What You'll Do
The Pharmaceutical Sciences Team Lead (PSTL) is a senior scientific and strategic leadership role responsible for advancing pharmaceutical development and CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls) strategy across clinical and commercial-stage programs. This individual will lead cross-functional pharmaceutical sciences activities spanning formulation development, analytical development, process development, manufacturing, technology transfer, regulatory submissions, and lifecycle management. The role requires a proven leader with deep expertise in pharmaceutical development, strong regulatory and quality knowledge, and the ability to lead high-performing scientific teams in a fast-paced, matrixed environment. The PSTL will serve as a key contributor to corporate development strategy and represent Pharmaceutical Sciences in executive governance, regulatory interactions, and external partnerships.
Responsibilities
- Lead high-performing, collaborative, and accountable Pharmaceutical Sciences teams across multiple functional disciplines.
- Establish and drive organizational priorities, resource plans, and development goals aligned with corporate objectives.
- Identify program risks proactively and implement mitigation strategies to maintain timelines and deliverables.
- Provide scientific leadership for formulation development, analytical development, process development, manufacturing, and technology transfer.
- Partner with Non-clinical, Clinical, Regulatory, and Commercial organizations to ensure alignment on development priorities and execution.
- Represent Pharmaceutical Sciences in governance committees and executive reviews.
- Influence senior leadership decisions through data-driven scientific and operational recommendations.
- Collaborate with Regulatory Sciences and Regulatory Affairs on CMC strategy, risk mitigation, and agency responses.
- Represent Pharmaceutical Sciences in interactions with global health authorities and regulatory inspections, as needed.
- Participate in due diligence activities, external scientific collaborations, and business development evaluations.
- Build strong relationships with external partners, vendors, and industry organizations.
- Implement scalable systems, processes, and metrics to improve development efficiency and execution quality.
- Foster an inclusive and performance-oriented culture that embodies company leadership values and behaviors.
Where You'll Work
This role requires in-office collaboration 2-3x per week in our San Francisco Office and travel, as needed
Who You Are
- PhD or equivalent advanced degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry, or related scientific discipline preferred.
- 15+ years of progressive pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry experience, including significant leadership responsibility in Pharmaceutical Sciences, CMC, or Technical Operations.
- Experience leading multidisciplinary scientific teams in matrixed global organizations.
- Strong knowledge of pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, analytical development, regulatory expectations, and quality systems.
- Experience managing external manufacturing and development partners (CMOs/CDMOs/CROs).
- Strategic thinker with strong scientific and operational acumen.
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills with executive presence.
- Proven ability to drive alignment across complex cross-functional organizations.
- Strong decision-making and problem-solving capabilities in dynamic development environments.
- Prior experience in NDA/MAA submissions and regulatory approvals.
- Experience supporting commercial manufacturing and lifecycle management activities.
- Familiarity with global supply chain strategy and technical operations.
- Experience in both large pharmaceutical and emerging biotech environments preferred.
- Travel, as needed