Associate Director, Biotherapeutic Production and Characterization

Generate Biomedicines; Somerville (MA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Annual bonus

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Generate:Biomedicines is seeking an Associate Director of Biotherapeutic Production & Characterization to lead protein production, purification, and characterization for discovery and early development. You will guide cross-functional teams, implement automation, and advance data-enabled workflows to deliver assay-ready protein reagents and actionable data for program decisions.

The role combines deep science with design and high-throughput methodologies, overseeing mammalian, bacterial, and

Qualifications

• PhD in biochemistry, molecular biology, chemical engineering, bioengineering, protein sciences, or related, with 8+ years industry exp; or MS with 10+ years.
• Proven track record leading and developing scientific teams in biotech/pharma.
• Experience producing or characterizing complex biologics, including multispecific antibodies.
• Expert knowledge in protein expression, purification, and characterization; ability to guide decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead production across mammalian, bacterial, and cell-free systems and end-to-end workflows.
• Drive innovation for difficult antigens and complex proteins through design and automation.
• Establish fit-for-purpose production, purification, and characterization standards.
• Lead portfolio planning, prioritization, and resource allocation across internal and outsourced activities.
• Manage CROs, vendors, and external partners; communicate progress and risks to senior stakeholders.

Skills

Team leadership

Protein expression

Purification methods

Characterization

Automation

Data-driven discovery

Education

PhD in biochemistry/related

MS with industry experience

Tools

Automation platforms

AI/ML tools

Chromatography systems

Job description

The Role:

The Associate Director will lead a talented scientific team working at the intersection of biological engineering, protein science, automation, and data-enabled discovery. You will help define how difficult and diverse protein targets are designed, produced, characterized, and delivered to project teams with greater speed, scale, quality, and scientific insight, working at the intersection of biological engineering, protein science, automation, and data-enabled discovery. Your leadership will directly influence critical program decisions, the success of novel protein modalities in discovery, the technologies and capabilities we build, and the inclusive, high-performance culture we create.

At Generate:Biomedicines, this is an opportunity to combine deep experimental science with agentic design, automation, and high-throughput experimentation to tackle some of the most complex challenges in protein design and production. You will develop novel solutions for difficult-to-express antigens, membrane proteins, and other complex modalities, building workflows that connect sequence and structure to construct design, production, characterization, and scientific learning at scale.

As Associate Director, Biotherapeutic Production & Characterization, you will lead protein production, purification, and fit-for-purpose characterization in support of discovery and early development. You will be accountable for delivering high-quality, assay-ready protein reagents and actionable data that support critical program decisions, while advancing the technologies, data practices, and team capabilities needed to expand what we can design and produce.

Here’s how you will contribute:

• Oversee production across mammalian, bacterial, and cell-free systems, including end-to-end workflows for construct design, expression, purification, characterization, quality control, normalization, and assay-ready handoff.
• Drive innovation for difficult antigens and complex proteins through construct and boundary optimization, tag and format selection, alternate expression systems, site-specific labeling, automation, and other enabling technologies.
• Establish fit-for-purpose production, purification, and characterization standards for attributes including yield, purity, aggregation, concentration, identity, oligomeric state, stability, and biotinylation.
• Lead portfolio planning, prioritization, and resource allocation for the team across internal and outsourced production and characterization activities, balancing program delivery, platform advancement, capacity, timelines, and external spend.
• Manage relationships with CROs, technology providers, and other external partners, and communicate progress, risks, resource needs, and tradeoffs to senior stakeholders.
• Represent Biotherapeutic Production & Characterization on cross-functional program and platform teams, translating scientific objectives into actionable strategies and recommendations.
• Lead adoption of automation, structured data practices, AI/ML-enabled tools, and agentic workflows while driving operational excellence through prioritization, resource planning, metrics, risk management, and continuous improvement.

Leadership Responsibilities:

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team spanning protein construct design, molecular biology, expression, purification, characterization, and protein reagent operations.
• Establish clear expectations for scientific quality, delivery, collaboration, and accountability.
• Ensure team members understand how their work contributes to program, functional, and organizational priorities.
• Provide timely, constructive feedback and create equitable opportunities for technical development, leadership growth, increased responsibility, and career progression.
• Build a culture in which technical excellence, inclusion, integrity, urgency, and collaboration are expected and reinforced.

The Ideal Candidate will have:

• PhD in biochemistry, molecular biology, chemical engineering, bioengineering, protein sciences, or a related discipline, with 8 years of relevant industry experience; or an M.S. in a related discipline with 10 years of relevant industry experience.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing scientific teams within a biotechnology or pharmaceutical environment.
• Experience producing or characterizing complex biologics, including multispecific antibodies.
• Expert technical knowledge across protein expression, purification, and characterization, with the judgment to guide complex scientific decisions and resolve cross-workflow challenges.
• Strong experience with construct design and optimization, protein formats, boundary engineering, affinity tags, or site-specific labeling strategies.
• Strong experience with mammalian expression systems; experience with cell-free or other specialized systems is valuable.
• Strong expertise in protein-purification methods, including affinity capture, size-exclusion chromatography, and other methods used to generate high-quality research or assay-enabling material.
• Strong understanding of fit-for-purpose analytical and biochemical characterization methods used to evaluate protein purity, aggregation, concentration, identity, stability, oligomeric state, and related quality attributes.
• Experience establishing and managing productive relationships with CROs, vendors, or other external technology partners.
• A track record of improving workflows, implementing new technologies, and increasing throughput, reproducibility, material quality, or operational efficiency.
• Strong resource-planning and prioritization skills, including the ability to manage competing program needs, internal capacity, timelines, external partnerships, and approved spending plans.
• Demonstrated ability to apply advanced judgment to highly complex scientific and operational problems, assess incomplete or conflicting information, and make sound decisions with meaningful program impact.

About Generate:Biomedicines

We are a clinical-stage generative biology company pioneering the AI revolution in drug design and development. We are advancing a new approach to drug creation—one grounded in the ability to design proteins with defined biological intent. By integrating machine learning with large-scale experimentation, this approach aims to reduce the uncertainty, time, and cost associated with developing protein-based medicines.

Founded in 2018, we are advancing a growing pipeline of clinical and preclinical programs across multiple disease areas and protein modalities. By unifying computational design and clinical development within a single operating model, we translate this approach into clinical-stage programs and are leading a shift from traditional drug discovery toward systematic drug generation.

At Generate:Biomedicines, we collaborate across disciplines in new ways to invent and innovate. We bring diverse perspectives to a shared goal of delivering better medicines to patients in need, faster, guided by our values and leadership behaviors.

Generate:Biomedicines is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Compensation:

The base salary range provided reflects our current estimate of what we anticipate paying for this position. Your actual base salary will be based on several factors, including job-related skills, experience, internal equity, relevant education or training, and market dynamics. In addition, you will be eligible for an annual bonus, equity compensation, and a competitive benefits package.

Per Year Salary Range

$160,000—$210,000 USD