Executive Director, Toxicology

Role Summary

Executive Director, Toxicology — Lead the Toxicology function to advance discovery and development with data-driven decision-making, aiming to accelerate the company’s mission to decode biology and improve lives.

Responsibilities

• Guide internal strategy and external collaborations to ensure toxicology and safety science remain 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 ML experts to design, deploy, and leverage computational and predictive tools that generate robust translational datasets within the Recursion OS.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. is strongly preferred with accreditation such as ERT or DABT.
• Experience leading across CRO, large pharma, and biotech environments.
• Ability to synthesize complex data into data-driven recommendations and risk assessments for project teams, partners, and management.
• Proven ability to lead interdisciplinary, cross-functional teams; capable of managing multiple projects to high quality, on time, and on budget.
• Track record of supporting programs from preclinical discovery into clinical development for small molecule drugs.
• Strong knowledge of preclinical drug discovery models and the ability to align drug development with preclinical research; adept at handling complex variables and uncertainty.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and high-level negotiation skills; able to resolve conflicts 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 in toxicology and safety science
• Data-driven decision making and translational science
• Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management
• Regulatory knowledge (GLP, IND-enabling) and development pathway navigation
• Communication, negotiation, and presentation excellence

Education

• Ph.D. strongly preferred; professional accreditation such as ERT or DABT.

Additional Requirements

• Office-based, hybrid position with presence required at least 50% of the time in Salt Lake City, UT; London; or New York City location.