Vice President, Product Strategy

Reports To Chief Strategy Officer Location South San Francisco, CA or Princeton, NJ or Chicago, IL – On‑site 4 days per week (Mon to Thurs) Job Overview The Vice President, Product Strategy will play a key role in defining and driving the end‑to‑end product strategy across Kardigan’s portfolio. The VP will sit at the intersection of science, clinical development, commercial, and corporate strategy, translating pipeline assets into clear product visions, value propositions, and lifecycle strategies that maximize patient impact and enterprise value. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Lead the development and ongoing evolution of integrated product strategies across all pipeline and marketed assets, from early clinical stages through lifecycle management. Prioritize product expansion opportunities and recommend timing (e.g., when to initiate new programs). Define and continue to refine the strategy for global commercialization of the portfolio. Define target product profiles (TPPs), value propositions, and differentiation strategies informed by unmet need, competitive landscape, and clinical data. Partner with Clinical Development and Medical to influence trial design, endpoints, and evidence generation aligned to product and commercial goals. Drive scenario planning and trade‑off decisions across indications, lines of therapy, geographies, and lifecycle opportunities. Lead competitive intelligence and market landscaping to inform strategic choices and risk mitigation. Investment Decision‑Making Serve as a strategic advisor to the Chief Strategy Officer, GPHs and Chief Executive Officer on product‑ and portfolio‑level decisions. Support the GPHs in developing recommendations for program‑related investments (stage‑gate decisions, new indications, new formulations, development plan modifications, etc.). Work closely with the portfolio management team to ensure a quality and timely fact‑base for portfolio decision‑making, and appropriate framing/communication of recommendations for Kardigan’s portfolio governance mechanisms. Support business development activities including asset evaluation, diligence, and integration of acquired programs into the portfolio. Launch Planning Create and own the overall cross‑functional launch plan. Drive decision‑making and execution on the activities that are most critical for successful product launches. Partner with Commercial to ensure launch readiness, positioning, and lifecycle strategies are cohesive and evidence‑based. Collaborate with Regulatory and Market Access to anticipate approval pathways, pricing considerations, and reimbursement dynamics. Team & Capability Building Define required CoEs and plan/timeframe to build these out; lead hiring and talent development of the CoEs. Ensure CoEs are appropriately supporting both of global product teams and our business development activities. Manage and mentor product strategy leads; provide guidance on most critical issues across the portfolio. Qualifications and Preferred Skills Education Advanced degree preferred (PhD, MD, PharmD, MBA), with strong scientific literacy required. Experience 12+ years of experience in biotech, pharma, or life sciences consulting with progressive leadership responsibility. Demonstrated experience leading product strategy across clinical development stages; pre‑launch and launch experience strongly preferred. Proven experience working cross‑functionally across R&D, Commercial, Regulatory, and Market Access. Prior involvement with launch readiness, pricing and reimbursement planning, and evidence generation strategy development. Experience building and scaling a product strategy function, including team development, governance frameworks. Deep understanding of clinical development, regulatory pathways, competitive dynamics, and commercialization considerations. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Proven ability to lead workstreams and influence cross‑functionally to drive alignment without direct authority. Ability to lead and manage a product strategy team. Strong strategic and technical understanding; strong analytical skills and ability to anticipate operational issues and risks, and to proactively recommend mitigations and solutions. Strong skills in strategic framing and communication via PowerPoint presentations. Initiative/self‑starter with a continuous improvement mindset and demonstrated experience managing across multiple functions and teams. Strong work ethic with a sense of urgency and demonstrated ability to consistently deliver high quality output. Excellent written and oral communication skills; comfortable interacting and communicating with individuals at all levels of the organization. Detail oriented with ability to manage multiple priorities. Strong sense of resilience and comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, dynamic, start‑up environment. Flexibility to travel as needed; spending time periodically with functional and program leaders and teams as well as overall corporate leadership located in SSF, Chicago and Princeton will be required. Compensation Exact Compensation may vary based on skills, experience and location. Pay range: $313,000 - $377,000 USD Equal Employment Opportunity As set forth in Kardigan’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. #J-18808-Ljbffr Kardigan