Director, Program Management

Director, Program Management

At Apriori Bio, our cutting-edge platform, Octavia, is a fully-integrated, closed-loop engine functioning as a 'Bio-OS' for advanced biotech innovation and biodefense. This biology-enabled AI/ML platform transforms complex biological data into actionable intelligence to map viral fitness landscapes, predict immune escape trajectories, and enable the rapid, modular design of variant-resilient immunological therapies, including vaccines, antibodies, and next-generation immunogens. As the Director of Program Management at Apriori Bio, you'll be instrumental in driving our mission forward by working closely with senior leaders and engaging with both wet-lab scientists and computational experts. You will coordinate complex initiatives and oversee the preparation of key deliverables, fostering a culture of communication, accountability, and efficiency. By implementing robust project management strategies, you will lead major company initiatives across R&D, operational, and corporate objectives. Your strategic oversight will ensure R&D milestones align with broader corporate strategies, while your exceptional coordination skills will facilitate seamless communication and collaboration between senior leadership and functional teams.

We are seeking a Director of Program Management to drive coordination and execution across key initiatives spanning R&D and corporate operations. This role will ensure alignment between company goals and day-to-day project execution by managing milestones, tracking cross-functional dependencies, and enabling teams to deliver on critical priorities.

The Director will work closely with senior leadership to translate strategic objectives into clear operational plans, while helping ensure the organization stays aligned, focused, and moving forward.

This is a highly collaborative and hands-on role for a program leader who thrives in dynamic environments and can bring structure, clarity, and momentum to complex initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead project management for major company initiatives spanning R&D, operational, and corporate objectives
• Track cross-functional project timelines, deliverables, and dependencies to ensure initiatives remain on schedule; identify risks, bottlenecks, and resource gaps, and collaborate with leadership to proactively address these issues; additionally, manage external grant responsibilities by tracking grant budgets, coordinating the preparation of technical and progress reports for grant program officers, and ensuring compliance with time tracking and other requirements
• Oversee people resourcing across project teams, ensuring appropriate staffing levels, workload balance, and reallocation as priorities shift
• Develop, implement, and maintain project management tools, dashboards, and reporting systems to improve organizational visibility and execution

Strategic Alignment & Integration

• Align R&D milestones and program goals with broader corporate strategy by coordinating activities across scientific and operational plans
• Focus 80% on program management and 20% on linking programs to strategy and operations
• Establish scalable project management practices and processes to support organizational growth
• Enable teams by creating clarity around priorities, responsibilities, and timelines

Leadership Support & Stakeholder Coordination

• Serve as a central point of coordination across leadership and functional teams, ensuring clear communication, accountability, and follow-through
• Support senior leaders by coordinating complex initiatives, preparing materials, and managing key deliverables
• Lead the coordination and preparation of grant and contract proposals, gathering input from scientific and operational stakeholders

Experience & Qualifications

• Education
• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, life sciences, or a related field required
• Advanced degree (MBA, PhD, or equivalent) preferred
• Experience
• 8+ years of experience in program or project management within biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, or similarly complex technical environments and ideally covering both pre-clinical and clinical stage programs
• Proven experience managing cross-functional initiatives involving both scientific and operational stakeholders
• Experience aligning R&D programs with broader organizational or corporate objectives
• Experience working closely with senior leadership to coordinate complex initiatives and priorities
• Additional Qualifications
• Military command, logistics, or leadership experience is considered a strong plus
• Strong understanding of project management frameworks and tools
• Experience building operational processes and tracking systems in growing organizations
• Experience supporting grant development or scientific proposal coordination is a plus
• PMP or related program/project management certifications preferred

Ideal Candidate

• Strategic and highly organized program leader who can bring structure to complex initiatives while maintaining a flexible, solutions-oriented approach
• Strong systems thinker able to synthesize information and identify dependencies across teams
• Collaborative operator who can build alignment across scientific, operational, and leadership stakeholders and thrives working iteratively and cross-functionally
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving environments with shifting priorities, demonstrating grit and a relentless drive to overcome challenges and deliver results
• Clear communicator who can translate complex initiatives into actionable plans and champion an agile, continuous-improvement mindset