Associate Director, ADC Platform Strategy - Oncology

U175 (FCRS = US175) Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 283,000; Full time

Job summary

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. in Cambridge, MA seeks an Associate Director to lead scientific strategy across ADC payloads, linker technologies, and conjugation approaches.

This role focuses on advancing differentiated ADC concepts with strong payload expertise and biology-driven program strategies. The ideal candidate has 5–10 years of industry experience in ADC discovery or oncology drug discovery, with a track record of cross-functional leadership and translating biology

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in cancer biology, pharmacology, chemical biology, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, bioengineering, or related discipline.
• 5–10 years of industry experience in ADC discovery, targeted therapeutics, or oncology drug discovery.
• Extensive expertise in ADC payloads, including mechanism of action, potency, resistance biology, and therapeutic index considerations.

Responsibilities

• Lead scientific strategy for ADC payload selection, linker design, conjugation approaches, and platform innovations.
• Guide program design with knowledge of payloads, MOA, potency, resistance, and bystander effects.
• Collaborate with chemistry, biology, protein engineering, pharmacology, translational sciences, and CMC teams to advance ADCs.
• Evaluate and prioritize novel payloads, linker technologies, and conjugation approaches for internal and external programs.
• Provide biology-driven insights into payload MOA, tumor context, therapeutic index, and combination strategies.
• Design experiments to assess ADC activity, selectivity, resistance, linker stability, and payload pharmacology.
• Contribute to next-generation ADC platform strategy and differentiated payload-linker concepts.

Skills

ADC payload strategy

Payload design

Conjugation technologies

Cross-functional leadership

Biology-chemistry integration

Education

Ph.D. in cancer biology or related field

Job description

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. in Cambridge, MA seeks an Associate Director to lead scientific strategy across ADC payloads, linker technologies, and conjugation approaches.

This role focuses on advancing differentiated ADC concepts with strong payload expertise and biology-driven program strategies. The ideal candidate has 5–10 years of industry experience in ADC discovery or oncology drug discovery, with a track record of cross-functional leadership and translating biology