Chief Scientific Officer

Enigma Search•Redwood City, CA

About The Position

We are seeking an accomplished Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) to join the executive leadership team of a well-funded, privately held biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of differentiated biologic therapeutics. The CSO will set the scientific vision and strategy for the organization, lead the research function, and play a critical role in identifying and advancing compelling therapeutic targets and programs. The position requires deep expertise in Immunology & Inflammation (I&I), extensive biologics experience, and a demonstrated ability to translate promising science from target identification through discovery, preclinical development, and ultimately into the clinic. The ideal candidate may currently be a CSO or a highly accomplished VP-level scientific leader prepared to step into a broader executive leadership role.

Requirements

PhD in Immunology or a closely related scientific discipline strongly preferred. An MD with significant relevant scientific and drug development experience may also be considered.
Approximately 10+ years of biotechnology and/or pharmaceutical industry experience with increasing scientific leadership responsibility.
Deep expertise in Immunology & Inflammation, including broad knowledge of autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases.
Demonstrated ability to understand and evaluate the relationship between therapeutic targets, mechanisms of action, and underlying disease biology.
Strong understanding of the current and emerging I&I target landscape and the ability to critically assess which targets warrant therapeutic development.
Extensive experience discovering and developing biologic therapeutics.
Strong expertise in target identification, target validation, translational biology, and preclinical drug development.
Demonstrated experience advancing programs from discovery toward IND and clinical development.
Significant experience designing and evaluating in vivo models and determining the evidence required to support clinical translation.
Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary scientific teams and therapeutic portfolios.
Strong track record of scientific and drug development accomplishments.
Ability to engage credibly with KOLs, investors, board members, scientific collaborators, and other external stakeholders.
Strong people leadership skills with a demonstrated ability to build productive and collaborative scientific organizations.

Nice To Haves

Experience with multiple biologic modalities, including engineered antibodies, bispecific or multi-specific antibodies, Fc-fusion proteins, and other biologic scaffolds.
Experience with ADCs, single-cell omics, and emerging biologic technologies.
Broad disease-area expertise across autoimmune, inflammatory, and other immune-mediated diseases, rather than specialization in a single indication.
Experience working in both large pharmaceutical organizations and small-to-mid-sized biotechnology companies.
Leadership experience within a successful clinical-stage or venture-backed biotechnology company.
Strong relationships with leading investigators and KOLs across the immunology field.
Strong publication and/or patent record.
Experience communicating scientific strategy and therapeutic programs to investors and boards.

Responsibilities

Establish and lead the company's overall scientific vision, research strategy, and therapeutic portfolio.
Identify and critically evaluate novel therapeutic targets based on mechanism of action, disease biology, competitive landscape, translational potential, and clinical relevance.
Lead programs from target identification and validation through discovery, preclinical and translational development, and clinical development.
Provide scientific leadership for the discovery and development of biologic therapeutics, including antibody and multi-specific antibody approaches.
Determine the appropriate experiments, models, and evidence required to advance programs and make rigorous go/no-go decisions.
Provide leadership around in vivo pharmacology and animal models, ensuring preclinical strategies appropriately support translation into human disease.
Build, lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing scientific organization.
Establish research priorities and provide strategic input into the company's mid- and long-term portfolio strategy.
Partner closely with Clinical Development, Regulatory, CMC, Business Development, and other functions to successfully advance programs.
Maintain a deep understanding of the competitive and scientific landscape across immunology, inflammation, biologics, and emerging therapeutic targets.
Establish and maintain relationships with leading Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), academic researchers, clinicians, and external scientific collaborators.
Represent the company's science and pipeline externally with investors, partners, KOLs, and the broader scientific community.
Communicate complex scientific concepts clearly and confidently, including responding to rigorous scientific and investor questions.
Support business development, partnering, intellectual property, and external alliance activities.
Foster a culture of scientific rigor, innovation, collaboration, accountability, and urgency.