Director/Sr. Director, Information Technology

Manifold Bio•Boston, MA

1d•$200,000 - $260,000

About The Position

Manifold Bio is seeking its first dedicated IT leader to keep the company secure and scalable as it grows and expands into new space. This hands-on role owns an IT program already in progress, including single sign-on, a security awareness program, and a new network, and is responsible for configuring systems, resolving issues, and establishing standards. The IT leader will work closely with the COO, cloud and data engineers, AI and computational scientists, and the lab automation team. The role covers day-to-day IT across offices and labs, identity and workplace systems, security, infrastructure, vendors, budgets, and development of the IT function. The leader will take over the program from the fractional CIO, learn how the labs and computational teams operate, and progressively assume independent ownership of IT operations, security records, and runbooks. The position will also help prepare IT practices for the controls associated with programs moving toward the clinic and build a multi-year roadmap tied to hiring, facilities, and clinical plans.

Requirements

10 or more years of experience in IT, including at least three years in a startup or high-growth company; biotech or another science-driven business is ideal.
Exposure to GxP or computer system validation.
Experience supporting lab instruments and automation.
Experience as the first or only IT leader at a growing company and building the IT function.
Hands-on depth in identity and single sign-on (Okta or similar), Google Workspace, Mac and Windows management, and networking.
Security experience, including leading an incident response and taking a company through customer or partner security reviews.
Network management experience across a complex environment spanning multiple floors and labs.
Experience managing IT vendors, contracts, and a budget.
Ability to work alongside engineers with deep cloud infrastructure expertise, and judgment about when to lead and when to support.
Clear writing and plain speaking with scientists, executives, and vendors.

Nice To Haves

AWS identity and access management experience.
Experience setting guardrails for AI tools or agents.
Experience moving a company into a larger, multi-floor site.

Responsibilities

Own day-to-day IT for employees across offices and labs, supporting Mac and Windows devices.
Administer Okta or the identity platform, Google Workspace, Slack, device management, and the password manager.
Manage onboarding and offboarding, ensuring access is available on the first day and removed the day someone leaves.
Maintain accurate records of devices, applications, licenses, and owners, and reclaim unused resources.
Keep conference rooms, printing, and everyday workplace tools operational.
Own the security program, including phishing-resistant sign-in, endpoint protection, awareness training, phishing tests, incident response, and tabletop exercises.
Respond to security questionnaires and partner diligence requests with supporting evidence.
Enforce least-privilege access, including for executives and administrators.
Maintain cyber insurance requirements and prepare evidence for renewals.
Partner with cloud and data engineers on AWS identity, access, logging, and backup, setting guardrails while engineers operate the platform.
Help determine how AI agents may access data and systems while protecting the company.
Own the network across two floors with the network partner.
Run backup and recovery for cloud, storage, and SaaS data, including scheduled restore tests.
Keep lab instruments connected, patched on a schedule that respects their runs, and recoverable, in collaboration with lab automation.
Manage IT service providers and contractors against clear service levels.
Build and manage the IT budget, recommend when to add IT staff or services, and follow the company’s purchase approval process.
Write and maintain standards and runbooks to support IT as the company scales.
Work with Quality to prepare IT practices for controls associated with programs moving toward the clinic.
Develop a multi-year IT roadmap and investment plan with the COO and finance, aligned with hiring, space, and clinical plans.
Take over the existing IT program from the fractional CIO, learn how the labs and computational teams work, and meet every team.