Corporate Development Lead, Life Sciences

EngineersOfAI; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

Anthropic is seeking an experienced Corporate Development leader to drive strategic transactions in life sciences and biotech, bridging frontier AI with drug discovery and clinical development. You will source, evaluate, and execute acquisitions, investments, and partnerships, collaborating with leadership and product teams to shape our AI-native science strategy.

The role requires deep life sciences knowledge, technical fluency in AI, and a track record of closing complex transactions, with

Qualifications

• Led complex M&A, investment, or partnership transactions from sourcing through close.
• Understanding of the drug development lifecycle from discovery through commercialization.
• Strong technical fluency in AI and software.
• Analytical and financial modeling skills.
• Ability to engage credibly with scientists, engineers, executives, and regulators.
• Comfort in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with competing priorities.
• Clear written and spoken communication; ability to influence at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute Anthropic's corporate development strategy in life sciences, covering acquihires, tuck-in acquisitions, minority investments, and strategic partnerships.
• Build and maintain a target pipeline across AI-native life sciences companies.
• Lead end-to-end transaction processes, from sourcing through diligence, negotiation, signing, and integration.
• Partner with research, product, engineering, and go-to-market teams to assess value of opportunities.
• Run sector-specific diligence including data, regulatory posture, privacy, and IP.
• Structure and negotiate complex deals with legal, finance, and policy teams.
• Build financial models and valuation analyses for life sciences businesses.
• Drive post-transaction integration and retain scientific/technical talent.

Skills

M&A leadership

Strategic partnerships

Financial modeling

Executive communication

Regulatory awareness

AI/software fluency

Job description

About Anthropic

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.

About the role

Anthropic is seeking an experienced Corporate Development leader to drive our strategic transactions in life sciences and biotech. Frontier AI is beginning to change how drugs are discovered, developed, and brought to patients, and Anthropic wants to help build that future responsibly. In this role, you will source and execute acquisitions, investments, and strategic partnerships with AI-native life sciences companies, partnering directly with Anthropic's leadership, research, and product teams to shape our strategy in the sector, grounded in Anthropic's strategic priorities.

The ideal candidate combines deep life sciences domain knowledge with technical fluency in AI and a record of closing complex transactions. You understand how R&D, clinical, and regulatory workflows actually run, you can tell a durable AI-native business from a thin wrapper, and you can assess a target's science, data, and compliance posture as rigorously as its financials. You care about AI safety and Anthropic's mission to build AI systems that are helpful, harmless, and honest, and you recognize the stakes of applying AI where patient safety and scientific integrity are on the line.

Join us in shaping how AI accelerates science and medicine while keeping it safe and beneficial for humanity. This role sits at the intersection of frontier AI research and life sciences, with direct impact on Anthropic's growth in one of its most consequential sectors.

Key responsibilities

• Define and execute Anthropic's corporate development strategy in life sciences, covering acquihires, tuck-in acquisitions, minority investments, and strategic partnerships
• Build and maintain a target pipeline across AI-native companies in drug discovery, clinical development, regulatory and medical writing, lab automation, and healthcare data infrastructure
• Lead end-to-end transaction processes, from sourcing through diligence, negotiation, signing, and integration
• Partner with research, product, engineering, and go-to-market teams to assess the technical, scientific, and commercial value of opportunities
• Run sector-specific diligence, including scientific and data validation, regulatory posture (FDA, EMA, GxP, 21 CFR Part 11), data privacy (HIPAA, GDPR), quality systems, and IP
• Assess build/partner/buy tradeoffs and competitive dynamics against incumbents, AI-native entrants, and other frontier AI labs
• Structure and negotiate complex deals, including earnouts, milestone-based consideration, and licensing arrangements, working closely with legal, finance, and policy teams
• Build financial models and valuation analyses suited to life sciences businesses, including services-heavy and usage-based revenue models
• Drive post-transaction integration, with particular attention to retaining scientific and technical talent and maintaining regulated customer commitments
• Build relationships with founders, life sciences and healthcare VCs, pharma and biotech corporate development teams, and academic research institutions
• Present strategic recommendations to executive leadership and the board
• Support Anthropic's partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and research organizations

Minimum qualifications

• Have led complex M&A, investment, or partnership transactions from sourcing through close
• Understand the drug development lifecycle, from discovery through clinical trials, regulatory submission, and commercialization
• Have strong technical fluency in AI and software, gained as an engineer, product manager, scientist, or technology investor
• Bring strong analytical and financial modeling skills
• Can engage credibly with scientists, engineers, executives, and regulators
• Are comfortable in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with competing priorities
• Write and speak clearly, and can influence at all levels
• Have a deep interest in AI sa