Vice President, Early Pipeline Delivery

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; United States; On-site; USD 250,000 - 500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision coverage

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401(k) with company match

Lifestyle reimbursement

FSA/HSA

Job summary

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals seeks an experienced executive to lead a new Early Pipeline Delivery team, accelerating PoC across the early development portfolio. You will design the operating model, establish ways of working, and drive cross-functional capability building with accountability for priority studies.

The role reports to the SVP, Pipeline Delivery and requires building organizational depth, scaling a new function, and partnering with global teams to ensure timely PoC outcomes.

Qualifications

• 20+ years in Clinical Operations with early-phase leadership in biopharma.
• Direct accountability for Phase 1/2 program delivery.
• Experience building or scaling a team or function.
• Experience with first-in-human and healthy-volunteer designs.
• Strong cross-functional alignment experience.
• Ability to use data and benchmarking to diagnose bottlenecks and drive improvement.

Responsibilities

• Onboard and build the Early Pipeline Delivery team and scale studies as candidates advance to clinic.
• Recruit, develop, and manage study leads with operational accountability.
• Serve as senior lead for early phase studies on priority programs.
• Design and evolve the operating model for a dedicated early pipeline study management function.
• Develop a playbook for healthy-volunteer and patient models and country strategy.
• Apply AI-enabled tools for feasibility and enrollment forecasting to accelerate PoC timelines.

Skills

Executive leadership

Clinical Operations

Early-stage study management

Team building

First-in-human studies

Cross-functional alignment

Data-driven decision making

AI-enabled forecasting

Strategic portfolio planning

Education

MSc/MBA/PhD or equivalent

Job description

Alnylam is seeking an experienced executive leader to stand up and lead a new, dedicated team within the Pipeline Delivery organization focused on accelerating speed-to-Proof-of-Concept (PoC) across the company's rapidly growing early development portfolio. Reporting to the SVP, Pipeline Delivery, the Vice President of Early Pipeline Delivery will design an early pipeline operating model, establish ways-of-working, and lead cross-functional capability building, while driving execution on priority studies.

Alnylam’s early stage portfolio is expanding quickly with plans to double in size by 2030, and Phase 1/2 programs already represent >60% of the 2027 pipeline. This role is central to Alnylam's ambition of achieving industry-leading, top-quartile (top-decile for Tier 1 programs) speed-to-PoC performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the onboarding and build-out of the new Early Pipeline Delivery team and expand scope to additional studies as the team scales and development candidates (DCs) are endorsed to move into the clinic.
• Recruit, develop, and manage a team of study leads who carry operational accountability for early stage studies.
• Serve as the senior point of accountability for early phase studies, providing hands‑on leadership on priority programs while building organizational depth.

Operating Model & Capability Building

• Own the design and evolution of the operating model, scaling toward a fully dedicated early pipeline study management function.
• Develop and institutionalize a playbook covering healthy‑volunteer and patient models, country strategy, protocol operationalization, and vendor selection, ensuring learnings transfer across programs rather than being re‑solved study by study.
• Integrate adaptive execution practices across Pipeline Delivery and partnering functions, and apply AI‑enabled tools for feasibility and enrollment forecasting to accelerate PoC timelines.
• Establish standardized ways‑of‑working and consistent performance oversight across early development studies, replacing today's reactive, program‑by‑program approach with proactive risk anticipation.
• Partner closely with Global Trial Strategy & Operations, Research & Early Develpoment, and Technical Operations & Quality to manage the critical path from development candidate nomination through CTA and into PoC.
• Provide input on portfolio prioritization and resourcing, ensuring Early Pipeline Delivery leadership maintains sufficient influence and connectivity across both dedicated and transitioning studies.
• Support delivery of complex, novel study types — including first-in-human, healthy‑volunteer, and novel‑country studies (e.g., Australia, China) — and emerging therapeutic areas such as ophthalmology and neuromuscular disease.
• Represent Early Pipeline Delivery to senior R&D and Pipeline Delivery leadership, reporting on progress, risks, and resourcing needs as the function scales.

Qualifications

• MSc, MBA, PhD or equivalent in relevant discipline strongly preferred
• 20+ years industry experience focused on Clinical Operations with significant experience leading early-stage study management within a biopharmaceutical company, including direct accountability for Phase 1/2 program delivery.
• Track record of building or scaling a team or operating function, ideally including standing up new organizational capabilities in a growth environment.
• Experience with first-in-human and healthy‑volunteer study designs; exposure to novel or emerging geographies is a plus.
• Demonstrated success driving cross‑functional alignment
• Strong operational and analytical rigor, with comfort using data and benchmarking to diagnose bottlenecks and drive continuous improvement.
• Builder's mindset — energized by ambiguity and the opportunity to shape a new function rather than inherit an established one.
• Executive presence and communication skills sufficient to influence senior R&D leadership and partner functions without direct authority.
• Familiarity with applying AI‑enabled tools to clinical feasibility and enrollment forecasting.

About Alnylam

We are the leader in RNAi therapeutics– a revolutionaryapproach with the potential to transform the lives of people with rare and common diseases. Built on Nobel Prize-winning science, Alnylam has delivered the breakthroughs that made RNAi therapeutics possibleand are just at the beginning of what’s possible. Our deep pipeline, late‑stage programs, and bold vision reflect our core values: fierce innovation, passion for excellence, purposeful urgency, open culture and commitment to people. We're proud to be a globally recognized top employer, wherean authentic, inclusive culture and breakthrough thinkingfuel one another.

At Alnylam, we commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equal employment opportunity. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their sex, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, pregnancy status or related conditions, genetic information, veteran or military status, marital or familial status, political affiliation, age, or any other factor protected by federal, state, or local law. Alnylam is an E-Verify Employer.

Before applying, please review Alnylam's Candidate Privacy Notice regarding how Alnylam handles Personal Data you provide with your application for employment.

The pay range below reflects the full‑time base salary range we expect to pay for this role at the time of posting. Base pay will be determined based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, skills, and education. This role is eligible for an annual short‑term incentive award (e.g., bonus or sales incentive) and an annual long‑term incentive award (e.g., equity).

Alnylam’s robust Total Rewards package is designed to support your overall health and well‑being. We offer comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, a lifestyle reimbursement program, flexible spending and health savings accounts and a 401(k)with a generous company match. Eligible employees enjoy paid time off, wellness days, holidays, and two company‑wide recharge breaks. We also offer generous family resources and leave. Our commitment to your well‑being reflects our belief that caring for our people fuels the impact we create together.

State Specific Applicant Notices

• Arizona Applicants: To the extent required by applicable law, the Company maintains a smoke‑free workplace.
• Maryland Applicants;
  • UNDER MARYLAND LAW, AN EMPLOYER MAY NOT REQUIRE OR DEMAND, AS A CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT, PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYMENT OR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT, THAT AN INDIVIDUAL SUBMIT TO OR TAKE A LIE DETECTOR OR SIMILAR TEST. AN EMPLOYER WHO VIOLATES THIS LAW IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR AND SUBJECT TO A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $100.
  • The Company considers this Application for Employment to be a part of the personnel record.
• Massachusetts (MA) Applicants: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability
• Rhode Island (RI) Applicants: The Company is subject to Chapters 29‑38 of Title 28 of the General Laws of Rhode Island, and is therefore covered by the state's workers' compensation law.