Associate Director / Director, Customer Program Management, Life Sciences
Senior program manager leading end-to-end delivery of AI-driven drug discovery programs, coordinating internal science/engineering teams and external pharma partners while tracking milestones and risks.
- Compensation
- $148K–$224K / yr
- Location
- Cambridge, MA USA
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Not specified
- Posted
Skills
Nice to have
- Experience working at or partnering with AI-native or platform-based drug discovery companies
- Experience managing external collaborations in a discovery or preclinical setting (alliance management, CRO/CDMO oversight, or joint research programs)
- Familiarity with project management tools and methodologies (e.g., critical path analysis, scenario planning, resource management, portfolio reporting)
- Familiarity with the rapid evolution of LLMs and AI-driven science platforms and a perspective on how this will impact partnership models in drug discovery
Full description
Your Impact at LILA
Lila Sciences is looking for an Associate Director / Director, Program Management, Life Sciences — a senior operator who will drive the planning, execution, and delivery of therapeutic programs on Lila's platform. This person will provide direct project management leadership to the internal science, engineering, and automation teams developing molecules for our partners, owning timelines, resourcing, and progress tracking across complex, multidisciplinary programs. They will also serve as a senior operational interface with our pharmaceutical and biotech partners, ensuring that deliverables, governance, and communication are running smoothly.
These programs carry significant scientific complexity and commercial stakes. This role requires someone who can drive execution across fast-moving, technically demanding programs from the inside while maintaining the partner-facing judgment and presence to keep external stakeholders informed and aligned.
What You'll Be Building
- Own end-to-end project management for active therapeutic programs, including timeline development, resource coordination, milestone tracking, and dependency management across product, science, machine learning and automation teams
- Drive day-to-day execution discipline; ensuring that internal teams have clear priorities, deliverables, and decision points, and that blockers are identified and resolved quickly
- Manage resource allocation discussions and trade-off decisions across a complex set of priorities (e.g., balancing experiments between AI model training and near-term partnership deliverables)
- Establish and maintain program-level reporting, including status updates, milestone tracking, and resource utilization views for internal leadership and external deliverables
- Proactively identify, communicate, and manage program risks, escalating appropriately and ensuring transparency with scientific and executive leadership
- Structure and facilitate effective internal program meetings, decision forums, and reviews; ensuring the right information reaches the right people at the right time
Partner-Facing Delivery
- Serve as the primary operational interface with partner organizations, coordinating joint governance, managing deliverable timelines, and driving alignment on milestones and expectations
- Translate internal program status into clear, structured updates for external partners, ensuring transparency without overexposing internal complexity
- Support alliance obligations including joint steering committees, milestone reporting, and deliverable handoffs
- Partner closely with scientific and product leadership to ensure that program plans reflect both Lila's platform capabilities and partner-specific program goals and business objectives