Director, Bioconjugation

Bristol-Myers Squibb; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Flexible and inclusive work culture

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Bristol Myers Squibb seeks a Director of Bioconjugation to lead the portfolio strategy for antibody-drug conjugates and antibody-RNA conjugates. This science leadership role will guide a team of bioconjugation scientists, align with Chemistry, Biologics, and Biology teams, and drive candidate nomination through development.

The position emphasizes building platform capabilities, site-specific strategies, and robust data-driven decision making to advance complex payloads while ensuring

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree and 15+ years of experience in academia or industry, or Master’s 12+ years, or PhD 8+ years.
• 6+ years of leadership experience.
• Degree in organic/medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, or related science.
• Hands-on bioconjugation chemistry experience: cysteine/lysine conjugation, site-specific/enzymatic methods, click and bioorthogonal chemistry, linker design.
• Experience with cytotoxic small molecule ADCs and antibody-RNA conjugates, including degrader payloads.
• Ability to interpret conjugate analytical data (RP-HPLC, SEC, HIC, IEX, LC-MS/HRMS, CE-SDS).

Responsibilities

• Lead the bioconjugation team and set scientific direction against portfolio priorities.
• Partner with Global Chemistry to define enterprise bioconjugation strategy across the portfolio.
• Own conjugate design and delivery strategy from concept to nomination and transition to development.
• Collaborate with Discovery Chemistry, Biologics, Protein Engineering, and Translational Sciences; manage external collaborations with academia and CROs.
• Represent bioconjugation in governance and portfolio reviews; ensure manufacturability and analytical tractability of discovery-stage choices.
• Champion data capture, standardization, and computational/ML-enabled design across the portfolio.

Skills

Leadership

Scientific communication

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Project leadership

Education

PhD in Chemistry/Bioengineering/related

Master’s in Chemistry/related field

Bachelor’s Degree in a related discipline

Tools

RP-HPLC

SEC

LC-MS/HRMS

IEX

CE-SDS

Job description

At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, "Who are you working for?"-a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.

Position Summary

We are seeking a Director of Bioconjugation to shape the strategic direction of bioconjugation strategy across our antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and antibody-RNA conjugate (ARC/AOC) portfolio. This is a scientific leadership role focused exclusively on antibody-based conjugates. This role will lead a team of bioconjugation scientists and set the conjugation strategy while partnering with Chemistry on linker-payload design across a portfolio spanning small molecule cytotoxic payloads, oligonucleotide payloads, targeted protein degrader payloads, and dual-payload formats. In addition, this Director position will build the platform capabilities our portfolio needs and implement them while working alongside Biologics, Chemistry and Biology teams to drive conjugate strategy from target selection through candidate nomination and transition to development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the bioconjugation team; set scientific direction and deploy resources against portfolio priorities.
• Together with Global Chemistry set the enterprise bioconjugation strategy across the portfolio - conjugation chemistry selection, site-specificity approach, DAR distribution, and address the chemistry challenges that separate oligonucleotide payloads from small molecule payloads.
• Act as bioconjugation lead or co-lead on discovery program teams, owning conjugate design and delivery strategy from concept through candidate selection and transition to development.
• Partner closely with Global Discovery Chemistry, Biologics Discovery and Protein Engineering, Discovery Biology and Translational Sciences, DMPK, Toxicology, and Development; manage strategic external relationships including academic collaborations, technology partners, and CROs.
• Represent bioconjugation at governance and portfolio reviews, presenting strategy, data packages, and risk assessments; partner with Development and CMC to ensure discovery-stage conjugation choices are manufacturable and analytically tractable.
• Champion data capture, standardization, and computational/ML-enabled design approaches across the portfolio.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree 15+ years of academic / industry experience OR Master's Degree 12+ years of academic / industry experience OR PhD 8+ years of academic / industry experience
• 6+ years of leadership experience
• Degree in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, or a related scientific discipline.
• Deep, hands-on expertise in bioconjugation chemistry: cysteine and lysine conjugation, site-specific and enzymatic conjugation (e.g., transglutaminase, sortase, engineered tags), click and bioorthogonal chemistry, and linker design (cleavable and non-cleavable).
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with cytotoxic small molecule ADCs, plus direct experience with antibody-RNA/oligonucleotide conjugates, and working familiarity with degrader-antibody and dual-payload architectures.
• Direct experience with highly potent small molecule payload classes (e.g., topoisomerase I inhibitors, auristatins/maytansinoids, or comparable), including safe handling and containment requirements.
• Demonstrated program leadership: track record of leading discovery programs and setting program strategy, with candidates advanced to nomination or into clinical development.
• Ability to interpret and evaluate conjugate analytical data (RP-HPLC, SEC, HIC, IEX, LC-MS/HRMS, CE-SDS).
• Excellent written and verbal communication; proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across functions.

Preferred Qualification

• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience, including direct experience as the bioconjugation lead on discovery project teams, with a proven track record of advancing bioconjugate therapeutics from concept through development candidate nomination.
• Depth in oligonucleotide therapeutics (siRNA, ASO) applied to conjugates: oligo design and chemical modification, conjugate purification, analytical characterization, and the delivery/PK considerations specific to antibody-RNA conjugates.
• Hands on experience with glycan-mediated bioconjugation platforms.
• Targeted protein degradation experience and the specific challenges of conjugating and delivering degrader payloads.
• Experience with dual-payload or multi-payload conjugate design and the orthogonal conjugation strategies it requires.
• CMC and tech-transfer exposure; experience supporting IND-en