Enterprise Operations Director jobs in Malden, MA

Company Overview

Curie.Bio is a founder-focused seed-stage venture firm combined with an industry-grade therapeutics accelerator focused on one thing: helping entrepreneurial founders launch viable therapeutics companies. Curie.Bio does this by giving founders access to a team of the world’s best drug hunters and drug makers, seed capital, and best-of-breed services - everything a founder needs to get from concept to a compelling dataset that enables an awesome Series A financing. In a nutshell, we want founders in control of their own company and focused on their area of expertise and creativity, while we help make the rest happen smoothly.

Curie.Bio was designed by founders for founders. Our founding team of Zach Weinberg, Christoph Lengauer and Alexis Borisy has collectively helped start numerous therapeutics companies and been intimately involved with the Series A financing of many more. We have witnessed first hand the difficulty of going from a seed stage concept to generating the data package necessary for a successful Series A raise; targets need to be properly selected, experiment plans designed, vendors selected and contracted, experiments need to be run, people need to be hired - all with a few million dollars. These perennial challenges are what led to the creation of Curie.Bio. If we want to dramatically increase the number of viable drug companies created every year, we’re going to have to reduce the complexity of getting to a compelling POC data package required for a Series A. Reducing this complexity requires us to provide real support to these new companies - support that is both strategic (think target selection, unique access to strategic partnerships, early introductions to top Series A investors) and operational (experiment execution, vendor management, back office support). 

As an early employee joining us on this mission, you will see first hand what it takes to successfully bring a company from concept at the seed stage to compelling wet-lab derived POC data with an industry-grade progressible drug (candidate) that enables a Series A financing. You will work alongside the world’s best drug hunters and industry veterans whose experience spans all facets of drug discovery and preclinical drug development - from disease biology to medicinal chemistry, to recruiting, to business development, and more. 

In order for Curie.Bio to achieve its mission, we need the best people. Companies are nothing more than a group of people working together on a shared objective. Great companies are born when those individuals come together to form something larger than the sum of its parts. 

The Role

The ideal candidate has a deep passion for delivering on their commitments, solving problems systematically, and strong soft skills including EXCEPTIONAL communication, organization, and attention to detail. You are energized by facing unprecedented problems and thrive while familiarizing yourself with new disease areas, approaches, or modalities. You are equally comfortable developing a high level strategy from a 30,000’ view as you are operating in the weeds shoulder to shoulder with the scientists conducting experiments.

You will be involved in three different stages along the portfolio companies’ journey: 

Planning
You will work with Curie’s internal team and company founders to analyze the founders’ initial plans. You will serve a pivotal role in the success of each seed company by ensuring founders maximize the value of the investment by developing an optimal strategy to a major value inflection point, and determine the size of the investment required. This involves a short, intense process where you familiarize yourself with unprecedented and innovative science across a broad range of indications, modalities, and approaches. 

Execution
Following a positive investment decision, companies will enter execution. The project manager will work with the founders to ensure that experiment plans are completed on time, within budget, and to plan. You will work alongside the company founders and Curie’s internal scientific and alliance management teams to develop the company strategy and drive projects to completion. This is an opportunity to get a front row seat in launching and operating early-stage biotech companies at an unprecedented scale alongside the top talent in the industry. 

Fundraising Strategy
Towards the end of the execution phase, you will develop strategies and budgets for a Series A raise. Similar to what was done during the planning phase, you will focus on an optimal approach to a major value inflection point. You will develop multiple scenarios and adjust plans in response to feedback from Series A investors.

This role will also build best practices to be employed across Curie.Bio and its portfolio companies. This involves identifying software solutions, setting up standard processes, and developing templates that can be used as starting points for the creation of bespoke tools for the various portfolio companies. 

Responsibilities

• Accountable for overall management of the projects (Planning and Execution)
• ‘Failure is Not an Option’ mentality - deep passion for the details rolling up your sleeves to get things done
• Focus on continuous improvement - how are we getting better as an organization with every project? 
• Develop project plans and budgets prior to an investment decision and in preparation for a Series A raise 
• Manage and refine project plans in response to developing data, external factors, etc
• Set up founders for success by coaching them on best practices for project planning and execution, communication, stakeholder management, and risk monitoring
• Evaluate the impact of alternative scenarios and facilitate strategy decisions
• Work side by side with the Curie project leader to ensure the long term success of the project  

Requirements and Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Biology, Chemistry or related field
• 10 years experience in the pharmaceutical or life science industry
• 5 years in a project/program/portfolio management, research operations or project leadership role 
• Demonstrated experience managing, leading, and motivating cross-functional drug discovery and early development project teams 
• Demonstrated ability to incorporate external partners into internal teams
• Demonstrated ability to familiarize oneself with new science (new disease areas, indications, modalities)
• Energized by working on innovative scientific projects and blazing a trail into new territories where no established path exists
• Deep knowledge of early research projects and processes (hit ID, hit to lead, LO) 
• Familiar with early development (GLP tox, GMP manufacturing, GMP clinical trials and regulatory submissions)
• Experience across multiple indications / disease areas and with multiple modalities is a plus
• Self-driven, able to set priorities, drive results, and build alignment in a fast paced environment with multiple viewpoints
• Ability to thrive in a remote-first environment

*The job title and level will be commensurate with the individual's level of experience.*