Director/Associate Director, BioPharma Portfolio & Program Management

Natera; United States; Remote; USD 185,000 - 231,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual incentive bonus

Long‑term equity awards

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Wellness benefits

Job summary

Natera is seeking a Director/Associate Director of Portfolio & Program Management for the Pharma Discovery Lab (PDL) to lead the operational backbone and manage a broad project portfolio from inception to delivery.

The role integrates science, business and operations, coordinating wet lab/dry lab activities, analytics, and pharma partnerships while reporting to PDL leadership. This position emphasizes senior‑level governance and strategic execution.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in oncology drug development or translational research.
• Proven track record leading complex, cross-functional programs at senior leadership level.
• Experience with biomarker sample operations or CDx lab workflows is a plus.
• Strong financial acumen including budget forecasting and deal structuring.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate cross-functional operations across PDL and the BioPharma BU to keep programs on time and on budget.
• Manage portfolio metrics, budgets, milestones, and resource plans; flag risks early.
• Engage with wet lab, dry lab, bioinformatics, and BD/pharma partnerships to align delivery.
• Prepare client materials and support regulatory and commercial adoption of PDL-enabled diagnostics.
• Lead governance and change management as the portfolio scales and evolves.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Budget forecasting

Executive communication

Program governance

Biomarker operations

Education

PhD/PharmD/MS in life sciences

Job description

US Remote

Summary

Natera’s Pharma Discovery Lab (PDL) bridges R&D execution, analytics, and target and biomarker discovery and development. We are seeking an Director/Associate Director of Portfolio & Program Management to build and run the operational backbone of PDL. The successful candidate will manage a broad portfolio of internal and external projects from inception to execution — managing portfolio metrics, tracking budgets, stage-gating project milestones, coordinating wet lab / dry lab / bioinformatics, RWD analytics resourcing, and managing pharma-partner engagements (biomarker consultation, translational research contracts, and target discovery/co-development projects) from intake through delivery. The role sits at the intersection of science, business, and operations, and reports into PDL leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Internal Project Management - Cross-Functional & Operational Coordination:

• Work closely with lab and IT operations to build out PDL on time and on budget
• Serve as the operational lead for internal cross-functional projects across PDL and the BioPharma BU
• Track deliverables, timelines, and resourcing for PDL pharma contracts and flag risks to scope, budget, or timeline early
• Work with R&D and Commercial project management operations to ensure line of sight for PDL projects and ensure transparency between the organizations
• Coordinate shared infrastructure and CapEx planning between the pharma-facing PDL and the internal R& Lab to maximize ROI on shared equipment and space.
• Coordinate across wet lab (DNA/RNA/digital pathology, biorepository, spatial transcriptomics, single-cell RNA,advanced microscopy), dry lab/bioinformatics, and BD/pharma partnerships teams to keep PDL commitments on track.
• Support resourcing and hiring plans to close identified capability gaps in partnership with lab and discovery leadership.
• Facilitate recurring working groups, client status meetings, and internal review forums; author agendas, minutes, and action-item tracking.

Business & Financial Operations:

• Support go-to-market and monetization structuring for PDL offerings in partnership with BD and finance.
• Maintain program-level budget visibility, resource forecasts, and spend tracking against the approved investment case.

Communications & Stakeholder Management:

• Act as a trusted cross-functional partner to scientific, laboratory, BD, and commercial stakeholders, translating scientific priorities into operational plans.
• Prepare client-facing materials, KOL engagement support, and scientific narratives supporting regulatory and commercial adoption of PDL-enabled diagnostics.
• Manage change and communication strategies as PDL scales, including team structure, roles, and process updates as the portfolio grows.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in oncology drug development, translational research, or biomarker/CDx program management, ideally spanning both pharma and diagnostics/lab-services environments.
• Demonstrated track record leading complex, cross-functional programs — governance operations, portfolio/program tracking, and stakeholder management at the senior leadership level.
• Experience managing biomarker sample operations, biorepository/biobank workflows, or CDx-adjacent laboratory operations.
• Financial acumen, including budget forecasting, resource planning, and experience supporting deal or contract structuring (fee-for-service, milestone, royalty, or licensing models).
• Strong meeting facilitation, executive communication, and document-authoring skills; comfortable presenting to senior leadership and external pharma partners.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity in a newly-formed business line and build process/governance from the ground up.
• Advanced degree (PhD, PharmD, or MS) in a life sciences required; MBA or equivalent business training a plus.

Preferred Experience:

• Prior experience in a biopharma translational medicine, biomarker portfolio, or clinical operations role at a large supporting a $M+ budget).
• Familiarity with liquid biopsy/MRD (e.g., Signatera-type assays), CGP (WES/WTS/WGS), spatial transcriptomics, single-cell, or digital pathology platforms.
• Experience supporting biomarker strategy for regulatory submissions (IND/IDE, companion diagnostics) or Phase 1–3 clinical trial biomarker operations.

The pay range is listed and actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, years & depth of experience, certifications and specific office location. This may differ in other locations due to cost of labor considerations.

Remote USA

$184,600 - $230,700 USD

Compensation & Total Rewards

This range reflects a good-faith estimate of the base pay we reasonablyexpect to offer at the time of hire.Final compensation will vary based on experience, qualifications, and internal equity considerations.

This positionis also eligible for additional compensation and benefits through Natera’s robust Total Rewards program, including:

• Annual performance incentive bonus
• Long-term equity awards
• 401(k) with company match
• Generous paid time off and company holidays
• Additional wellness and work-life benefits

Compensation Range

$184,600 - $230,700 USD

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents.
• Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits.
• Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more.
• We also offer a generous employee referral program!

Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.

and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Natera’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

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