Product Concept Innovation Associate

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Annual incentive program

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Flagship Pioneering, Inc. in Cambridge, MA seeks a curious and driven Associate for its Pipeline and Product Innovation team to imagine transformative therapies using Flagship platforms.

You will explore novel product concepts from unmet needs through platform capabilities to enable execution. Responsibilities include gathering and integrating information from multiple domains, shaping hypotheses, presenting concepts to stakeholders, and evaluating biological, clinical, and commercial potential

Qualifications

• PhD, MD, DO or MD/PhD equivalent; 2+ years post-PhD experience.
• Significant research experience with peer‑reviewed publications.
• Clinical and drug development experience is advantageous but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to high-impact product concept explorations across therapeutic areas.
• Generate and refine transformative clinical outcomes, proposing scopes and objectives for each exploration.
• Collaborate with a small team to generate diverse product concepts, subjecting ideas to rigorous validation and expert critique.
• Define and articulate selected product concepts, detailing the platform capabilities and technologies required to enable execution.
• Engage in the prioritization process of compelling concepts for development into asset-focused companies.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across Flagship and its platform companies to understand their capabilities.
• Embody the "Paranoid Optimist" persona: balance creative and unconstrained thinking with structured exploration methods designed to achieve transformational clinical outcomes.
• Foster a collaborative, high-energy team environment.

Skills

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Adaptability

Synthesis

Problem solving

Scientific curiosity

Education

PhD/MD or MD/PhD

Job description

Position Summary

Our Pipeline and Product Innovation team is seeking a curious and driven scientist with either basic science or clinical medicine (or both!) experience to imagine and create transformative therapies using Flagship’s broad array of novel platforms and technologies. This role focuses on the innovation of novel product concepts through an iterative exploration and refinement process and involves working from the unmet need, product, and platform technology perspectives to pioneer novel therapeutic solutions with high impact and value.

The Associate will gather, review, and integrate information from multiple domains to advance product concept explorations. This involves consulting with internal and external experts, shaping hypotheses, and presenting developed concepts to stakeholders. Other responsibilities include assessing biological, clinical, and commercial hypotheses of product concepts, performing deep dives and diligence of potential programs, and generating competitive and landscape analyses of therapeutic areas, some of which may be completed in cross-functional collaborations with other teams and functions within the broader Product & Partnering team and Flagship ecosystem.

Flagship Pioneering values an entrepreneurial spirit and seeks individuals comfortable working in a dynamic and cross-functional team environment. The level of this role will be commensurate with the candidate’s education and experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to high-impact product concept explorations across various therapeutic areas.
• Generate and refine transformative clinical outcomes, proposing scopes and objectives for each exploration.
• Collaborate with a small team to generate diverse product concepts, subjecting ideas to rigorous validation and expert critique.
• Define and articulate selected product concepts, detailing the platform capabilities and technologies required to enable execution.
• Engage in the prioritization process of compelling concepts for development into asset-focused companies.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across Flagship and its platform companies to understand their capabilities.
• Embody the "Paranoid Optimist" persona: balance creative and unconstrained thinking with structured exploration methods designed to achieve transformational clinical outcomes.
• Foster a collaborative, high-energy team environment.

Qualifications

• PhD, Medical Degree (MD or DO or equivalent), or MD/PhD
• 2+ Years of experience post PhD
• Significant research experience, including peer-reviewed publications.
• Basic scientific training and/or recognized scientific expertise in a relevant field.
• Clinical and drug development experience are advantageous but not required.
• Highly resourceful and effective in uncertain circumstances.
• Strong prioritization and adaptive synthesis skills.
• Comfortable venturing into new scientific and clinical spaces.
• Willingness to consider unconventional approaches to challenging problems.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively within and across functions and teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with good conflict resolution capabilities.
• Ability to distill and synthesize information for diverse audiences.

Values and Behaviors

• Entrepreneurial spirit and mission-oriented towards breakthrough therapies.
• Courage to take bold risks to advance novel treatments.
• Enthusiasm for learning and taking on new science.
• Receptive to feedback, but able to propose and defend opposing ideas and perspectives.
• Ability to motivate and encourage colleagues at all levels.
• Fostering a growth-oriented, high-energy environment.
• Holding oneself and others accountable for commitments.

What we offer

• Impactful role in a company recognized for transformative contributions.
• Dynamic startup culture with inspiring colleagues and leaders.
• Support for groundbreaking advancements in healthcare and sustainability.
• Opportunities for professional growth in an innovative environment.
• Comprehensive employee benefits and rewards program

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies

Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

More About Flagship Pioneering

We are creative optimists, and we would love for you to consider joining our team! Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category life sciences companies to transform human health and sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, the firm has applied a unique hypothesis-driven innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $34 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship is backed by more than $4.4 billion of aggregate capital commitments, of which over $1.9 billion has been deployed toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $10 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 41 transformative companies, including: Axcella Health (NASDAQ: AXLA), Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Evelo Biosciences (NASDAQ: EVLO), Foghorn Therapeutics, Indigo Ag, Kaleido Biosciences (NASDAQ: KLDO), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), Sana Biotechnology, Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), and Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SYRS).

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

Privacy Notice for Applicants: When you apply for a role at Flagship Pioneering or one of its portfolio companies, we collect and use personal information you provide (such as your name, contact details, work history, and application materials) to evaluate your application, communicate with you, and comply with legal obligations. Your application data is processed through Greenhouse, our applicant tracking system, and may also be reviewed using AI-assisted screening tools. We do not sell your personal information. California residents have rights under the CCPA/CPRA including to know, delete, and opt out of the sharing of your personal information. If you are located in the EU or UK, we process your data under GDPR and you have rights to access, rectify, and erase your data. To exercise your rights or for questions, contact [e-mail].

Privacy Notice for Applicants: When you apply for a role at Flagship Pioneering or one of its portfolio companies, we collect and use personal information you provide (such as your name, contact details, work history, and application materials) to evaluate your application, communicate with you, and comply with legal obligations. Your application data is processed through Greenhouse, our applicant tracking system, and may also be reviewed using AI-assisted screening tools. We do not sell your personal information. California residents have rights under the CCPA/CPRA including to know, delete, and opt out of the sharing of your personal information. If you are located in the EU or UK, we process your data under GDPR and you have rights to access, rectify, and erase your data. To exercise your rights or for questions, contact [e-mail].

The salary range for this role is $140,000 - $170,000. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Flagship Pioneering currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Flagship Pioneering's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.