Senior Project Manager/Associate Director, Discovery Project Management

Xenon Pharmaceuticals; Burnaby; Hybrid; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision care

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Retirement plan

Employee Assistance Program

Tuition assistance

Vacation & personal days

Year-end shutdown

Job summary

Xenon Pharmaceuticals in Vancouver, BC, seeks a Senior Project Manager/Associate Director, Discovery Project Management to drive Discovery-stage programs across Chemistry, Biology, and CMC. You will coordinate with Finance, Legal, QA and Development to ensure timely, on-budget progress and data flow.

The role requires a MSc/PhD and 5+ years in drug discovery, with strong communication and project-management skills. Hybrid work with two onsite days per week in Canada.

Qualifications

• MSc or PhD in chemistry or biology.
• At least 5 years of drug discovery experience in biotech/pharma.
• Excellent communication skills, written and oral.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain project management tools addressing scope, schedule and budget.
• Coordinate Discovery-stage CROs and external studies.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment across Discovery teams and stakeholders.

Education

MSc or PhD in chemistry or biology

Tools

PowerPoint

Excel

Word

MS Project

SharePoint

Job description

Who We Are:

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) is a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company dedicated to drug discovery, clinical development, and commercialization of life-changing therapeutics for patients in need. We are looking for great people who thrive in a respectful, collaborative, inclusive, and productive culture to join the Xenon team.

What We Do:

We are advancing an exciting product pipeline to address indications with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy, depression and pain. Our Phase 3 azetukalner program represents the most advanced, clinically validated potassium channel modulator in late-stage clinical development for multiple indications. In March 2026, we announced positive topline data from our Phase 3 X-TOLE2 study of azetukalner in focal onset seizures (FOS), and we anticipate submitting a New Drug Application to the Food and Drug Administration in the third quarter of 2026. Our Phase 3 epilepsy program also includes a second FOS study, X-TOLE3, which would support regulatory submissions outside the U.S., and the X-ACKT study in primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, which would support regulatory submissions for an additional epilepsy indication. We also have multiple Phase 3 azetukalner clinical trials underway in major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar depression (BPD), based on topline data from our Phase 2 X-NOVA clinical trial. In addition, we are proud of our strong heritage in human genetics, deep understanding of ion channel biology, and expertise in novel chemistries to enable potent, selective ion channel targeting. We continue to advance an early-stage pipeline of novel therapeutic candidates, including Phase 1 studies for XEN1701 (targeting Nav1.7) and XEN1120 (targeting Kv7), which are important pain targets. Backed by a strong balance sheet to support our growth plans, we continue to build a fully integrated, premier neuroscience company with strong discovery, clinical development, corporate, and commercial operations.

About the Role:

We are seeking a Senior Project Manager/Associate Director, Discovery Project Management to join our team. This individual will work flexibly across a number of Discovery-stage small molecule programs. This role involves close coordination with stakeholders within Discovery (e.g., Chemistry, Biology, Compound Properties, Toxicology and CMC) and outside of Discovery (e.g., Finance, Legal, QA, Development).

This position reports to the Director, Discovery Project Management and will be based out of Vancouver, BC, Canada. The level of the position will be commensurate with the candidate’s education and industry experience. Hybrid positions require a minimum of two onsite days per week.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and maintain comprehensive project/program/portfolio management and tracking tools addressing program scope, components, schedule and budget.
• Manage the Company’s Discovery-stage Contract Research Organizations (CROs) under both full-time equivalent and fee-for-service arrangements.
• Perform contract-related activities (drafting, contract change control, monitoring for performance, accepting deliverables, managing invoices and tracking accruals) relating to same within the scope of the Company’s contact management systems and policies.
• Coordinate Discovery-stage external studies including compound logistics, protocol drafting and review and communication with study directors.
• Coordinate project team, project sub-team, and functional group meetings for the Company’s Discovery stage programs. Track action items and timelines. Understand and communicate critical path towards key objectives. Schedule internal and external studies, as required.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment with key Discovery stakeholders, identify potential cross-functional issues and bottlenecks across a multi-year horizon.
• Develop, optimize and manage data workflows and progression of compounds through program flowcharts. Ensure the timely distribution of externally-generated data and reports to appropriate stakeholders.
• Support activities that raise the scientific profile of the Company internally and externally, including Discovery training, Discovery invited speaker and Discovery events.
• Support Discovery scientific disclosure approvals under the Scientific Methods Based Disclosure Approval Process.
• Manage drafting, review and approval of Discovery preclinical reports to support regulatory filings.
• Develop and propose short- and long-term objectives for the function in accordance with overall Company strategies and plans.
• Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• MSc or PhD in the fields of chemistry or biology
• At least 5 years’ experience in drug discovery in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry
• Project management experience is preferred
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
• Highly organized with keen attention to detail
• Strong desire to manage projects to timeline and budget
• Ability to interface with internal and external stakeholders including scientists, executives, and members of the finance and legal departments; ability to influence colleagues in a cross-functional team environment
• Extensive intermediate to advanced computer skills (Power Point, Excel, Word, MS Project, SharePoint)
• Knowledge of project management methodology and technology, including developing Gantt Charts
• Willing and able to learn new skills to meet changing needs of the organization. Flexible and able to efficiently prioritize tasks

Our Total Rewards program includes base salary, target bonus, and stock options, as well as a full range of benefits including medical, dental, vision, short‑ & long‑term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, and life insurance programs, Employee Assistance Program, travel insurance, and retirement savings programs with company matching contributions.

Xenon encourages time to rest and re-charge through vacation, personal days, sick days, and an end-of-year company shutdown. Xenon highly values employee development and has an expanding Training, Learning & Development program, including a Tuition Assistance program for advanced degrees.