Head of Sales

Parallel Bio • San Francisco, CA

3d • $160,000 - $190,000

About The Position

Drug discovery has a translation problem: more than 95% of drugs that succeed in animal models fail in humans. We're building the alternative: human-first drug discovery, powered by organoids and AI, running on real human biology from the very first experiment. Our platform is 87% concordant with clinical patient data - a vast improvement over the 3% translational success rate of animals. We’ve demonstrated the ability to model immunotoxicology, immunogen stimulation, and two autoimmune diseases with more on the way. Numerous pharma partners including 3 Fortune 500 companies are already using the platform. We've raised ~$30M from AIX Ventures, Marc Benioff, Jeff Dean, and Y Combinator. With the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 and the FDA's March 2026 validation framework, the regulatory tailwinds only continue to get stronger. The opportunity ahead of the company is generational: build the first scaled engine for generating real human biological data, and use it to fundamentally change how medicines are discovered. The core problem in drug discovery is that there’s no reliable way to know how a compound will behave in a real human immune system before it enters patients. Animal models fail. Cell lines are too reductive. Clinical trials are too late. Parallel Bio has built the missing prediction layer: patient-derived immune organoids that fully recapitulate human immune system function, combined with advanced computation to generate population-scale drug response data. R&D leaders at biotech and pharma companies who see the platform immediately grasp what it means for their pipelines. Your job is to get them to that moment, and close. We have major pharma Fortune 500 partners, validated technology, and a product the market has been waiting for. What we need now is someone to build the global commercial infrastructure to own and scale our process.

Requirements

• 5+ years of technical sales experience with a documented track record of exceeding quota in high-stakes environments (eg Biotech, MedTech, or Enterprise AI)
• Demonstrated experience closing complex, multi-stakeholder deals with long sales cycles (6–18 months)
• Background in Life Sciences (B.S./M.S. in a relevant discipline) or equivalent “on-the-job” technical expertise gained in a complex medical/biotech sales environment
• Comfort translating platform science into a business case for C-level and R&D buyers simultaneously
• You are “scrappy” — willing to create the outreach templates, build the sales process, and work leads that don’t yet exist
• You understand that selling a new paradigm requires relentless follow-up and the social intelligence to maintain long-term institutional trust
• You don’t wait for inbound; you build the pipeline yourself

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience as an early commercial hire at a startup, or in a role that required building pipeline and process from scratch is a plus
• At least one role with 3+ years tenure is a plus

Responsibilities

• Market Build & Revenue. You own the number. You’ll aggressively target and open new accounts across a tiered customer base, from global pharmaceutical companies to high-growth biotech startups, carrying your own quota.
• Front-Line Outreach. You own your pipeline directly. That means consistent cold calling, daily outreach, and personally working R&D and Discovery leads. This is a hands-on role where you will be driving new business acquisition.
• Platform Adoption. Prove the scientific utility and translational value of our platform to R&D Heads and C-level executives. You’ll translate complex biology into a compelling commercial narrative.
• Customer Stewardship & Expansion. Maintain high-level relationships with existing accounts to ensure they see the long-term value of our data, driving multi-year, and expanded adoption.
• Team Building. As your success scales, you’ll help hire and develop the team. You’re responsible for ensuring junior Account Executives succeed, coaching them on technical objection handling and building the sales culture from the ground up.
• Operational Excellence. You’ll lead by example on CRM discipline. You’ll insist on clean data, consistent pipeline hygiene, and tight alignment between commercial activity and company-wide scientific goals.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree