SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Salary: USD 148,000 - 185,000 / annual
Xaira Therapeutics is an innovative biotech startup leveraging AI to transform drug discovery and development. The company develops generative AI models to design protein and antibody therapeutics and foundation models for biology and disease, enabling identification of novel therapies and improved success in drug development.
You will serve as Senior Project Manager for Biologics R&D, supporting the planning and coordination of biologics programs across the early pipeline. You will begin with one prioritized program and expand to additional discovery-stage programs, spanning from early-stage discovery through lead optimization, lead selection, and into IND-enabling studies as programs advance.
This role is ideal for a candidate with a strong scientific background who has transitioned into project or program management, or who has taken on cross-functional project management responsibilities within research settings. You will have hands-on experience managing timelines, tracking deliverables, and partnering closely with scientific leads. You will work alongside Program Team Leads who own program strategy and scientific direction, ensuring consistent program management practices across the portfolio.
Key responsibilities include:
**Project Planning & Execution:** Support day-to-day planning and coordination of biologics research programs from discovery through lead selection and IND-enabling work. Build and maintain project timelines capturing critical path, milestones, dependencies, and deliverables across multiple concurrent programs at different maturity stages. Partner with scientific leads and functional stakeholders to align on scope, priorities, resources, and progress.
**Milestone Management & Decision Support:** Collaborate with scientific teams to define key project milestones and decisional experiments, translating them into actionable, resource-informed timelines including stage-transition criteria (hit-to-lead, lead selection). Compile project data, timelines, risks, value-realization, and trade-offs to support informed decision-making. Coordinate and facilitate planning and documentation of decisive experiments, updating project plans based on results.
**Cross-Functional Coordination:** Facilitate collaboration across research functions to ensure effective communication and documentation of decisions. Schedule and run cross-functional meetings with clear agendas, effective documentation, and follow-up on action items. Monitor interdependencies and proactively identify, flag, and resolve conflicts across workstreams. Coordinate outsourced workstreams with CROs/CDMOs, including timeline integration and deliverable tracking.
**Operational Support & Monitoring:** Track project status, risks, and mitigation strategies; provide updates and insights to internal stakeholders. Coordinate with functional leads to understand resource needs and timeline impacts. Contribute to scenario planning and contingency thinking for critical path activities. Identify operational challenges and recommend improvements.
**Resource Coordination & Timeline Scenarios:** Work with functional and team leads to understand resourcing needs, identify gaps, and assess timeline impacts including trade-offs across and within programs. Develop scenario plans for critical path decisions to support contingency and investment planning.
**Requirements:**
- Advanced degree (MS, PhD, or equivalent) in life sciences or related field strongly preferred
- Minimum 6+ years of industry experience, including hands-on biologics or drug discovery research with demonstrated project or timeline management responsibilities; 3+ years of project management or cross-functional project leadership within research settings preferred
- Experience supporting biologics discovery programs through target validation, hit discovery, and lead optimization; exposure to lead selection governance or IND-enabling workstreams (developability, nonclinical safety, early CMC) is a strong plus
- Solid understanding of biologics discovery processes; familiarity with downstream nonclinical, CMC, and regulatory components is a plus
- Strong analytical, planning, and organizational skills; ability to translate complex scientific ideas into clear plans
- Excellent communication, time management, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills
- Experience with basic project tracking tools (Smartsheet, Confluence, Google Workspace, etc.)
- Working familiarity with project and program management principles as defined by PMI or similar bodies; PMP, CAPM, or PMI-ACP certifications are a plus, but hands-on experience matters more than credentials
- Must be on-site in the South San Francisco office; remote candidates will not be considered
**Preferred Attributes:**
- Comfortable managing projects in a fast-paced, cross-functional startup environment where processes are still being built
- Demonstrated ability to lead without authority and influence diverse teams
- Passion for science and dedication to improving patient outcomes through innovative biologics development
- Growth mindset with interest in advancing alongside programs as they mature toward IND-enabling development
