VP, Protease-Cleavable Linker Design & Strategy

Ridge Bio; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Ridge Biotechnologies in the Bay Area seeks an experienced leader in protease-cleavable linker design to guide our linker biology program, substrate design, and assay strategy across in vitro and in vivo models.

You will mentor scientific teams, collaborate with ADC and bioconjugation groups, shape the company’s technical roadmap, and advance conditional activation therapeutics through innovative, high-impact research.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology, protein engineering, or related field; deep protease biology experience.
• Experience designing protease-cleavable substrates or linkers advancing to development candidate.
• Track record of invention: patents, publications, or contributions to molecules in clinical development.
• Experience building and managing strategic partnerships and drug development activities.
• Experience presenting scientific strategy to investors, partners, and external audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead protease-cleavable linker design function from biology to assay strategy and preclinical model design.
• Directly manage and mentor scientific teams.
• Design in vivo and in vitro models to validate conditionally activated molecules for partners.
• Collaborate with ADC and bioconjugation teams to integrate linker, conjugation, and biology insights.
• Present externally to partners and investors.
• Ideate, lead, and file IP on new protease substrates and linker technologies.
• Define the company’s technical development roadmap with the founding team.

Skills

Protease substrate design

Tumor-microenvironment biology

Linker chemistry

High-throughput experimentation

Team leadership

Strategic partnerships

Assay development

Preclinical model design

Machine learning collaboration

Computational data processing

Education

Ph.D. in chemistry/biochemistry/chemical biology/protein engineering

Job description

Ridge Biotechnologies in the Bay Area seeks an experienced leader in protease-cleavable linker design to guide our linker biology program, substrate design, and assay strategy across in vitro and in vivo models.

You will mentor scientific teams, collaborate with ADC and bioconjugation groups, shape the company’s technical roadmap, and advance conditional activation therapeutics through innovative, high-impact research.