Director/Senior Director, Product - Applied Data Science
About the role
About 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
This role sits on Formation's Asset Acquisition & Diligence (AAD) team. In the course of evaluating and completing diligence on individual drug assets, our Data Science team runs sophisticated one-off analyses (e.g. a novel algorithm run against a specific gene or indication, a causal model built for a specific therapeutic hypothesis). Much of that work directly shapes a specific deal decision in the moment.
This role exists to take these and scale them into strategies and tools that can provide an organization level advantage. You will own the judgment call of which asset-evaluation and diligence analyses have generalization potential across the AAD team's sourcing and evaluation work, and what form that generalization should take: sometimes a landscape analysis (the same method run not on one gene, but on every gene, surfaced as a standing analysis that informs sourcing rather than a product), sometimes a fully engineered, scaled tool built in partnership with Data Science and Engineering. You are the connective tissue between one-off diligence work and durable diligence and sourcing capability.
This is a hybrid science and product role on AAD. You will set technical and product direction for a working team of data scientists and engineers who continue to report to their functional leads. You'll need enough technical depth to judge when a diligence method holds up at scale, and enough product judgment to know when “scale” means a single exhaustive analysis rather than a maintained tool - all in service of how Formation sources and evaluates drug assets.
Responsibilities
- Own the strategy for scaling Formation's data science work for asset acquisition and diligence. Decide which one-off analyses have generalization potential, in what form (landscape analysis vs. scaled tool), and how to measure success.
- Direct a working team spanning Data Science and Engineering day to day. Set the roadmap and sequence work based on business impact, coordinating with functional leads on resourcing. Execute against that roadmap with clear lines to business impact.
- Work directly with Data Science and Business Development as strategic partners. Translate scientific findings into a scaled roadmap, not by taking feature requests, but by understanding the science well enough to see generalization and alpha opportunities.
- Guide the technical approach on methods being scaled, including statistical validity at exhaustive scale, pipeline design, and dataset evaluation. You need enough technical judgment to know when an approach is sound and when to push back.
- Work with scientific and technical teams to identify any new opportunities for AI to impact Formation’s asset acquisition and diligence process and be able to pitch those to stakeholders with a clear explanation of resourcing and business impact.
About You
- 7+ years of experience in data science, applied science, or a technical product role with progressively broader scope, including at least one role where you were accountable for turning analytical work into a deployed capability.
- Life sciences experience: you've worked in biotech, pharma, or a related industry, and understand the drug development lifecycle well enough to have informed opinions about where a computational method holds up and where it doesn't.
- Strategic thinker: you decide what's worth scaling based on business and scientific impact, not novelty or ease of building. You're as comfortable saying a finding shouldn't scale as you are greenlighting one that should.
- AI/ML fluency: you can evaluate whether a method remains valid at exhaustive scale, make build-vs-buy calls on tooling, and push for AI/ML approaches where they create real leverage.
- Technical fluency: you can engage deeply with data scientists and engineers on method, architecture, and trade-offs. You know when a statistical approach breaks down outside the single case it was built for.
- Cross-functional influence: you've directed or coordinated technical teams, including engineers and data scientists, and you earn trust through technical credibility.
- Business fluency: you can discuss diligence findings, asset valuation, and scientific risk with senior leaders.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and autonomy: this is a new function at Formation, and the scope of what gets scaled and how will be defined in part by you.
- Mission-driven: you care about getting medicines to patients faster. That's what this company exists to do, and it matters to you.
Total Compensation Range: $245,000 - $307,000
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 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.
