Associate Director/Director Business Development

Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. • Redwood City, CA

3d

About The Position

As Associate Director/Director of Business Development at Soleno, you will serve as a key partner to the Chief Business Officer and SVP of New Product Planning, contributing significantly to our overall global business development strategy and execution. This role is pivotal in driving our search and evaluation efforts for new assets and technologies and will be involved in developing deal structures for asset licensing and acquisition. This role will also contribute to our market intelligence and overall business/corporate strategy as it relates to evaluation of new therapeutic areas and life cycle options for both our current brand, Vykat™XR and future pipeline products in rare disease. He/She will lead cross-functional initiatives that drive Soleno’s long-term success, bridging commercial, clinical development, regulatory, finance and other operational functions.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (MBA, MD/PhD, MS) strongly preferred; Bachelor’s degree with a life sciences degree or experience in scientific roles is preferred
• 5-7 years of experience in strategy, corporate development, business development, or portfolio management within biotech, pharmaceutical, or within biotech focused financial services.
• Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional, high-impact strategic initiatives and executing business development deals.
• Strong scientific literacy — ability to understand drug development, regulatory landscape, and translational science to connect science to business strategy.
• Excellent analytical, financial modeling, and business-case development skills.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills; ability to distill complex scientific and commercial data into clear, actionable insights for senior leadership and external partners.
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate across functions — R&D, regulatory, commercial, legal, finance, operations.
• Strategic thinker, proactive self-starter, comfortable operating in fast-paced and evolving environments.
• High integrity, ethical judgment, and capacity to manage confidential information.

Responsibilities

• Identify, evaluate, and shepherd opportunities for licensing and/or acquisition to enhance our emerging product portfolio.
• Identify strategic options with other companies for partnerships, collaborations, and strategic alliances.
• Lead due diligence, data room management, opportunity assessment, financial and risk modeling for business development (BD) prospects.
• Collaborate with Chief Business Officer and other executives to structure, negotiate, and execute term sheets and deals.
• Support pipeline and portfolio-level strategy and planning through extensive search and evaluation, working closely with our SVP of New Product Planning and SVP of Clinical Development to prioritize new opportunities.
• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboards, and reporting tools to track progress and measure success in search and evaluation
• Prepare and present strategic summaries, business cases, and reports for executive leadership, and external stakeholders.
• Lead scenario planning, market/competitive landscape analyses, and regulatory trend assessments to inform strategic decisions.
• Represent Soleno at external meetings, conferences, and partnership negotiations, articulating strategic positioning and company value.
• Continuously monitor scientific developments, competitive products, regulatory changes, and market dynamics to anticipate risks and opportunities.
• Provide regular insights and recommendations to adjust strategy proactively.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees