Associate Director, QC Chemistry

Denali Therapeutics•Salt Lake City, UT

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies for neurodegenerative diseases through our deep commitment to degeneration biology and principles of translational medicine. Denali is founded on the collaboration of leading scientists, industry experts, and investors who share the vision that scientific discovery energetically applied to translational medicine is the key to delivering effective therapies to patients. We invite you to consider an opportunity with Denali to help achieve our goal of delivering meaningful therapeutics to patients. The Associate Director, QC-Chemistry will serve as both a technical and people leader within the QC Chemistry group, overseeing 2-5 chemists responsible for analytical testing of large molecule biologics. This individual will ensure the delivery of safe, compliant, and on-time analytical results at scale. This is a hands‑on leadership role with routine lab work (approximately 50%, workload‑dependent) required to support critical testing, troubleshooting and method lifecycle activities. The ideal candidate will will play a key role in supporting both clinical and commercial readiness by ensuring phase-appropriate method performance, data integrity and operational excellence across all testing activities

Requirements

BS in Biology or Chemistry (or related) with 7+ years of GMP QC (biologics preferred)
5+ years managing teams
Method validation/transfer expertise
Strong documentation
CDS/ELN/LIMS (e.g., Empower/ /OpenLAB)
Onsite SLC, UT with occasional off-shift support.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a 2–5 person QC Chemistry team; set priorities, build schedules, run tier huddles, and ensure coverage/cross-training.
Hands-on (~50%) lab leader supporting critical testing, troubleshooting, record approvals, and bench mentoring.
Own analytical method lifecycle (readiness, validation/verification/transfer); author/review protocols, reports, and change control.
Serve as QC SME for HPLC/UPLC, CE-SDS, icIEF, UV/Vis, and potency; ensure phase-appropriate method performance.
Ensure GMP/ALCOA+ data integrity & GDP; review/approve ELN/LIMS entries; maintain audit readiness and responses.
Lead OOT/OOS/deviation investigations, root cause, and CAPAs; verify effectiveness and drive timely closure.
Act as QC lead for method transfers, coordinating with AD/CMC/Manufacturing; define readiness and execute in QC.
Oversee instrument lifecycle (URS inputs, IOQ/PQ, calibration/PM, training, release-to-use) with ENG/vendors.
Drive operations & KPIs (TAT, investigation cycle time, schedule adherence); standardize SOPs/templates, publish dashboards; oversee routine QC chemistry, raw-material release, stability testing, and sample management
Lead direct report(s) through annual goal setting, growth planning, adherence to company policies, maintain training compliance and provide ongoing feedback on growth, development and areas of improvement.