Senior Director, Research & Development

Tempus; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 173,000 - 245,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Incentive compensation

RSUs

Medical benefits

Job summary

Tempus, a leader in precision medicine, seeks a Senior Director of Research & Development to lead late-stage development, validation, and launch of molecular diagnostic products. You will drive regulatory submissions, establish robust documentation, and partner across Regulatory, Quality, Bioinformatics, and Pharma teams to advance a scalable platform.

You will oversee design controls, validation planning, and post-launch changes, guiding a team of scientists and documentation specialists toward

Qualifications

• PhD with 8+ years in molecular diagnostics or related life sciences field in a regulated environment.
• Experience leading design-controlled product development for molecular diagnostics or sequencing-based assays.
• Strong working knowledge of IVD/CDx development, validation, design transfer, and regulatory submissions.
• Demonstrated success in regulated frameworks including FDA, IVDR, ISO 13485, QMSR, MolDX, and NYS.
• Track record of leading cross-functional teams through complex milestones and change management.

Responsibilities

• Lead late-stage development, validation, and launch readiness for molecular diagnostic products (IVD, CDx, IUO, LDT).
• Provide strategic and scientific leadership for design controls, validation planning and execution, design transfer, and post-launch changes.
• Serve as a key cross-functional partner to Regulatory, Quality, Clinical Lab Operations, Bioinformatics, Automation, and Pharma Business Development.
• Drive regulatory submission support (FDA, IVDR, MolDX, NYS, CAP, etc.).
• Oversee documentation strategy to ensure inspection readiness, traceability, and scalability.
• Lead complex issue resolution, including deficiency responses and root cause investigations.
• Advance continuous improvement across product development (templates, risk tools, change management).
• Support external and partner-facing development programs including companion diagnostics.
• Mentor and develop high-performing teams of scientists and documentation specialists.
• Contribute to resource planning, budgeting, staffing strategy within R&D.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Organizational skills

Regulatory knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

PhD or Masters degree in life sciences

Tools

LIMS

ELNs

Job description

Senior Director, Research & Development

Passionate about precision medicine and advancing the healthcare industry? Recent advancements in underlying technology have finally made it possible for AI to impact clinical care in a meaningful way. Tempus' proprietary platform connects an entire ecosystem of real-world evidence to deliver real-time, actionable insights to physicians, providing critical information about the right treatments for the right patients, at the right time.

What You’ll Do

• Lead late-stage development, validation, and launch readiness for molecular diagnostic products, including IVD, CDx, IUO, and LDT programs
• Provide strategic and scientific leadership for design controls, validation planning and execution, design transfer, and post-launch changes
• Serve as a key cross-functional partner to Regulatory, Quality, Clinical Lab Operations, Bioinformatics, Automation, Program Management, and Pharma Business Development
• Drive regulatory submission support, including FDA, IVDR, MolDX, NYS, CAP, and other global or regional requirements
• Oversee documentation strategy and development processes to ensure inspection readiness, consistency, traceability, and scalability
• Lead complex issue resolution, including deficiency responses, non-conformances, root cause investigations, and scope pivots
• Advance continuous improvement initiatives across product development, including templates, risk-based tools, project estimation, change management, and process standardization
• Support external and partner-facing development programs, including companion diagnostics and contractual assay development efforts
• Mentor and develop a high-performing teams of scientists and documentation specialists
• Contribute to resource planning, budgeting, staffing strategy, and organizational development within R&D

Qualifications

• PhD with 8+ years of experience or Master’s degree with 13+ years of experience in molecular diagnostics, assay development, or a related life sciences field in a regulated environment
• Deep experience leading design-controlled product development for molecular diagnostics or sequencing-based assays
• Strong working knowledge of IVD/CDx development, validation, design transfer, and regulatory submissions
• Demonstrated success working in regulated frameworks including FDA, IVDR, ISO 13485, QMSR, MolDX, and NYS
• Track record of leading cross-functional teams through complex technical and regulatory milestones
• Experience building scalable processes, documentation systems, and development infrastructure in a fast-paced environment
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills, with the ability to influence across technical and operational stakeholders
• Strong people management experience, including hiring, mentoring, and leading teams through growth and change

Highly Desirable

• Experience supporting audits, inspections, pre-submissions, deficiency responses, and approval pathways
• Experience with companion diagnostic developments, pharma partnerships, and external development programs
• Experience with automation, LIMS, and 21 CFR Part 11 compliant software tools such as ELNs

Impact in This Role

This role is critical to advancing Tempus’ regulated diagnostics portfolio by ensuring products are scientifically robust, operationally scalable, and developed with the rigor required for successful launch, regulatory approval, and long-term platform growth.

$173,000-$245,000

The expected salary range above is applicable if the role is performed from Illinois and may vary for other locations (California, Colorado, New York).

Actual salary may vary based on qualifications and experience.

• Tempus offers a full range of benefits, which may include incentive compensation, restricted stock units, medical and other benefits depending on the position.

We are an equal opportunity employer.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Tempus was founded in August of 2015 by Eric Lefkofsky, after his wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Shortly after he founded the company in an effort to bring the power of technology and artificial intelligence to cancer care, he convinced Ryan Fukushima to join as the company’s first employee.

Ryan and Eric began assembling a world class team, focused on building the first version of a platform capable of ingesting real time healthcare data in an effort to personalize diagnostics.

We built the platform for oncology and have expanded it to neuropsychiatry, cardiology, infectious disease (through COVID), and radiology.

Despite our rapid growth, our mission remains the same—to help make sure patients are on the right drug at the right time, so they can live longer and healthier lives.

We’re looking for people who can change the world.

Who question the status quo and don’t shy away from tough problems.

For the builders who are never done building and the learners who are never done learning.

We’re looking for passionate people with undying curiosity.

Those who want to attack one of the most challenging problems mankind has ever faced.

Head on.