Associate Director, Platform Technology Development and Therapeutic Innovation

Cambridge, MA USA

Company Summary:

Metaphore Biotechnologies, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company building the next generation of biological therapeutics. Inspired by nature, our mission is to transform patient lives by unlocking the power of biological therapeutics with a new mimic-discovery platform.

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at  .

Position Summary:

Metaphore Biotechnologies is seeking a highly motivated and collaborative scientist to join our Discovery Sciences and Technology team as an Associate Director, Platform Technology Development & Therapeutic Innovation. In this expanded role, you will be a leader in platform innovation and therapeutic development efforts, driving projects from conceptualization through early development stages. You will leverage your deep expertise in cutting-edge technologies, assay development, and workflow optimization to lead projects, improve existing platforms, and foster cross-functional collaboration, ultimately contributing to the creation of novel therapeutics.

A core aspect of this role involves building and expanding Metaphore's tool chest for synthetic biology and functional screening applied to modern protein engineering.

The ideal candidate will possess a strong technical background in a range of advanced methodologies, including CRISPR and synthetic biology (particularly in engineering complex cellular reporter systems and mammalian cell display/engineering), phage display technology, advanced assay development, and high throughput screening methodologies. Experience with modern molecular biology techniques (e.g., combinatorial libraries like yeast, RNA display, SELEX, DEL) is essential. A background in biologics development, NGS technologies (Pac Bio and Illumina), biophysical characterization, cellular activity assays, and structural biology is highly beneficial.

Experience with Machine Learning tools applied to protein engineering and strong analytical expertise are also critical assets for this role.

In this role, you will be responsible for leading projects independently, from therapeutic concepts to nominating molecules for IND-enabling studies. You will be accountable for optimizing and developing our technology platform and collaborating effectively across various teams, including Discovery team, Computational Science, Operations, Research Informatics, Translational Science, and the broader organization. We are looking for a scientifically curious, strategic, and adaptable individual who thrives in a dynamic and team-oriented environment.

Strong communication, organizational skills, a passion for innovation, and a drive to translate scientific discoveries into novel therapeutics are essential for success, with a particular emphasis on contributing to and building a world-class synthetic biology toolkit for protein engineering.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and drive therapeutic innovation projects from initial concept and target identification through to nominating lead molecules ready for IND-enabling studies, leveraging and contributing to the synthetic biology and protein engineering tool chest.
• Contribute to the Technology Development Roadmap by converting high-priority innovation ideas into actionable work plans, in collaboration with Platform leadership and the Innovation team.
• Assemble and lead multidisciplinary project teams in a matrix environment, working with functional heads to allocate resources and develop comprehensive research plans.
• Spearhead the ideation, planning, and end-to-end execution of technology development projects and therapeutic programs focused on developing novel molecules and optimizing workflows, always with an eye towards expanding the synthetic biology tool chest.
• Establish and promote best practices for experimental design, documentation, and rigorous data quality to ensure consistent, reliable, and translatabledeliverables.
• Optimize existing experimental workflows to enhance efficiency,…