Director, Program Management

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals•Headquarters, KY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Program Management is a leadership role responsible for driving cross-functional execution and providing strategic operational leadership for Crinetics’ drug development programs. As a senior member of the Program and Portfolio Management organization, this role serves as a strategic partner to the Program Global Product Leader (GPL), translating program strategy into integrated, executable plans and enabling timely, high-quality decision-making across a complex matrix. The Director owns the integrated program plan and critical path across one or more programs, leads program operating rhythms and governance forums, and proactively identifies risks, interdependencies, and tradeoffs across timeline, scope, and resourcing. The role provides clear, executive-ready visibility into program status, decisions, and delivery implications to support efficient advancement of programs from discovery through clinical development and regulatory submission. In addition to program-level leadership, the Director contributes to the maturation and scaling of PPM processes, tools, and best practices across the portfolio, and may mentor or guide junior project management staff.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a science-related field required; advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD, PharmD) strongly preferred.
12+ years of relevant biotechnology/pharmaceutical experience with 7+ years of direct project/program management experience in drug development (clinical-stage experience required; late-stage and/or regulatory submission experience strongly preferred).
Demonstrated experience leading and influencing cross-functional teams in a matrix organization, driving integrated planning, milestone execution, and delivery across multiple functions and programs simultaneously.
Strong strategic thinking and ability to connect program-level activities to broader portfolio and corporate objectives.
Proven PM fundamentals (meeting management, timeline/critical path management, risk and issue management, decision tracking, action management, governance preparation) with the ability to coach and develop these skills in others.
Proactive, forward-thinking, and able to anticipate needs in dynamic environments with competing priorities; comfortable operating with ambiguity and making sound judgments with incomplete information.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate across functions; proven ability to influence without authority at all levels of the organization including senior/executive leadership.
Excellent facilitation and communication skills (including executive-ready written and presentation skills) with demonstrated success influencing at all levels cross-functionally.
Highly collaborative with outstanding relationship-building skills; ability to lead teams, navigate ambiguity, and resolve conflict effectively.
Experience with project/portfolio management tools and systems (e.g., Planisware) and strong working knowledge of common collaboration tools (e.g., MS Office, Smartsheet, SharePoint).

Nice To Haves

Formal project management training and/or certification (e.g., PMP, PgMP) is preferred.
Oncology drug development experience preferred.
Experience supporting regulatory submissions (NDA/BLA/MAA) preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide senior PM leadership and strategic oversight for one or more drug development programs, ensuring cross-functional alignment, coordinated planning, and on-time delivery of key milestones across the oncology pipeline.
Serve as a strategic partner to the Program Global Product Leader (GPL), proactively anticipating program needs, identifying strategic options, and designing scalable, efficient team processes and operating rhythms.
Own and drive the integrated program plan, critical path, and scenario analyses; lead program teams through complex planning exercises including regulatory submissions, clinical milestones, and portfolio-level decision points.
Organize and facilitate Global Product Team and key sub-team/working group meetings, including agendas, attendee management, minutes, decisions, and action items.
Accurately and efficiently maintain and track detailed integrated timelines, milestones, and deliverables across all components of program plans (e.g., clinical, regulatory, CMC, nonclinical, clinical operations, biometrics, safety, medical writing, clinical pharmacology, quality, translational/biomarkers).
Facilitate identification of key dependencies, risks, and issues; drive mitigation strategies, decision support, escalation, and contingency planning at both program and portfolio levels.
Maintain dashboards and reporting mechanisms for program status, risks, decisions, and critical path updates for team and senior/executive leadership.
Facilitate cross-functional communications to gather inputs, align priorities, resolve conflicts, and share project updates; ensure clarity of owners, deliverables, and deadlines.
Maintain an integrated program calendar identifying critical decision points, governance reviews, team events, and key milestones.
Partner with Portfolio Management to ensure appropriate integration with overall portfolio strategy, timelines, and reporting, including alignment between development activities and portfolio-level planning.
Lead preparation for governance reviews and executive program presentations, ensuring materials are accurate, aligned, decision-oriented, and delivered on schedule.
Drive disciplined change control and documentation of scope/timeline changes, ensuring impacts are understood and communicated to stakeholders.
Champion consistency of PM practices, tools, and reporting within the broader PPM team; lead the development and continuous improvement of PM tools, templates, and best practices.
Contribute to PPM organizational development, including mentoring junior PM staff and supporting onboarding of new team members.
Lead or support additional PPM or enterprise projects from initiation through closeout, including stakeholder alignment, risk/issue management, and status reporting.
Manage both immediate execution needs and medium-term (2–3 year) strategic planning horizon while building scalable mechanisms that extend to future portfolio needs.