Senior Director, AIRx Discovery Biology Lead
Takeda
August 07, 2026
Remote friendly (Boston, MA)
United States
$212,000 - $333,190 USD yearly
Clinical Research and Development
Senior Director, AIRx Discovery Biology Lead
Responsibilities / Accountabilities
- Own disease biology and target validation strategy across the AIRx portfolio; ensure mechanistic rationale, differentiation, and clinical line of sight.
- Define translational biomarker strategies for go/no-go decisions and future clinical development.
- Design and provide strategic oversight of CRO-executed in vitro and in vivo biology studies; critically evaluate data packages for quality and decision-readiness.
- Integrate biology data into AI-enabled DMTA cycles with medicinal/computational chemists, DMPK, safety, and structural biology.
- Challenge scientific assumptions to ensure biological integrity and mechanistic depth in program decisions.
- Represent biology at governance forums; contribute to IND-enabling biology packages.
- Stay current with disease biology and the competitive landscape; proactively inform the team.
- Shape and role-model how biology is practiced in the AIRx operating model.
Qualifications / Competencies
- PhD in cell biology, molecular biology, pharmacology, or related field.
- 12–15+ years drug discovery experience with strong target validation and disease biology track record.
- Proven IND contributions; experience supporting IND-enabling biology packages.
- Experience designing/managing externalized CRO biology programs; ability to scope, oversee, and interpret study data.
- Ability to connect target biology to clinical hypothesis and translational strategy.
- AI/ML data integration experience; comfortable with large multi-source datasets.
- Experience in at least one therapeutic area in the Takeda Research portfolio.
- Excellent cross-functional collaboration; effective in lean, fast-paced teams.
Responsibilities / Accountabilities
- Own disease biology and target validation strategy across the AIRx portfolio; ensure mechanistic rationale, differentiation, and clinical line of sight.
- Define translational biomarker strategies for go/no-go decisions and future clinical development.
- Design and provide strategic oversight of CRO-executed in vitro and in vivo biology studies; critically evaluate data packages for quality and decision-readiness.
- Integrate biology data into AI-enabled DMTA cycles with medicinal/computational chemists, DMPK, safety, and structural biology.
- Challenge scientific assumptions to ensure biological integrity and mechanistic depth in program decisions.
- Represent biology at governance forums; contribute to IND-enabling biology packages.
- Stay current with disease biology and the competitive landscape; proactively inform the team.
- Shape and role-model how biology is practiced in the AIRx operating model.
Qualifications / Competencies
- PhD in cell biology, molecular biology, pharmacology, or related field.
- 12–15+ years drug discovery experience with strong target validation and disease biology track record.
- Proven IND contributions; experience supporting IND-enabling biology packages.
- Experience designing/managing externalized CRO biology programs; ability to scope, oversee, and interpret study data.
- Ability to connect target biology to clinical hypothesis and translational strategy.
- AI/ML data integration experience; comfortable with large multi-source datasets.
- Experience in at least one therapeutic area in the Takeda Research portfolio.
- Excellent cross-functional collaboration; effective in lean, fast-paced teams.