Senior Director, Project & Portfolio Management

About the role

The Senior Director of Project & Portfolio Management will architect and lead an AI-forward PPM organization that serves as the central nervous system for Insitro's drug discovery ambitions. This leader will partner deeply with Therapeutic Area, Operations, Clinical, and Business Development teams to design and own rightsized project strategies that accelerate the advancement of high-value drug candidates. You will establish the governance and discipline necessary to move neurological, ophthalmological, and metabolic programs from hypothesis to clinical validation with speed and rigor. The role demands fluency in both biological complexity and computational possibility, ensuring that every project decision is grounded in data and aligned with strategic portfolio value. You will foster a high-performance team environment where cross-functional collaboration is seamless and execution is relentless. This is a pivotal leadership position responsible for translating the convergence of multi-modal data and advanced disease modeling into tangible clinical milestones. You will act as the primary architect of Insitro's project management infrastructure, ensuring that the portfolio is balanced, de-risked, and poised for success.

Key facts

What you'll do

Define and implement an integrated project management framework that spans research, discovery, clinical development, software engineering, and data science/machine learning for neurological, ophthalmological, and metabolic pipelines.

Partner with the CSO and Therapeutic Area Leads to develop and rightsize project strategies that balance scientific ambition with resource constraints and portfolio priorities.

Establish agentic AI project management methodologies, decision tools, and governance frameworks to optimize resource allocation and critical path execution across the entire portfolio.

Lead cross-functional matrix teams, ensuring deep collaboration between Compute, Operations, Finance, Clinical, and Data Science to unblock progress and sustain high performance.

Create and maintain high-quality integrated project plans with clear timelines, milestones, and deliverables that translate complex biological insights into actionable development pathways.

Drive the setup and leadership of decision-making bodies and portfolio review processes, utilizing appropriate decision tools and stage-gates to manage risk and maximize value.

Build and own PPM processes that incorporate early commercial assessment, CMC workflows, and translational science to ensure seamless progression from IND-enabling studies to Phase 2.

Champion the adoption of generative AI and LLM technologies within project management workflows to enhance planning, scenario analysis, and decision support.

Foster a culture of ownership, transparency, and respect, ensuring that insights around high-content human data modalities are leveraged to inform strategic portfolio choices.

Serve as the primary liaison between scientific leadership and executive stakeholders, synthesizing complex information into clear, compelling narratives for broad communication.

Guide the continuous improvement of project management tools, including Smartsheets and Google Suite, to improve visibility, forecasting, and operational efficiency.

Champion data-driven decision-making by integrating genetics, genomics, histopathological imaging, and spatial biology insights into portfolio planning and review cycles.

Act as an Insitro ambassador, embodying the values of "Get Things Done," "Engage with Respect," "Create together," and "Own the Outcome" in every initiative.

Identify and mitigate cross-functional risks proactively, leveraging strong interpersonal skills to resolve complex problems and maintain alignment across matrixed organizations.

Adapt swiftly to the dynamic startup environment, navigating ambiguity, evolving priorities, and time and resource constraints without compromising scientific or operational excellence.

Requirements

BS degree required in a life science field, MS or PhD preferred.

Minimum of 15 years of experience in biotech/pharmaceutical industry in the R&D and clinical development space, including 8+ years in project/portfolio leadership leading cross-functional matrix teams.

Extensive knowledge of the drug development process and deliverables at each stage of the pipeline across at least one preferred drug modality (recombinant biologic, small molecule, oligonucleotide), with deep experience in translational stages, CMC workflows, early commercial assessment and clinical development (IND into Phase 2).

Highly skilled at conventional project management - driving execution while balancing speed, quality, and cost including proficiency with project management tools and software, e.g., critical path analyses, scenario planning, budget and resource management.

Exposure to the design and implementation of agentic workflows in a pharma or biotech environment.

Experience with setting up or leading decision making bodies (governance) and/or portfolio planning and reviews processes with appropriate decision tools.

Solid understanding of metabolism, neuroscience or ophthalmology disease areas and its competitive environment with the ability to take part in strategic discussions.

Previous experience in high visibility roles requiring the ability to think strategically and summarize complex information into important concepts for broader communication including executive leaders.

Deep experience leading matrix team meetings to enable collaboration, decision-making, and alignment with internal and external customers while leading all aspects of project scope, deliverables, risks, and resources.

Ability to resolve complex problems using strong interpersonal skills while building and maintaining positive working relationships with collaborators.

Comfortable working in dynamic startup settings; adept at navigating ambiguity, evolving priorities, and time/resource constraints.

Self-directed and proactive with ability to exercise good judgment and respond quickly and effectively to changing environments.

Nice to have

Project Management Certification (PMP or equivalent).

Familiarity with Google Suite and Smartsheets strongly preferred.

Prior use of generative AI tools / LLM technologies in day-to-day work (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude).

Understanding of high-content human data modalities (e.g., genetics/genomics, histopathological imaging, spatial biology) and data generation technologies.

Familiarity with and passion about machine learning enabled drug discovery.

Practical notes

This role is hybrid, requiring three days per week in the office at our South San Francisco headquarters.

Compensation for this role targets $264,000 - $298,000 for successful US-based applicants to reflect the level of responsibility and impact.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship for this position.

Application review will begin immediately and continue until the role is filled, so early submission is strongly encouraged.

Only candidates who closely match the requirements will be contacted for the next steps in the process.