Associate Director / Director, Customer Program Management, Life Sciences

Lila Sciences; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 148,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Bonus potential

Early equity

Job summary

A pioneering life sciences company in Cambridge, MA is seeking an Associate Director / Director of Program Management to lead the planning and execution of therapeutic programs. This senior role requires at least 8 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a strong background in project and program management. You will manage internal teams, coordinate with external partners, and ensure timely delivery of projects. Competitive compensation package includes bonuses and equity options.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in pharmaceutical or biotech industry, focusing on project management.
• 5+ years in program management with responsibility for timelines and resources.
• Proven ability to influence and drive alignment across teams.

Responsibilities

• Drive planning and execution of therapeutic programs.
• Serve as operational interface with partners.
• Identify and manage program risks proactively.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Drug discovery knowledge

Cross-functional coordination

Job description

Associate Director / Director of Program Management, Life Sciences

Cambridge, MA USA

Lila Sciences is looking for an Associate Director / Director, Program Management, Life Sciences — a senior operator who will drive the planning, execution, and delivery of therapeutic programs on Lila's platform. This person will provide direct project management leadership to the internal science, engineering, and automation teams developing molecules for our partners, owning timelines, resourcing, and progress tracking across complex, multidisciplinary programs. They will also serve as a senior operational interface with our pharmaceutical and biotech partners, ensuring that deliverables, governance, and communication are running smoothly.

These programs carry significant scientific complexity and commercial stakes. This role requires someone who can drive execution across fast‑moving, technically demanding programs from the inside while maintaining the partner‑facing judgment and presence to keep external stakeholders informed and aligned.

What You'll Be Building

• Own end‑to‑end project management for active therapeutic programs, including timeline development, resource coordination, milestone tracking, and dependency management across product, science, machine learning and automation teams
• Drive day‑to‑day execution discipline; ensuring that internal teams have clear priorities, deliverables, and decision points, and that blockers are identified and resolved quickly
• Manage resource allocation discussions and trade‑off decisions across a complex set of priorities (e.g., balancing experiments between AI model training and near‑term partnership deliverables)
• Establish and maintain program‑level reporting, including status updates, milestone tracking, and resource utilization views for internal leadership and external deliverables
• Proactively identify, communicate, and manage program risks, escalating appropriately and ensuring transparency with scientific and executive leadership
• Structure and facilitate effective internal program meetings, decision forums, and reviews; ensuring the right information reaches the right people at the right time

Partner‑Facing Delivery

• Serve as the primary operational interface with partner organizations, coordinating joint governance, managing deliverable timelines, and driving alignment on milestones and expectations
• Translate internal program status into clear, structured updates for external partners, ensuring transparency without overexposing internal complexity
• Support alliance obligations including joint steering committees, milestone reporting, and deliverable handoffs
• Partner closely with scientific and product leadership to ensure that program plans reflect both Lila's platform capabilities and partner‑specific program goals and business objectives

Process & Scale

• Lead the development of scalable project management practices, templates, and tools as Lila's partnership portfolio grows
• Help build repeatable operating models for how Lila plans, tracks, and delivers partner programs

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• 8+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry in roles associated with drug discovery or development, project management, or operations
• 5+ years in program management, project management, or a similar cross‑functional coordination role with direct responsibility for timelines, resourcing, and tracking
• Demonstrated ability to independently drive execution across complex, multidisciplinary programs with significant scientific and commercial stakes
• Strong understanding of drug discovery and development processes; ability to engage credibly with scientific stakeholders and communicate at a high level across therapeutic and technical domains
• Experience managing programs with external partners, including milestone management, governance, and stakeholder communication
• Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to distill complex scientific and operational information for diverse audiences including executive leadership and external partners
• Proven ability to influence without authority and drive alignment across cross‑functional teams

Bonus Points For

• Experience working at or partnering with AI‑native or platform‑based drug discovery companies
• Experience managing external collaborations in a discovery or preclinical setting (alliance management, CRO/CDMO oversight, or joint research programs)
• Familiarity with project management tools and methodologies (e.g., critical path analysis, scenario planning, resource management, portfolio reporting)
• Familiarity with the rapid evolution of LLMs and AI‑driven science platforms and a perspective on how this will impact partnership models in drug discovery

About Lila

Lila Sciences is the world’s first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science. We are pioneering a new age of boundless discovery by building the capabilities to apply AI to every aspect of the scientific method. We are introducingscientific superintelligence to solve humankind's greatestchallenges, enabling scientists to bring forth solutions in human health, climate, and sustainability at a pace and scale never experienced before. Learn more about this mission at www.lila.ai

If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed below, we encourage you to apply.

Lila Sciences iscommitted to equal employment opportunityregardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

Compensation

We offer competitive compensation including bonus potential and generous early equity. The final offer will reflect your unique background, expertise, and impact.

Expected Base Salary Range

$148,000 - $224,000 USD