Office Coordinator

About Pairwise:

Pairwise is agriculture's gene editing powerhouse, building a healthier world through partnership and plant innovation. Co-founded by CRISPR pioneers, the company's Fulcrum Platform accelerates the development of climate-resilient, nutritious, and sustainable crops that are easier to grow and better to eat.

Founded in 2017 and based in Durham, North Carolina, Pairwise partners with global leaders and nonprofit institutions to help breeders move faster and transform food and agriculture for farmers, consumers, and the planet. The company collaborates with partners and licenses its Fulcrum CRISPR tools to diversify breeding programs and bring innovations to market faster-from developing the world's first pitless cherry to improving staple crops such as corn, soy, cacao, yam, and rice.

Backed by leading investors including Deerfield, Aliment Capital, Leaps by Bayer, Temasek, and Corteva Catalyst, Pairwise has raised $155 million in total funding. In 2025, the company was recognized as one of MIT Technology Review's 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch and named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in Agriculture, while also earning "Best Ag-Bio Company" honors in the Triangle Business Journal's Life Sciences Awards. For more information, visit www.pairwise.com.

About This Role:

The Admin, Office Manager & Facilities Coordinator is the operational backbone of Pairwise's Durham headquarters. This is a highly visible, high-impact role for someone who takes genuine pride in making the office run well - from keeping the CEO's calendar in order to setting up a team lunch, cleaning up after company events and meetings, and making sure a new hire's first day feels seamless.

This role is fully onsite. The work spans across administrative support for the CEO and CTO, day-to-day office management, event coordination and hands-on execution, and facilities oversight. No two days look exactly alike, and that's part of what makes it a great fit for someone who is energized by variety, takes ownership instinctively, and doesn't see any task as beneath them.

If you thrive in a support role, care about the details that make an environment work well and want to be part of a mission-driven company doing genuinely important science - this is the role for you.

Essential Functions:

Administrative Support to CEO & CTO

• Provide dedicated administrative support to the CEO and CTO, including proactive calendar management, meeting scheduling, travel coordination, and expense reporting
• Anticipate needs and manage competing priorities to protect the CEO's time and ensure critical commitments are met
• Maintain the Pairwise corporate meeting and holiday calendars
• Coordinate logistics for board meetings, leadership team sessions, and key internal and external meetings and support Pairwise Board of Directors as needed
• Draft and manage correspondence as needed, maintaining a professional and timely response cadence
• Assist HR and Chief of Staff as needed with various tasks

Office Management & Event Coordination

• Serve as the primary onsite point of contact for day-to-day operational needs, maintaining a welcoming and well-functioning headquarters environment
• Own full-cycle event coordination for internal gatherings, team lunches, all-hands meetings, offsites, and company events - including setup, catering coordination, and post-event cleanup
• Manage office supply procurement, vendor relationships, and onsite service contracts, balancing quality and cost-effectiveness
• Own the onsite experience for new hires, visitors, and guests, ensuring first impressions reflect Pairwise's culture and professionalism and partner with HR on onboarding logistics to ensure new employees are set up and ready from day one
• Liaise with visitors, investors, vendors, and candidates as required; coordinate conference room setup, offsite meeting locations, and catering as needed

Facilities Coordination

• Manage day-to-day facilities coordination, including building management relationships, maintenance requests, and vendor oversight
• Serve as the primary liaison with building management and external facilities vendors, tracking open items through to resolution
• Support safety and compliance requirements for the Durham office, coordinating with relevant internal stakeholders
• Partner with HR and Operations on space planning, utilization tracking, and onsite infrastructure as the company evolves

Required Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
• 3+ years of experience in an administrative or office management role; experience supporting senior leadership a plus
• Demonstrated ability to handle a wide range of tasks - from executive scheduling to physical event setup - with equal professionalism and ownership
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products including Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint
• Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion and good judgment
• Proactive problem-solver who anticipates needs and takes initiative without being asked
• Reliable, flexible, and fully comfortable being the person who makes things happen behind the scenes
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively across all levels of the organization

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a startup, biotech, or fast-paced growth-stage company environment
• Familiarity with facilities management, vendor coordination, and space planning
• Experience supporting a CEO or C-suite executive
• Experience planning and executing internal events end-to-end

What We Offer:

• Comprehensive Benefits Plan, including Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA/FSA, 401k, Life Insurance, Short-Term & Long-Term Disability, and more!
• Flexible PTO (use what you need, when you need it), in addition to company holidays.
• Casual work environment.
• Mission-driven organization focused on creating healthier fruits and veggies.
• A cutting-edge, driven community looking to lead the industry in innovation and nutrition.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and use hands to finger, handle or feel, and techniques that require fine motor skills and repetitive motions. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and lift or move items in support of office and event setup. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The employee is regularly required to talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

EEO Statement:

We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Pairwise we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

No Recruiters please.