Associate Director, Business Development - Search & Evaluation

Formation Bio; Boston, New York (MA, NY); Hybrid; USD 178,000 - 222,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Comprehensive benefits

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Formation Bio is seeking an Associate Director of Business Development, Strategic Sourcing, to evaluate early-stage assets and opportunities for its AI-enabled drug development portfolio. You will guide asset opportunities, assess strategic fit, and collaborate across BD, R&D, and commercial teams.

The role emphasizes cross-functional leadership, relationship-building in biotech, and a strong scientific foundation near Boston. Hybrid work with in-office 3 days/week is required.

Qualifications

• PhD in biological science or MD with laboratory research experience.
• 1–3 years post-degree experience in biotech or pharma business development.
• Prior involvement in search & evaluation, venture, or life sciences consulting is highly preferable.
• Ability to build strong relationships within biotech and pharmaceutical industries.
• Curiosity about AI's role in drug development and business development.

Responsibilities

• Support deal-by-deal opportunity assessment from asset identification to transaction close.
• Partner with BD to identify target areas for outreach aligned with Formation Bio's goals.
• Provide high-quality diligence and strategic fit assessments for asset growth.
• Evaluate market potential and risk, engaging with the diligence team as needed.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with R&D, tech, and commercial teams in an AI-native environment.

Skills

Business development

Asset evaluation

Relationship building

Networking

AI in drug development

Education

PhD in biological science

MD with lab experience

Job description

Associate Director, Business Development - Search & Evaluation

About Formation Bio

Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development.

Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in-licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients. The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others.

You can read more at the following links:

At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.

About the Position

The Associate Director of Business Development, Strategic Sourcing, will play a key role in evaluating and assessing early-stage assets and opportunities for Formation Bio's business development pipeline. This role will involve supporting and guiding asset opportunity evaluation along with potential strategic fit for the Formation Bio. This is a highly cross-functional role, collaborating closely with the BD team, R&D, Commercial, Tech and Leadership to continue growing Formation’s asset portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Supporting deal-by-deal opportunity assessment teams from asset identification to transaction close.
• Collaborating with the BD team to identify target areas for outreach, focusing on strategic alignment with Formation Bio's goals.
• Maximizing activity and ensuring high-quality support and diligence in strategic asset growth therapeutic areas and modalities.,
• Evaluating market potential and risk based assessments of pipeline asset opportunities, assessing upside and engaging with the broader diligence team to ensure strategic fit.
• Working cross-functionally with R&D, tech platform, and commercial teams in an AI native drug development company.

About You

The ideal candidate will have a strong scientific background paired with business acumen, ideally with experience in search and evaluation, venture, or business development. This role requires someone who can evaluate assets that would benefit from Formation Bio's tech-enabled development capabilities and build relationships across the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

• PhD in biological science or MD with laboratory research experience strongly preferred.
• 1-3 years of post-degree experience, with a combination of scientific and business expertise
• Prior experience of biotech or pharmaceutical business development (search & evaluation), venture capital investing, or life sciences consulting is highly preferable.
• Ability to build strong relationships within the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, leveraging existing contacts where applicable.
• Enthusiastic about networking, relationship building, and externally-facing activities
• An outgoing, motivated, and creative approach to business development
• Curiosity and insight around the role of AI in drug development, clinical trials, and business development

This role offers the opportunity to help build the pharma company of the future, combining strategic asset acquisition with tech-enabled development capabilities to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.

Total Compensation Range:$177,500 - $222,000

CompensationIndividual compensation is determined by several factors, including role scope, geographic location, and skills & experience. Your offer will reflect where you fall within the range based on these considerations. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, comprehensive benefits, and generous perks. If the posted range doesn't match your expectations, we still encourage you to apply!

Where We Hire Formation Bio is prioritizing hiring in key hubs, primarily the New York City and Boston metro areas, with a hybrid model requiring 3 days per week in office. Applicants from the Research Triangle (NC) and San Francisco Bay Area may also be considered. Please apply only if you reside in these locations or are willing to relocate.

Equal Opportunity Formation Bio is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Formation Bio’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.