Senior Manager/Director of Procurement

Alto Neuroscience•Mountain View, CA

12d•$165,000 - $220,000

About The Position

Alto Neuroscience is seeking a Senior Director of Procurement to lead global vendor contracting and management across research and clinical operations. The role owns the procurement function end to end, from strategy and policy through negotiation and structuring of complex supplier agreements, and works across Finance, Legal, and the business. The position may be onsite in Mountain View, California, or remote, and requires light travel. The leader will build and execute global procurement strategy, scale the procurement and contracts function, and establish policies, purchasing controls, and SOX-compliant processes. The role also has substantial hands-on contract responsibilities, covering complex life sciences, clinical, supply, consulting, and technology agreements, and partners cross-functionally to establish templates, fallback positions, and negotiation playbooks. The position oversees sourcing, supplier qualification and performance, procurement financial management, procure-to-pay processes, contract lifecycle management, spend analytics, and savings initiatives. It partners with Finance and FP&A on budgets, forecasts, accruals, purchase orders, and payment terms, while ensuring supplier contracts and operations support applicable quality, regulatory, privacy, and compliance requirements.

Requirements

At least 10 years of progressive procurement experience in biotech, pharmaceutical, or life sciences companies, including at least 5 years in a leadership role.
Significant legal experience and a substantial track record of independently drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, gained as in-house counsel, a contracts lead, or a procurement leader with direct contracting ownership.
Demonstrated expertise with life sciences agreements, including CRO, CDMO/CMO, clinical supply, and quality agreements.
Working knowledge of GxP, FDA, and EMA requirements as they apply to suppliers and outsourced activities.
Experience building procurement policies and controls in a public or pre-IPO company, including SOX.
Ability to negotiate high-value agreements of $10 million or more and manage executive-level supplier relationships.
Strong financial acumen, including total cost of ownership analysis and budget partnership with Finance.
Negotiation skills that balance commercial value, legal protection, and long-term supplier partnership.
Legal judgment to identify risk, determine when to hold firm, and know when to escalate to General Counsel.
Ability to build trust and influence R&D, Clinical, Manufacturing, Quality, Legal, and Finance stakeholders.
Clear communication skills, including translating complex contract terms into plain-language guidance for executives.
Integrity and commitment to ethical sourcing, compliance, and confidentiality standards.
Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, life sciences, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Paralegal or contracts certification.
Professional certification such as CPSM, CPPO, or CIPS.
Experience supporting a company through a clinical-stage-to-commercial transition, IPO, or acquisition.
Familiarity with IP, licensing, and technology transfer terms in supplier and collaboration agreements.
Experience with NetSuite.
Global sourcing experience across the US, EU, and Asia-Pacific; knowledge of GDPR is a plus.
MBA or advanced degree in supply chain management.

Responsibilities

Build and execute a global procurement strategy aligned with the company's research, clinical, and commercial roadmap.
Lead, develop, and scale a high-performing procurement and contracts function.
Implement procurement policy, delegation-of-authority matrices, purchasing controls, and SOX-compliant processes.
Advise the executive team on supplier risk and spend.
Draft, review, and negotiate complex agreements, including CDAs, MSAs, CRO, CDMO/CMO, clinical supply, consulting, and SaaS agreements.
Negotiate contract terms including indemnification, limitation of liability, IP ownership, artificial intelligence, confidentiality, data privacy, warranties, and termination rights.
Build and maintain preferred contract positions and approved fallback terms, using AI tools where appropriate.
Partner with Legal, Finance, Quality, Operations, and Compliance on templates, fallback positions, and negotiation playbooks.
Ensure supplier contracts support GxP, FDA/EMA, HIPAA, GDPR, and FCPA requirements.
Run RFI/RFP processes and coordinate supplier qualification and selection with cross-functional stakeholders.
Build supplier relationship management, performance scorecards, and business reviews for critical vendors.
Identify and mitigate supply chain risks, including single-source dependencies and geopolitical exposure.
Own the purchase order process, including PO creation, approval workflows, three-way matching, and timely closure of open POs.
Track budget-to-actual spend by department and category with the business operations owner, flagging variances and forecasting risks to Finance each month.
Partner with FP&A on annual budgeting and quarterly reforecasting for procurement-managed spend.
Support month-end close by preparing accurate accruals for goods and services received but not yet invoiced.
Manage prepayments, milestone payments, and payment terms for CROs, CDMOs, and other major vendors.
Enforce spend controls so commitments are not made without an approved PO or contract.
Oversee procure-to-pay processes, procurement systems, and contract lifecycle management.
Deliver spend analytics, savings tracking, and KPI reporting to leadership.
Drive cost avoidance and savings targets while protecting quality and timelines.