Senior Associate, Origination

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 155,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Annual incentive program

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Flagship Pioneering is seeking a Senior Associate to ideate, validate, and operationalize venture hypotheses. You will lead science-driven explorations, identify strategic IP, recruit early teams, and shape the company blueprint for rapid growth.

Collaboration with stakeholders across Flagship will be essential to translate science into enduring ventures. Your background in life sciences and startup experience will drive cross-functional efforts, with close work alongside partners to build novel

Qualifications

• PhD or MD from a top university with STEM focus.
• 5+ years post-PhD experience in life sciences biotech, startup, or entrepreneurship.
• Strong passion for novel science and operational savviness.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to and lead explorations to assess science areas and develop venture hypotheses.
• Outline scientific questions and develop experimental plans to create value.
• Build relationships with academic experts, vet concepts, and de-risk ideas.
• Understand IP landscape, strategize, and draft foundational patent applications.
• Develop company strategy, org structure, goals, and resourcing plans.
• Prepare audience-specific pitches and support business development.
• Recruit and manage early scientific staff, KOLs, and CROs.
• Oversee scientific team, labs, purchasing, HR, and operations.
• Stay current with literature, conferences, funding, and new developments.
• Collaborate with Flagship operations for maximal efficiency.

Skills

STEM PhD/MD background

5+ years post-PhD biotech/ startup

Operationally savvy

Entrepreneurial collaboration

Education

STEM-based PhD or MD from a top university

Job description

About the role

As a Senior Associate at Flagship Pioneering, you will ideate, research, and refine novel venture hypotheses, validate key underlying unknowns of biology or technology, and transition pressure-tested ideas into building a NewCo around the science. You will help drive every facet of company origination from the early stages including identification and recruitment of critical partners and advisors, establishment of foundational IP, hiring and leadership of the early scientific team, and establishment of working norms and culture for the team. In this role you will partner with stakeholders across the broader Flagship ecosystem to bring the full experience of Flagship to support your companies. A successful candidate will become an expert on the foundational science of the company, frame and clearly communicate the strategy, and translate that strategy into a plan and lead operationalization of that plan alongside a Principal or Partner on the venture creation team.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to and lead Flagship explorations to rapidly assess interesting areas of science and develop novel, actionable and high-value venture hypotheses
• Outline key scientific questions to enable venture hypotheses and develop experimental plans to rapidly create value and pressure test ideas
• Identify, build, and maintain relationships with appropriate academic KOLs and thought experts, ie, introducing them to the Flagship model, getting early buy-in, vetting/validation and de-risking key concepts of venture hypotheses
• Understand IP landscape, formulate initial strategy, and write seminal applications for the technology and company. Assess patentability of existing IP landscape, including of key competitors and of potentially licensable estate
• Develop corporate strategy and operations plan for the company. Define value creation, identify application spaces, build out organizational chart, define company goals, timelines and resourcing and identify strategic inflection points to set the company on the path to rapid growth and success
• Develop audience-specific pitches for company
• Support business development activities and continue to evolve the story
• Manage and coordinate early scientific and IP employees. Source, recruit and manage KOLs and early-stage employees as well as relationships with CROs.
• Manage & lead scientific team (internal or external) and daily research. Manage operational tasks, including establishing lab facilities, purchasing, HR, real estate acquisition, etc.
• Become institutional subject matter expert and transfer knowledge to active company team. Stay up to date on the literature, conferences, funding opportunities, and new developments.
• Work closely with and leverage Flagship operations teams (Finance, IP, IT, HR, and Talent) for maximal operational excellence

Professional Experience and Qualifications

• STEM-based PhD or MD from a top university
• 5 or more years of experience post PhD in life sciences biotech, start-up or entrepreneurial activities.
• Passion for novel science and be operationally savvy.

Important skills and capabilities include

• Proven ability to rapidly become conversant in new areas of science and capable of engaging thought leaders at the deepest level of technological understanding
• Ability to define a clear and compelling value proposition of a given scientific opportunity and effectively and cogently communicate that to technical and non-technical audiences
• Excellent analytical skills and ability to synthesize & communicate complex information rapidly and effectively
• Obsession with mastering the details without losing sight of the big picture
• Energetic self-starter with strong presence and the ability to work effectively in an entrepreneurial environment
• Excellent intellectual agility to rapidly context-switch across projects
• Open, transparent communication style and demonstrated willingness to engage in difficult conversations in a professional and productive manner
• Passion for growth and development, with clear demonstration of openness to both giving and receiving feedback and track record of acting on feedback
• Able to work effectively and pleasantly in teams with demonstrated abilities to lead and manage
• Unmatched sense of urgency with willingness to go the extra mile to drive success

About Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering is a scientific innovation engine that invents and builds companies that change the world.We bring together the greatest scientific minds with entrepreneurial company builders and assemble the capital to allow them to take courageous leaps in human health, sustainability, and beyond.

What sets Flagship apart is our ability to advance biotechnology by uniting life science innovation, company creation, and capital investment under one roof in a way that is largely without precedent. Our team of scientists, entrepreneurial leaders, and professional capital managers are each aligned around an institutionalized process that enables us to innovate and create breakthroughs for the benefit of people and planet.

Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been named four times to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.

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.

The salary range for this role is $155,000 - $190,000. 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.