Director, Bioware

Exthymic; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401k match

Job summary

Exthymic is an early-stage deep-tech startup focused on making curative cell therapies accessible. We are seeking a scientific leader to own Bioware planning, experimental design, and to drive development from early stages through commercialization.

You will communicate research plans and conclusions to executives and partners while shaping the technical roadmap. You will manage a team of scientists, develop strategy with senior leaders, and own cross-functional pipelines, vendor relationships,

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, bioengineering, materials science, or equivalent industry experience.
• 8+ years in surface chemistry, protein or small molecule engineering, NGS, and bioconjugation.
• Direct people-management experience leading scientific teams and driving programs.

Responsibilities

• Hire and develop a team of scientists and research associates; set priorities and growth.
• Lead experimental design across the Bioware team and ensure rigorous, reproducible work.
• Be hands-on in the lab, solving problems and guiding key experiments.
• Translate complex science into clear presentations for leadership and teams.
• Build and manage vendor and partner relationships for critical reagents and services.
• Guide products from development to market, coordinating stage gates and regulatory readiness.

Skills

Team leadership

Experiment design

Data-driven development

Vendor management

Strategic planning

Education

Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, bioengineering, materials science, or related field

Bachelor’s/Master’s degree with equivalent industry experience

Job description

About Us:

Exthymic is an early-stage deep-tech startup on a mission to prevent millions of cancer deaths by making curative cell therapies widely accessible. Our platform enables patient-specific treatment manufacturing at the point of care, overcoming the limits of centralized biopharma models. Led by experienced industry pioneers, we blend hardware, software, and biological engineering to disrupt the status quo and democratize life-saving therapies. Join us to solve complex challenges and drive global healthcare innovation.

About You:

Reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer, you will lead and manage the Bioware team. Own the planning and experimental design behind our product-development process, and clearly communicate the experimental designs and research conclusions to leadership and the broader team. Partner with senior leaders to shape the technical strategy, communicate the roadmap to clients and partners, keep cross-functional workstreams on schedule, and lead the scientific team.

You thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative startup; build strong relationships with vendors and cross-functional partners; and take ownership of products from early development through commercialization. You manage competing priorities with confidence and drive projects forward with a strong sense of accountability.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage research associates and scientists—Hire, manage, and develop a team of scientists and research associates. Own team priorities and individual growth and carry the day-to-day scientific leadership through both coaching and collaborative bench work. You take satisfaction in helping others grow and in building a team that can take increasing ownership over time.
• Own experimental strategy—Lead experimental design across the Bioware team: applying sound design to structure development work, isolate critical parameters, maximize the information gained per experiment and work with senior leadership to make data-driven decisions. And set the standard for rigorous, well-documented, reproducible experimentation.
• Lead the scientific team in the lab as a player-coach—Be hands‑on at the bench, working alongside the team to solve problems, run and troubleshoot key experiments, and keep work moving; lead by doing as much as by directing.
• Communicate the science across the organization—Translate complex scientific work into clear presentations and articulate experimental designs and research conclusions to leadership and team members across the organization, ensuring decisions are grounded in a shared understanding of the data.
• Build and manage vendor and partner relationships—Identify, evaluate, and manage relationships with key vendors, suppliers, and contract partners for antibody design and manufacturing, surface polymers, protein reagents, and critical consumables. Negotiate supply agreements, set quality expectations, and develop the supply chain resilience the company needs as it scales.
• Guide products from development to market—Serve as the technical and product-development lead taking biochemical manufacturing and design through development stages toward commercialization. This includes coordinating design inputs, managing stage‑gate milestones, and ensuring the science is well-documented and de‑risked to support regulatory submissions and eventual commercial transfer.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, bioengineering, materials science, or a related discipline; or a Bachelor’s/Master’s degree with directly equivalent industry experience.
• 8+ years of relevant industry experience in one or more of surface chemistry, protein or small molecule engineering, NGS, and bioconjugation, with a track record of advancing products from research to development.
• Direct people-management experience, including hiring, building, and leading scientific and technical teams.
• Enthusiasm for working both strategically and hands‑on.
• Demonstrated product/project management ownership, in particular building and running a product‑development process, timelines, phase gates, and cross‑functional dependencies in ambiguous environments.
• Hands‑on expertise with experimental design and statistical analysis to drive efficient, data‑driven development.
• Experience managing vendor and supplier relationships, including contract negotiations, quality agreements, and supply chain planning.
• Experience contributing to strategic planning, technology roadmapping, or platform‑level investment decisions.
• Comfortable operating in an early‑stage startup with evolving priorities, a lean team, and developing processes from the ground up.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in cell therapy, gene therapy, or a related advanced therapeutic modality.
• Experience working with CDMOs or contract manufacturers on technology transfer or process development.
• Familiarity with design control, quality systems, or regulatory requirements for a biological product.
• Experience evaluating and working with job‑specific AI tools is a plus.

Competitive salary and benefits package, including Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401k match.

• Competitive salary and benefits package, including Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401k match.
• We offer our employees comprehensive benefits, including medical, vision, and dental coverage, as well as retirement savings plans. Optional benefits include accident and term life offerings.

Salary Range:

$170,000 - $210,000, commensurate with experience

Benefits:

We offer our employees comprehensive benefits, including medical, vision, and dental coverage, as well as retirement savings plans. Optional benefits include accident and term life offerings.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Exthymic Corporation is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age (40 and over), disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, reproductive health decision‑making, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We comply with all applicable equal employment opportunity laws and will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process.

Agencies:

We work directly with candidates and do not accept unsolicited resumes or referrals from recruitment agencies, search firms, or staffing companies. Any resumes submitted by an agency without a signed agreement in place will be considered the property of Exthymic and no fee will be owed. If you are interested in partnering with us on a future search, please contact our HR team directly.