Director, Biology San Diego, CA (onsite), Confidential Search

About the Opportunity

A newly established, well-funded biotechnology company in San Diego is building a precision medicine pipeline in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — one designed to move beyond today's empirical treatment model toward therapies that both calm inflammation and actively promote tissue healing.

This company was founded by the scientific and drug development team behind one of the most significant recent breakthroughs in IBD: the discovery of a novel inflammatory pathway and the antibody therapy that targets it, which advanced from academic research into late-stage clinical development and was ultimately acquired for over $10 billion. That team is now applying the same precision biology approach to the next generation of IBD targets.

If you want to work at the earliest stage of a company with a proven playbook — founders who have already taken a first-in-class therapy from bench to clinic — this is a rare seat.

The Role

As Director, Biology, you'll serve as a project team lead, providing scientific leadership across the full arc of early drug development — from target and mechanism biology through IND-enabling studies. This is a hands-on, cross-functional role for someone who wants to shape the biological strategy of a program, not just execute against someone else's.

What you'll do:

• Lead the biology strategy for one or more drug development programs, partnering closely with translational, DMPK, CMC, and toxicology teams
• Design and oversee assays that characterize how a drug candidate engages its target and produces its intended biological effect
• Contribute to lead profiling and candidate selection — helping decide which molecules move forward and why
• Design translational studies that connect what happens in the lab to what will matter in patients (PK/PD, efficacy, biomarkers)
• Help guide IND-enabling studies (GLP toxicology, safety pharmacology, PK) in partnership with regulatory and CRO/CDMO partners
• Represent the science to company leadership, helping inform portfolio strategy and risk decisions
• Translate complex biology into clear direction for a small, high-trust, fast-moving team

What Makes This Different

This is an early-stage company (under 50 people), which means your scientific judgment will directly shape the program — not get filtered through five layers of committee. You'll work alongside founders who have done this exact thing before and succeeded. And the therapeutic focus — modulating inflammation while promoting tissue repair — is a genuinely different approach to IBD than most of the field is pursuing, grounded in mechanism rather than trial and error.

What We're Looking For

• Ph.D. in Biology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Cancer Biology, or a related field, with 10+ years of industry drug discovery/development experience (M.S. with 15+ years also considered)
• Track record contributing meaningfully to drug programs from discovery through IND-enabling studies, ideally across both small molecule and biologics modalities
• Hands-on experience designing assays (biochemical, biophysical, or cell-based) that inform real discovery decisions
• Experience with lead profiling, candidate nomination, and integrating biology with PK and safety data
• Background leading translational research — PK/PD, efficacy models, biomarkers, target engagement
• A collaborative style: someone who brings people along rather than working in isolation, and who's comfortable with the ambiguity and pace of an early-stage company
• Strong communication skills — you'll be presenting to senior leadership and coordinating across a global network of partners and stakeholders