About Raven:
We are Raven, RA Capital’s healthcare incubator. From discovery to delivery, whether we incubate, accelerate or rejuvenate, Raven’s goal is to turn scientific breakthroughs into transformative therapies and get them quickly, safely and efficiently to the patients that need them most. Raven’s experienced scientists, operators, and healthcare innovators have deep sector expertise across therapeutics, diagnostics, devices and services. They have brought hundreds of therapeutics into development, managed hospital systems, optimized clinical trials and navigated payor and regulatory systems to deliver patient impact - and they are ready to work with you.
About RA Capital:
Founded in 2004, RA Capital Management is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare, life sciences, and planetary health companies. RA Capital creates and funds innovative companies, from private seed rounds to public follow-on financings, allowing management teams to drive value creation from inception through commercialization and beyond. RA Capital's knowledge engine is guided by our TechAtlas internal research division, and Raven, RA Capital’s company building team, offers entrepreneurs and innovators a collaborative and comprehensive platform to explore the novel and the re-imagined. RA Capital has more than 150 employees and over $10 billion in assets under management.
Company Background
We are a well-funded, stealth-mode biotechnology focused on next generation oligo-based modalities targeting tissues beyond the liver, muscle, and kidney. We are building
a platform to deliver oligos with high precision to previously untargeted cells, while focused on “undruggable” genes, alone or in combination with previously validated targets. Many of our targets carry "pipeline-in-a-drug" potential: a single gene or protein with meaningful biological effects across multiple disease areas. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was incubated in RA Capital’s venture group (Raven) and is led by an experienced CEO. After a robust incubation and vetting process, Raven StealthCo was launched and funded by RA Capital. The company’s therapeutic areas of interest lie outside commonly targeted cells and tissues, and represent multi-billion-dollar markets that are continuing to grow as the
population ages. Our initial focus is creating transformational therapies to treat diseases, but given the platform potential, we have longer-term ambitions to address healthy aging. These targets are backed by strong biological and genetic evidence but have historically resisted small molecule and biologic approaches. Raven StealthCo is moving quickly to address multiple disease indications at scale and with significant market potential.
Opportunity
The company is in the discovery stage and plans to invest significantly in its emerging oligo delivery platform. Its focus areas are supported by highly predictive animal models with strong translatability to humans, offering us a potentially rapid and efficient path to the clinic. Following recent funding and with a commitment to building a first-in-class platform around clear therapeutic targets and indications, we are recruiting a Senior Director/Director Biology. This individual will oversee further target identification and pathway validation, ex vivo cell culture assay development, and in vivo pharmacology. The Senior Director/Director of Biology will partner with senior leaders, including the delivery group, to shape the overall scientific vision and therapeutic programs.
The Position
The Senior Director/Director Biology will report directly to the Head of Research/CSO. This individual will work closely with cross-functional leaders to translate the delivery platform into therapeutic programs with deep biological insights. The Senior Director/Director will hold a key position in formulating and implementing the scientific strategy for development of our disease biology platform from in vitro assays to in vivo pre-clinical pharmacology in various models and species, as well as in recruiting, mentoring, and coaching the skilled scientific team under their leadership.
Specific responsibilities for the Senior Director/Director Biology include:
Build a research team of 3 while strategically leveraging consultants and CROs to accelerate early-stage discovery
Lead a deep understanding of initial indication area biology by developing relationships with KOLs and extending further insights into the MOA of lead target(s) utilizing physiological and next-generation “omic” measurement tools
Synthesize large datasets alongside mechanistic insights in cell biology and physiology to identify and prioritize novel targets actionable via company's platform
Develop and own the suite of in vitro and in vivo assays needed for lead indication biology, including endpoint measurements for target manipulation across relevant cell types
Lead and manage CRO partnerships supporting in vivo pharmacology, including design and evaluation of readouts across relevant disease models
Collaborate with the VP of Delivery to analyze the biodistribution and pharmacodynamic metrics of the delivery platform, including assessments of proximal oligonucleotide effects on target genes (e.g. IHC, spatial transcriptomics, and mass spectrometry)
Contribute to company-level strategic decisions on target and program selection, with particular attention to how biology findings inform platform development
Communicate strategy and progress to internal and external stakeholders, including supporting fundraising efforts and strategic partnering as the company matures
Track developments in lead indication biology and the competitive landscape
The Individual
At a personal level, we are looking for someone who is intellectually curious, collaborative, humble, and driven. The candidate will have the adaptability to thrive in an early-stage environment where priorities shift and roles are broad. The Senior Director/Director must bring sound judgment, strong organizational instincts, and the ability to move fluidly between hands-on experimental work and strategic thinking. We are building a culture where the science and the team come first; this person should embody that ethos and bring the interpersonal range to lead effectively within it.
From an educational perspective, we are seeking an individual with a Ph.D. and/or M.D. in a relevant discipline such as chemistry or protein engineering. It is understood that education, while an important index of achievement, orientation, and intellectual capacity, will not constitute the primary variable in this decision process. Personal characteristics, leadership abilities, technical fluency, creativity, work ethic, behavioral flexibility and demonstrated accomplishments will serve as key components in the evaluation of candidates. This person will be based on-site at the company’s headquarters in Cambridge, MA.
The base salary range reflects our good faith estimate at the time of posting. Final compensation will depend on factors like experience, skills, and location. The role may also be eligible for an annual bonus and long-term incentives. Compensation and benefits may be updated in the future.
Salary base range
$210,000 - $280,000USD