMP or equivalent)

- Familiarity with Google Suite and Smartsheets strongly preferred

- Prior use of generative AI tools / LLM technologies in day-to-day work (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude)

- Understanding of high-content human data modalities (e.g., genetics/genomics, histopathological imaging, spatial biology) and data generation technologies

- Familiarity with and passion about machine learning enabled drug discovery

YOUR WAYS OF WORKING AND ALIGNMENT WITH INSITRO VALUES

- "Get Things Done": A self-starter, with a strong bias to action, who can prioritize and advance multiple projects under the resource, information and time constraints of an early stage startup

- "Engage with Respect": Prioritize a compassionate understanding of the needs and perspectives of insitro teams and leaders in every interaction and analysis

- “Create together”. We innovate through curiosity, collaboration, and learning from diverse perspectives

- "Own the Outcome": Proactively take ownership of solving problems

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS AT INSITRO

Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $264,000 - $298,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data.

This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies.

In addition, insitro also provides our employees:

- 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions

- Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support

- Open, flexible vacation policy

- Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)

- Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development

- Support to attend professional conferences that are meaningful to yo

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