Associate Director / Director, Program Management, Life Sciences at lilasciences

Compensation

$148,000 – $224,000/yr

Location: Cambridge, Minnesota
Type: Full-time
Level: lead/mgmt
Posted: Aug 6, 2026

Description

Lila Sciences is hiring an Associate Director / Director, Program Management, Life Sciences to lead end-to-end planning, execution, reporting, risk management, and partner-facing governance for complex therapeutic drug discovery and development programs. The senior operator will coordinate science, engineering, machine learning, automation, product, and external partner teams; manage timelines, resources, milestones, dependencies, deliverables, and scalable program-management processes. The role requires substantial pharmaceutical or biotechnology experience, cross-functional program management expertise, drug discovery and development knowledge, and strong communication and influence skills. The position is full-time, offers a U.S. base salary of $148,000–$224,000, and includes medical, dental, and vision benefits for U.S. employees.

Required Skills

Program planning
Resource allocation
Risk management
Partner governance
Drug development
Stakeholder communication
Critical path analysis
AI platforms

Additional Information

Required Previous Experiences: At least 8 years of pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry experience in drug discovery, drug development, project management, or operations.
At least 5 years of program management, project management, or comparable cross-functional coordination experience with responsibility for timelines, resourcing, and tracking.
Experience managing external-partner programs, including milestones, governance, and stakeholder communication.
Preferred Qualifications: Experience with AI-native or platform-based drug discovery companies.
Experience managing discovery or preclinical collaborations, including alliance management, CRO/CDMO oversight, or joint research programs.
Familiarity with critical path analysis, scenario planning, resource management, and portfolio reporting.
Knowledge of LLMs and AI-driven science platforms and their implications for drug discovery partnerships.
Ability to communicate complex scientific and operational information to executives, scientific stakeholders, and external partners.