Associate Director, Project Management

Galapagos • San Francisco, CA

1d • $180,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Lakefront Biotherapeutics is looking for a collaborative Associate Director, Project Management to help drive early development programs, with an expected focus on Phase I/II clinical development in autoimmune diseases. This role will partner closely with Clinical Development and Clinical Operations and will integrate inputs across CMC, Research/Preclinical, Translational Medicine, Regulatory, Safety, Biometrics, Finance, and external partners. The ideal candidate brings strong clinical project management experience and exceptional soft skills: emotional intelligence, structured communication, sound judgment, and the ability to guide teams with diverse personalities and priorities through ambiguity and decision-making. This is a hands-on matrix leadership role for a practical PM who can create clarity, maintain momentum, and help teams translate strategy into integrated plans and timely execution.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry experience, including 5+ years in project/program management or closely related drug development roles.
• Hands-on experience supporting clinical development programs is required; early clinical development experience, including Phase I/II programs, is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence matrix teams without direct authority, with strong emotional intelligence, listening skills, facilitation, conflict resolution, and written/verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to create alignment among diverse stakeholders, manage competing priorities, and keep teams focused on high-impact activities and timely decisions.
• Working knowledge of clinical development, clinical operations, and development governance, with the ability to understand and integrate cross-functional inputs into practical program plans.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, early-stage company environment where priorities may evolve and processes must be appropriately scaled.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to balance rigorous project management discipline with pragmatic execution and team flexibility.
• Skillful in relevant project management tools and methodologies, such as Gantt charts, MS Project, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OnePager, Power BI, integrated portfolio management, and/or PPM platforms.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (Master's, PhD, PharmD, or MBA) is a plus but not required if relevant experience is present.
• Experience in autoimmune diseases is preferred.
• Cross-functional experience across CMC, Research/Preclinical, Translational Medicine, Regulatory, Safety/Pharmacovigilance, Biometrics/Data Management, Quality, Finance, and/or external partners is a plus.
• Background in biologics or antibody-based therapeutics is a plus.
• Prior direct people management experience is helpful but not required; successful matrix leadership and team facilitation are essential.

Responsibilities

• Drive day-to-day project management planning and coordination for one or more early development programs, with primary emphasis on Phase I/II clinical development activities.
• Partner with Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, and functional leads to build and maintain integrated development plans, program timelines, milestone maps, critical path analyses, risk/issue logs, action trackers, and decision logs.
• Facilitate cross-functional program and study team meetings, including agenda-setting, pre-read coordination, decision capture, action follow-up, and escalation of key issues.
• Guide cross-functional teams through competing priorities and ambiguity by building trust, clarifying ownership, encouraging balanced input, and driving alignment around decisions and next steps.
• Coordinate with CMC, Research/Preclinical, Translational Medicine, Regulatory, Safety/Pharmacovigilance, Biometrics, Data Management, Quality, Finance, and external partners to ensure program plans are integrated and interdependencies are visible.
• Support clinical execution planning and governance activities, including study team coordination, vendor and CRO milestone tracking as appropriate, key deliverables, and readiness for internal decision points.
• Proactively identify risks, bottlenecks, and resource constraints; partner with the Sr. Director, Project Management and functional leaders on mitigation options and timely escalation.
• Prepare concise program updates, dashboards, and materials for leadership, governance, partnership, and board discussions as requested.
• Contribute to fit-for-purpose PM processes, templates, and tools that support a lean startup environment without adding unnecessary complexity.

Benefits

• Enticing compensation and benefits package
• Performance bonus plan
• Comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support important moments in life.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level