Associate Director/Director, Contracts and Alliances

Calico Life Sciences; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 215,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Calico Life Sciences seeks an exceptional business/contracts professional to lead negotiation of external collaborations and internal programs, including SRAs, CDAs, MTAs, licenses, and related agreements.

You will partner with scientists, Alliance Management, Finance, and IP counsel to protect Calico's IP, manage milestones, and drive efficient contract workflows. This onsite role emphasizes collaboration and strategic negotiation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Ph.D. or JD is a plus.
• Experience negotiating R&D agreements in life sciences.
• Collaborating with multiple internal groups to support research programs.
• Proficiency in IP terms and material transfer dynamics.

Responsibilities

• Draft, negotiate, and finalize SRAs, CDAs, MTAs, Licenses, MSAs, CDMO contracts, and consulting agreements.
• Serve as liaison for active scientific collaborations, aligning contracts with milestones.
• Collaborate with legal/IP to identify risk and protect Calico's IP.
• Work with leadership and project teams to streamline contract approvals and lifecycle management.
• Drive improvement of contract templates and operational workflows.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Communication

Analytical skills

Relationship building

Independent decision-making

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Ph.D./JD preferred

Job description

Who We Are

Calico (Calico Life Sciences LLC) is an Alphabet-founded research and development company whose mission is to harness advanced technologies and model systems to increase our understanding of the biology that controls human aging. Calico will use that knowledge to devise interventions that enable people to lead longer and healthier lives. Calico’s highly innovative technology labs, its commitment to curiosity-driven discovery science, and, with academic and industry partners, its vibrant drug-development pipeline, together create an inspiring and exciting place to catalyze and enable medical breakthroughs.

Who We Are

Calico (Calico Life Sciences LLC) is an Alphabet-founded research and development company whose mission is to harness advanced technologies and model systems to increase our understanding of the biology that controls human aging. Calico will use that knowledge to devise interventions that enable people to lead longer and healthier lives. Calico’s highly innovative technology labs, its commitment to curiosity-driven discovery science, and, with academic and industry partners, its vibrant drug-development pipeline, together create an inspiring and exciting place to catalyze and enable medical breakthroughs.

Position Description

Calico is seeking an exceptional and experienced individual to provide business and contractual support for Calico’s external collaborations and internal research activities. This role will be responsible for working closely with Calico scientists and external academic and industry collaborators, to lead and negotiate a wide variety of agreements in support of Calico’s research and development programs, with assistance as needed from Calico’s legal and Intellectual Property (IP) counsel. Agreements include, but are not limited to, sponsored research agreements, licenses, CDAs, material transfer agreements, master services agreements, development and manufacturing service agreements, consulting agreements, software agreements and related amendments. Additionally, this role would also support a number of active research collaborations. Within the Business Development group, this individual will expect to collaborate closely with several internal groups, including Senior Leadership, Senior R&D staff, Alliance Management, Finance, CMC and project teams, in support of Calico’s corporate goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Draft, negotiate, and finalize a broad spectrum of agreements, including Sponsored Research Agreements (SRAs), CDAs, MTAs, Licenses (data, software, materials), MSAs, CDMO/manufacturing contracts, and consulting agreements
• Serve as a primary business/contracts liaison for active scientific collaborations, ensuring contractual alignment with program milestones and partner commitments
• Collaborate closely with legal/IP counsel to identify risk, protect Calico's intellectual property, and ensure regulatory and corporate compliance
• Work seamlessly with Senior Leadership, Senior R&D staff, Alliance Management, Finance, CMC, and scientific project teams to streamline internal approval workflows and facilitate contract lifecycle management
• Drive continuous improvement of contract templates and operational workflows to increase efficiency across the BD group

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree required, Ph.D. or JD is a plus
• Applicants must have extensive industry or academic/institutional experience with a minimum of 5 (Associate Director) or 7 (Director) years of experience in contracts negotiation/management or business development roles that require working closely with current and/or prospective partners
• Direct experience negotiating a variety of R&D agreements within a research-focused healthcare or life sciences environment
• Track record of successfully and efficiently establishing and supporting R&D collaborations
• Proficiency in IP terms and material transfer dynamics is essential
• Exceptional communication, independent decision-making and analytical skills, proven ability to deliver on and manage multiple fast-moving priorities, as well as building both internal and external relationships with scientific stakeholders
• Must be willing to work onsite at least 4 days a week

The estimated base salary range for this role is $215,000 - $260,000. Actual pay will be based on a number of factors including experience and qualifications. This position is also eligible for two annual cash bonuses.