Vice President, Engineering
Formation BioAbout Formation Bio
Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development.
Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in-licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients. The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others.
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At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.
About the Position
Formation Bio is seeking a bold and forward-thinking Vice President of Engineering to lead and transform our technical capabilities into a strategic driver of clinical and commercial success. This critical leadership role will report to the CTO and serve as a senior thought partner in defining how sophisticated engineering and computational frameworks can fundamentally reshape drug development and asset acquisition.
The ideal candidate is a biotech-native technical leader who understands that our goal is not to build traditional software products, but to develop deep technical capabilities that drive hard insights. You will partner closely with Product to translate complex scientific and operational bottlenecks into high-leverage technology solutions that accelerate workflows and deliver higher-quality insights. You will oversee the engineering behind complex data science analyses - including Real-World Evidence (RWE) platforms, large-scale information ingestion pipelines, and comprehensive modeling - that move the needle for pharma decision-making. You bring the vision and [biotech] experience to ensure our technical foundation supports clinical-stage assets and highly regulated R&D workflows with precision and speed.
Responsibilities
- Define and execute a technical vision that prioritizes high-leverage computational capabilities over traditional software features, ensuring engineering effort directly increases drug asset quality and value.
- Act as a core collaborator for the CTO and leadership team, translating complex clinical and business bottlenecks into scalable engineering solutions.
- Embed engineering resources within Business Development, Clinical, and R&D units to leverage technology to address operational needs.
- Partner with Data Science to build the engineering architecture required for complex analysis, including Real-World Evidence (RWE) platforms, asset screening frameworks, and prediction pipelines.
- Collaborate with Product to build specialized tools that streamline R&D workflows, moving the needle from manual efforts to technology-augmented insight generation.
- Develop and scale proprietary platforms for the ingestion and operationalization of external, clinical, and biological datasets.
- Ensure the delivery of GxP-validated clinical environments and automated security compliance, maintaining a regulatory-first posture without sacrificing speed.
- Deploy and scale LLM-integrated features and autonomous agents to drive multiplier efficiencies across the organization.
- Manage and mentor a specialized engineering organization, fostering a high-performance culture that values technical rigor, interdisciplinary collaboration, and mission-driven delivery.
- Refine the team structure to maintain high talent density and quality engineering in a fast-paced biotech environment.
About You
- 10+ years of experience in software/data engineering and technical leadership, with a significant background in the Boston biotech or pharma-tech ecosystem.
- Biotech Intuition: You have likely been a VP of Engineering at 2–3 different biotechs and possess a deep understanding of the drug development lifecycle, from Discovery through Phase III.
- Proven People Leader: Experience managing and mentoring a team of 15+ engineers, with a track record of driving results in highly technical, interdisciplinary environments.
- Capability mindset: You understand that we aren't building a "user app"; we are building an engine for insights. You are passionate about the backend engineering required for RWE, data science, and trial automation.
- Engineering Rigor: Deep expertise in building data ingestion pipelines and managing complex, heterogeneous biological and clinical datasets.
- Regulatory Fluency: Experience working within GxP (GCP, GLP, GMP) environments. You know how to build technical capabilities that are "regulatory-ready" from day one.
- Strategic Partner: You are comfortable discussing risk-adjusted NPV, asset-level ROI, and clinical trial bottlenecks with CEOs, CMOs, and investors.
- Mission-Driven: Passionate about using hard engineering to solve the drug development bottleneck and bring life-changing treatments to patients faster.
Total Compensation Range: $347,000 - $435,000
Compensation Individual compensation is determined by several factors, including role scope, geographic location, and skills & experience. Your offer will reflect where you fall within the range based on these considerations. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, comprehensive benefits, and generous perks. If the posted range doesn't match your expectations, we still encourage you to apply!
Where We Hire Formation Bio is prioritizing hiring in key hubs, primarily the New York City and Boston metro areas, with a hybrid model requiring 1-3 days per week in office. Applicants from the Research Triangle (NC) and San Francisco Bay Area may also be considered. Please apply only if you reside in these locations or are willing to relocate.
Equal Opportunity Formation Bio is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.