Executive Director, Toxicology

Role Summary

As the Head of Toxicology, you will sit at the crucial intersection of Discovery and Development, supporting both our internal pipeline and strategic partnerships. You will lead a team responsible for embedding modern, data-driven decision-making into our NCE progression, accelerating our mission to decode biology to radically improve lives. You will champion the adoption and validation of highly predictive human models to drive industrialized drug discovery, positioning Recursion at the forefront of the industry’s shift away from traditional pre-clinical studies.

Responsibilities

• Guide internal strategy and external collaborations to ensure Recursion's toxicology and safety science remains state-of-the-art, driven by the mantra to "predict more, test less."
• Provide pivotal support to Discovery teams, guiding exploratory small molecule safety studies toward Development Candidate (DC) nomination.
• Support Development teams in navigating regulatory (GLP / IND-enabling) small molecule studies through First-in-Human (FIH) trials and beyond.
• Partner with data science, AI, and machine learning experts to design, deploy, and leverage computational and predictive tools that generate robust, clinically relevant translational datasets within the Recursion OS.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. is strongly preferred together with accreditation such as ERT or DABT.
• Experience leading teams in a mix of company types (CRO, large pharma, biotech).
• Integrator of information, skilled at synthesizing complex data to provide data-driven recommendations and risk assessments as projects advance.
• Demonstrated ability to lead interdisciplinary, cross-functional teams in a complex organization; capable of managing multiple projects to high quality, on time, and on budget.
• Proven track record of supporting programs from preclinical discovery into clinical development for small molecule drugs.
• Strong working knowledge of preclinical drug discovery models and ability to synthesize scientific content and strategy for senior management; able to manage complex variables and uncertainty to align development with preclinical research.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and high-level negotiation skills; able to resolve conflict with diverse stakeholders across discovery, clinical, regulatory, and operations teams.
• Exceptional attention to detail with strong planning, time management, and organizational skills.

Skills

• Strategic leadership and cross-functional collaboration
• Data-driven decision making and translational science
• Regulatory navigation (GLP, IND-enabling, FIH)
• Communication, presentation, and negotiation
• Project prioritization and risk assessment