Associate Director, Human Resources

Repertoire-Immune-Medicines; Watertown (MA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

401(k)

Job summary

Repertoire Immune Medicines in Watertown, MA, is seeking an Associate Director, Human Resources to scale the people infrastructure across the U.S. and Switzerland. This on-site role partners with the VP of HR to design and operate HR programs that enable rapid growth in a biotech environment.

The role oversees HR operations, benefits administration, compliance, and talent acquisition, blending hands-on execution with policy design to support executives and teams globally.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive HR experience, including operations and business partnership.
• Biotech or life sciences experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. employment laws and ERISA.

Responsibilities

• Oversee HR operations, benefits and total rewards for two sites.
• Partner with VP HR on payroll processes and regulatory compliance.
• Lead talent acquisition, onboarding, and performance management.
• Develop HR dashboards and executive reporting for leadership.

Skills

HR Operations

Payroll

Compliance

Talent Acquisition

Employee Relations

People Analytics

Tools

ADP HRIS

Excel

Job description

Associate Director, Human Resources

Company Overview

Repertoire Immune Medicines is a clinical-stage biotechnology company harnessing the power of the human immune system to develop transformative therapies for cancer and autoimmune disease. Using its proprietary DECODE™ platform — which maps the immune synapse between T cell receptors (TCRs) and their antigen targets — Repertoire translates unique biological insights into potent and targeted off-the-shelf immune medicines. The company integrates deep protein engineering expertise with artificial intelligence, powered by a proprietary DECODE database of over one billion TCR-antigen interactions, to accelerate discovery and optimize drug candidates.

From its sites in Watertown, Massachusetts and Zurich, Switzerland, Repertoire is advancing a pipeline of T cell-targeted immunotherapies with the potential to address a broad range of cancers and autoimmune disorders. The company's lead oncology program, RPTR-1-201, a TCR bispecific, has initiated a Phase 1/2 clinical trial across multiple solid tumor indications. Repertoire plans to advance additional TCR bispecific therapies into clinical trials over the next 12-18 months. In autoimmune disease, Repertoire is partnering with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop mRNA tolerizing therapies designed to selectively expand regulatory T cells and reset the immune system.

Repertoire was founded in 2019 by Flagship Pioneering and is supported by a strong investor base. The DECODE platform has been validated through four strategic partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies — Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer — representing over $4.5 billion in disclosed total deal value and $185 million in upfront payments received to date.

Role Overview

The Associate Director, Human Resources is the second member of the HR function and partners directly with the VP of Human Resources to build, operate, and scale the people infrastructure of a growing, two-country biotech. This on-site role holds end-to-end accountability for HR operations, benefits and total rewards administration, employment compliance, talent acquisition, and day-to-day business partnership with functional leaders and their teams.

This is a broad, hands-on role. The Associate Director executes transactional work — Form I-9 completion, interview scheduling, benefits reconciliation, HRIS data entry — while designing the processes, policies, and systems that will allow the function to scale. Success in this role requires a professional who is equally comfortable conducting a payroll audit and advising a VP on team dynamics.

Key Responsibilities

HR Operations & Systems Management

• Own and optimize HR systems (ADP, JazzHR ATS, and related platforms), ensuring data integrity, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance across both sites.
• Manage full employee lifecycle processes including onboarding, offboarding, promotions, job changes, immigration and visa processing, and benefits enrollment.
• Partner with Finance on semi-monthly U.S. payroll processing and reconciliations, and with Swiss leadership on payroll adjustments as needed.
• Develop HR dashboards, people analytics, and executive reporting for the VP of HR and leadership.

Compliance & Policy Governance

• Own and maintain the HR Compliance Calendar ensuring timely filings, notices, audits, and regulatory actions.
• Ensure U.S. compliance with wage and hour laws, ERISA, ACA, COBRA, I-9, E-Verify, Workers' Compensation, Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, and salary range transparency requirements.
• Working with Swiss leadership, ensure compliance with Swiss employment law, including written employment contracts, and working time and vacation entitlements.

• Own the employee handbook and HR policies, working with outside counsel in both countries to keep them current with evolving federal and state regulations and to mitigate risk.

Benefits Administration & Total Rewards.

• Manage day-to-day benefits administration, vendor relationships, and open enrollment across U.S. health and welfare plans and Swiss pension and insurance programs, including file feed accuracy.
• Coordinate 401(k) administration, including contributions, compliance testing support, and audit responses.
• Support the VP of HR on compensation and benefits benchmarking within biotech and life sciences, annual compensation planning, job architecture mapping, and merit and equity cycle preparation in partnership with Finance.

Talent Acquisition

• Support the VP of HR in managing full-cycle recruiting including intake, sourcing strategy, screening, interview coordination, offer development, and closing.
• Manage agency and search partner relationships, including terms, performance, and cost.
• Track and report talent metrics including time-to-fill, offer acceptance, and source effectiveness.

Business Partnership & Employee Relations

• Serve as a trusted HR business partner, advising and coaching managers on talent and performance management, employee development, team effectiveness, and conflict resolution.
• Manage the full leave-of-absence process through a third-party administrator, ensuring legal compliance and a positive employee experience.
• Support leadership development, employee engagement, and core values programs and initiatives.

Vendor Management & Organizational Scaling

• Manage HR vendor contracts and relationships including benefits brokers, HR technology providers, search firms, and fiduciary partners; generate purchase orders and coordinate invoice processing with Finance.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and automate or eliminate manual work so functional capacity scales faster than headcount.

Qualifications & Skills

• 8+ years of progressive HR experience, including substantive HR Operations and business partnership experience; biotech or life sciences industry experience strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of federal and state employment laws and ERISA regulations; Swiss or European HR experience preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in HRIS platforms (ADP preferred) and Microsoft Excel (PivotTables, XLOOKUP, data analysis, reporting).
• Sound judgment on confidential and sensitive matters; high standard of discretion and documentation.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Compensation and Benefits

The base salary for this role ranges from $160,000 to $190,000 and is determined based on a candidate’s skills, experience, and internal equity. In addition to a competitive base salary, Repertoire offers a broad range of benefits designed to attract, retain, and motivate top talent, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, flexible time off, a 401(k) retirement plan, and short- and long-term incentive opportunities. Compensation and benefits are based on Repertoire’s good faith estimate at the time of publication and may be updated in the future.

Repertoire is committed to building an inclusive culture. Much as the power of the immune system lies in the diversity of T and B cells, we believe our best work comes from a diverse workforce—and we are committed to pursuing that in all facets of the work experience.

Repertoire is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.