Director, Program Management

Absci•New York, NY

16d•$185,000 - $210,000

About The Position

Absci is seeking a Director, Program Management to drive the planning and execution of its most complex and strategically important therapeutic programs, from discovery through IND and into the clinic. As its most senior individual-contributor program manager, this person will serve as the dedicated program management partner to a program leader across a portfolio of assets, taking on programs with the highest execution risk, including IND-enabling work, first-in-human transitions, and programs advancing without established precedent. This is a hands-on ownership role. The Director will own integrated development plans and the single source of truth for program status, drive resource and budget commitments with functional leaders, manage external partners, and prepare programs for stage-gate decisions. The role partners across AI, Discovery, Protein Engineering, Bioassays, Translational Studies, CMC, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory, Finance, and Alliance Management teams. The successful candidate will build trust across the organization, bring clarity and integrity to planning and reporting, identify risks and interdependencies proactively, develop mitigation strategies, and provide leadership with a clear view of program status and options. The role calls for a self-starter who navigates ambiguity, makes sound decisions with incomplete information, and moves work forward autonomously. The Director will engage with executive leadership, governance committees, and alliance partners, driving decisions through influence. They will also use agentic AI tools and multi-agent workflows to accelerate planning, analysis, and reporting. Beyond managing their own programs, the Director will help define program management practices at Absci by setting standards, mentoring other program managers, and advancing the function’s standards and capabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, engineering, or technical discipline; equivalent combinations with an advanced degree will be considered.
10+ years of professional experience in fast-paced biotech environments, including 5+ years leading drug development programs.
Demonstrated success in fast-paced biotech organizations with high performance expectations, delivering with rigor, speed, and accountability.
Experience managing drug development programs across discovery, preclinical, and IND-enabling stages.
Hands-on ownership of integrated development plans, critical-path management, budgets, and cross-functional resource planning across concurrent programs.
Direct experience managing CRO and CDMO execution to schedule, budget, and quality.
Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage senior stakeholders, including executive leadership, governance committees, and alliance partners, driving alignment and decisions without direct authority.
Strong command of program management tools and practices, such as MS Project, Smartsheet, portfolio dashboards, and scenario planning, as well as drug development processes and milestones.
Hands-on experience with agentic AI tools, including AI agents and multi-agent workflows for program planning, analysis, and reporting.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to distill complexity for senior leadership.
Self-starter with sound judgment who thrives in ambiguity and operates autonomously in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Legal authorization to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MS, PhD, or MBA).
Exposure to clinical trial execution and regulatory submissions.
Experience advancing antibody or other biologics programs from discovery through IND.
Experience partnering with AI, machine learning, or computational platform teams in a drug discovery setting.
Experience in a small- to mid-cap or clinical-stage biotech, or in a rapidly scaling organization.
PMP, PgMP, or equivalent project/program management certification; Lean / Six Sigma is a plus.
Familiarity with GxP requirements and clinical-stage quality expectations.
Direct experience managing clinical-stage programs.

Responsibilities

Serve as the dedicated program management partner to a program leader across a portfolio of assets, including complex, high-risk, and IND-enabling programs from discovery through IND and clinical entry.
Build and maintain integrated cross-functional development plans as the single source of truth for critical path, scope, timeline, and budget.
Translate the design-build-test-learn cadence of Absci’s AI-driven platform into executable, resourced plans, including for new modalities, bespoke IND paths, and first-in-human transitions.
Partner with functional leaders to forecast and align program resources and shape development strategy through scenario modeling, milestone forecasting, and resource trade-off analysis.
Manage multiple CROs, CDMOs, and other external partners against agreed scope, schedule, budget, and quality standards.
Maintain escalation criteria and early-warning thresholds, raise risks early with proposed mitigations, and adapt to reprioritization, negative data, and changes in timelines or resources.
Prepare programs for stage-gate and governance reviews; represent programs to the executive team, governance committees, and alliance partners; and support evidence-based decisions, including recommendations to discontinue programs.
Maintain portfolio dashboards and provide regular updates on program status, spend, and cycle-time metrics, identifying issues early and proposing paths forward.
Continuously improve program management standards, tools, and planning disciplines across the organization.
Mentor program managers and serve as a change agent for planning and governance practices.
Use agentic AI tools and multi-agent workflows to streamline program planning, analysis, and reporting.