Business Development Manager/Director

NOVOPROTEIN; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Novoprotein is seeking a driven Business Development Manager/Director to lead strategic growth in the San Francisco Bay Area. You will engage with large pharmaceutical and AI-driven discovery partners, translating R&D needs into collaborations across protein/antibody design, mRNA, and biologics capabilities.

You will build relationships with scientific and business leaders, identify high-value opportunities, and close CRO or strategic collaborations, while coordinating with global teams to

Qualifications

• Go getter personality and hunter approach to drive business across the West Coast.
• Bachelor-level or higher scientific training with preference for advanced degrees.
• Experience in biotechnology BD and collaborations with pharma/biotech R&D teams.
• Understanding of protein expression, antibody discovery, and AI-enabled design is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a West Coast business development strategy focusing on large pharma/biotech, AI-native drug discovery, AI protein/antibody design, and high-growth outsourced discovery.
• Build and manage relationships with scientific and business stakeholders in protein sciences, antibody discovery, and AI drug discovery.
• Identify, develop, and close high-value CRO and strategic collaboration opportunities.
• Cultivate major Bay Area accounts and expand relationships to broader strategic opportunities.
• Bridge computational discovery with Novoprotein's experimental capabilities to move designs to validation.
• Manage full BD cycle: prospecting, discussions, proposals, pricing, contracting, and account expansion.

Skills

Go-getter mindset

Hunter-style sales

Business development focus

Education

Bachelor's degree in biology or related field

MS or PhD strongly preferred

Experience with AI/ML antibody & protein design

Job description

About the Role: Novoprotein is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Business Development Manager / Director to join our growing North America team in San Francisco.

This role will focus on developing strategic business with large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as AI-driven drug discovery and protein/antibody design companies across the West Coast. The successful candidate will build relationships with scientific and business leaders, identify high-value opportunities, and translate customer R&D needs into collaborations leveraging Novoprotein's protein science, antibody discovery, high-throughput screening, mRNA, and biologics development capabilities.

This is a strategic, customer-facing position for someone who understands the rapidly evolving intersection of AI-enabled drug discovery and experimental biology and can engage customers from early discovery through larger-scale development programs.

• Key ResponsibilitiesDevelop and execute a West Coast business development strategy with particular emphasis on: (1) Large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, (2) AI-native drug discovery companies, (3) AI protein and antibody design companies, (4) High-growth biotech companies with substantial outsourced discovery and development needs
• Build and manage relationships with key scientific and business stakeholders, including leaders in protein sciences, antibody discovery, biologics discovery, computational biology, AI/ML, translational research, and external innovation.
• Identify, develop, and close high-value CRO and strategic collaboration opportunities.
• Develop deep relationships within major Bay Area pharmaceutical, biotech, and AI drug discovery organizations and expand individual relationships into broader strategic accounts.
• Work with customers to understand scientific objectives and design appropriate project solutions across Novoprotein capabilities, including: (1) Recombinant protein production, (2) High-throughput protein expression and characterization, (3) Antibody discovery and engineering, (4) AI-designed protein experimental validation, (5) mRNA synthesis and LNP-related services (6) Process development and scale-up manufacturing
• Serve as a bridge between computational drug discovery teams and Novoprotein's experimental capabilities, helping customers efficiently move from design → build → test → validation.
• Develop strategic opportunities involving large-scale or high-throughput experimental validation of AI-generated proteins, antibodies, and other biologics.
• Manage the full business development cycle, including prospecting, scientific discussions, proposal development, pricing, negotiation, contracting, and account expansion.
• Maintain a disciplined opportunity pipeline and accurate forecasts through CRM.
• Collaborate closely with Novoprotein's scientific, project management, marketing, and global business teams to develop competitive solutions for strategic customers.
• Represent Novoprotein at scientific conferences, industry events, customer meetings, and networking activities throughout the West Coast.
• Monitor developments within the AI drug discovery ecosystem and identify emerging companies, technologies, funding events, and partnership opportunities relevant to Novoprotein.
• Qualifications: Go getter personality, hunter style, ability to drive business in any circumstances
• Bachelor's degree or higher in biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences, or a related field. MS or PhD strongly preferred. Practical background in AI/ML antibody and protein design and drug discovery is a plus.
• Demonstrated business development experience within biotechnology, pharmaceutical services, CRO/CDMO, life science tools, or biologics discovery.
• Experience developing business with pharmaceutical or biotechnology R&D organizations.
• Strong understanding of at least several of the following areas: (1) Protein expression and purification (2) Antibody discovery and engineering (3) Protein characterization (4) Biologics discovery (5) High-throughput screening (6) mRNA technologies (7) AI/ML-enabled drug or protein discovery
• Strong scientific communication skills and the ability to engage credibly with research scientists, computational scientists, scientific executives, and business leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to develop new accounts rather than relying primarily on existing inbound opportunities.
• Ability to navigate large organizations, identify multiple stakeholders, and develop complex opportunities involving multiple scientific groups.
• Excellent presentation, negotiation, relationship-management, and written communication skills.
• Highly independent, entrepreneurial, and comfortable operating in a rapidly growing organization.
• Based in the San Francisco Bay Area with the ability to meet customers regularly in person.
• Willingness to travel throughout the West Coast and periodically elsewhere in the United States.
• Preferred Experience: Candidates with one or more of the following backgrounds will be particularly attractive:
• Existing relationships within Bay Area Big Pharma and biotechnology companies
• Experience selling CRO or scientific services to discovery research organizations
• Experience working with AI drug discovery, AI protein design, computational biology, or TechBio companies
• Experience structuring large or multi-project research collaborations
• Experience selling high-throughput protein production, antibody discovery, or experimental validation services
• A combination of scientific training and demonstrated commercial success
• What Success Looks Like:
• The successful candidate will:
• Establish Novoprotein as a trusted experimental partner within leading West Coast pharmaceutical and AI drug discovery organizations.
• Build a strong pipeline of strategic accounts and high-value CRO opportunities.
• Convert initial projects into broader, recurring customer relationships.
• Develop collaborations connecting computational design with rapid experimental validation.
• Expand Novoprotein's visibility and relationships within the San Francisco Bay Area biotech and AI drug discovery ecosystem.

About Novoprotein: Novoprotein provides integrated protein and biologics research solutions supporting pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, and emerging AI-driven drug discovery companies.

Our capabilities span recombinant protein production, antibody discovery and engineering, high-throughput expression and characterization, mRNA-related technologies, stable cell line development, and scale-up manufacturing. As AI increasingly accelerates biological design, Novoprotein aims to provide the experimental infrastructure needed to rapidly build, test, and validate computationally designed molecules. Requirements added by the job poster

• 2+ years of experience in Business Development
• 3+ years of Biotechnology Research experience