Head of Platform Biology

Company: Flagship Pioneering
Location: Cambridge
Posted on: March 16, 2023

Job Description:

What if---you could join an organization that creates, resources, and builds life sciences companies that invent breakthrough technologies in order to transform health care and sustainability?
FL94 Inc., is a privately held, early-stage biotechnology company pioneering Protein Editing. At FL94 we create small molecules that edit protein structure and function to unlock presently undruggable targets and a broad array of novel chemistry modalities. Our platform integrates novel small molecule chemistry and chemoproteomic discovery technologies with machine learning to enable generative design of protein editing chemistries. FL94 is backed by Flagship Pioneering, bringing the courage, vision, and resources to guide FL94 from platform validation to patient impact.We are seeking collaborative, relentless problem solvers that share our passion for impact to join us!
Position Summary:
FL94 is seeking an experienced, creative, and visionary Head of Platform Biology to join our passionate research team. You will be responsible for setting the strategy for, building, and leading the team of Ph.D. scientists to develop a platform of diverse assays and technologies to invent, create and validate novel chemistry modalities. The ideal candidate is an interdisciplinary leader with expertise in molecular biology, chemical biology with a proven track record of creating high quality and high throughput cell based & biochemical based assay platforms. A strong background in industrial drug discovery & experience in induced proximity-based modalities, like PROTACs, is preferred.
Successful candidates will be able to thrive in a fast-paced, action-oriented, team environment and display a clear passion for science and impact. The role offers a unique opportunity to help drive the strategy of an early stage, big concept biotech with direct responsibility over multiple drug discovery projects. The candidate must be an entrepreneurial, highly motivated and purpose driven leader who is able to technically and strategically lead high-performing teams. The successful candidate will have a track record of accomplishments in drug discovery as well as demonstrated high impact research in academia or industry. S(he) must exhibit excellent leadership, project management, and strong collaboration and communication skills. S(he) should be ready to champion new ideas in a very dynamic and innovative environment.
Key Responsibilities:

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• Drive strategy for novel modality, including induced proximity drug discovery projects, from target identification and validation through lead optimization and in vitro PoC
  
• Lead a team to invent, develop, and implement assays for the characterizations of covalent interactions between various effector classes and proteins of interest using molecular and chemical biology techniques such as unnatural amino acid encoding, site-directed mutagenesis, and activity-based protein profiling
  
• Manage a team of scientists who will assess targets, biochemically evaluate candidate small molecules, and support drug discovery of several high value, unprecedented targets
  
• Develop and manage outsourced biochemistry and cell biology resources, establishing and maintaining excellent working relationships with CROs and academic collaborators
  
• Build, manage, support, and guide a team of internal scientists and RAs
  
• Work collaboratively in cross-functional chemistry, proteomics, drug discovery and AI/machine learning teams
  
• Prepare and deliver scientific updates to the executive leadership team, board of directors and advisors
  
• Assemble and manage Scientific Advisory Boards; be accountable for AdBoard deliverables on priority indications/therapeutic areas as needed
  
  Basic Qualifications:
  
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  • A proven scientific leader with a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology or equivalent
    
  • 10+ years of academic and/or industrial drug discovery experience, with a track record of high-quality project deliveries and technical innovation
    
  • Expertise in chemical biology and modern molecular biology techniques required. Experience with development of methods to site-specifically incorporate unnatural amino acids into proteins is a plus.
    
  • Experience working with novel induced proximity modalities, such as PROTACs and/or molecular glues, is a plus.
    
  • Sound knowledge of other disciplines involved in drug discovery (biophysical methods, NGS, HT screening, LC-MS)
    
  • Excellent leadership capabilities with at least five years practice guiding and motivating successful teams, as well as building and managing productive external research collaborations.
    
  • Passion for and experience working with therapeutic companies committed to integration of AI/ML across all layers of the organization
    
  • Very strong communication and partnering skills.
    
  • Demonstrated track record of personnel development.
    
    Location:Cambridge, MA
    More About Flagship Pioneering
    Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category life science platform companies to transform human health and sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, the firm has, through its Flagship Labs unit, applied its unique hypothesis-driven innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $100 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $3.1 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $19 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises transformative companies, including Moderna(NASDAQ: MRNA), SanaBiotechnology (NASDAQ:SANA),SeresTherapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), AxcellaHealth (NASDAQ: AXLA), DenaliTherapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI),FoghornTherapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX),IndigoAg, Generate Biomedicines, Tessera Tx, and others.
    Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies arecommitted 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.
    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.

Keywords: Flagship Pioneering, Cambridge , Head of Platform Biology, Other , Cambridge, Massachusetts