Director, Biology Group Lead

At RayzeBio, every day is an opportunity to ignite meaningful change. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, RayzeBio blends the nimble, pioneering spirit of an emergent biotech with the global expertise and resources of a leading innovator in oncology. Our mission is to develop transformative radiopharmaceutical therapies that offer new hope for patients living with cancer. Here, you’ll join a multidisciplinary team where your ideas are valued, your expertise is amplified, and collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. From day one, expect to make an immediate impact—on our science, on our teams, and most importantly, on patients. Learn more about RayzeBio: https://careers.bms.com/rayzebio/

We are seeking an accomplished scientific leader to lead our biology organization. This individual will oversee target discovery, target validation, pharmacology, and candidate selection activities across our radiopharmaceutical discovery portfolio. The successful candidate will provide scientific vision, organizational leadership, and strategic direction while fostering a collaborative, innovative, and execution-focused research environment.

Position Summary:

The Director, Biology Group Lead will lead biology organization responsible for discovering and validating novel targets and advancing differentiated radiopharmaceutical candidates from target identification through IND-enabling studies.

This individual will establish biology strategies across the discovery portfolio, integrating molecular biology, pharmacology, translational science, imaging, radiochemistry, medicinal chemistry, and DMPK to drive successful candidate nominations.

The successful candidate will possess deep expertise in oncology drug discovery, strong scientific leadership, outstanding people management skills, and a demonstrated track record of delivering clinical development candidates.

The role will also provide strategic leadership in the development of quantitative pharmacology and target engagement platforms, ensuring robust biochemical and cellular characterization of drug–target interactions to support target validation, lead optimization, and candidate selection across the radiopharmaceutical portfolio.

Key Responsibilities:

Scientific Leadership

• Develop and execute biology strategy supporting discovery and development of novel radiopharmaceutical therapies.

• Build and lead a high-performing biology organization encompassing target identification, target validation, pharmacology, translational biology and mechanism-of-action studies.

• Drive scientific strategy from target nomination through candidate selection and IND-enabling activities.

• Establish rigorous target validation frameworks incorporating biological relevance, target accessibility, internalization, biodistribution, imaging, dosimetry, and translational considerations unique to RPT.

• Champion innovative approaches to identifying first- and best-in-class oncology targets.

Drug Discovery Leadership

• Lead biology groups supporting multiple discovery programs simultaneously.

• Define biology screening funnels and candidate selection criteria for radiopharmaceutical programs.

• Partner closely with Radiochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Imaging Sciences, DMPK, Toxicology, Clinical Pharmacology, Regulatory, and CMC teams.

• Ensure biology data are integrated with chemistry, imaging, and pharmacokinetic data to enable informed portfolio decisions.

• Guide mechanism-of-action studies and translational strategies supporting clinical development.

Assay Development, Quantitative Pharmacology & Platform Leadership

• Establish and lead quantitative pharmacology and assay development strategies that support target discovery, validation, lead optimization, and candidate selection across the radiopharmaceutical portfolio.

• Provide scientific leadership for the development and implementation of robust biochemical and cell-based target engagement platforms, including radioligand binding, flow cytometry, TR-FRET/HTRF, and high-content imaging assays.

• Oversee quantitative characterization of drug-target interactions using equilibrium and kinetic pharmacology approaches to define affinity, binding kinetics, receptor occupancy, residence time, and target density.

• Drive integration of biochemical and cellular binding data to inform target biology, mechanism of action, and candidate optimization while accounting for receptor biology and assay context.

• Ensure implementation of rigorous experimental design, quantitative analysis, and statistical methods to generate reproducible, high-quality data that support portfolio decisions.

• Evaluate and implement emerging quantitative pharmacology and target engagement technologies to strengthen internal discovery capabilities.

Target Discovery & Validation

Lead biology activities including:

• Target identification using genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, spatial biology, and literature mining.

• Target validation using in vitro and in vivo pharmacology.

• Development of biochemical and cellular assays supporting target engagement.

• Evaluation of receptor density, internalization, retention, trafficking, and target biology.

• Integration of imaging and dosimetry data into target prioritization.

Portfolio & Project Leadership

• Serve as Biology Lead on cross-functional project teams and provide strategic recommendations to governance committees regarding program prioritization and resource allocation.

• Drive milestone achievement from discovery through IND candidate nomination.

• Evaluate external opportunities including licensing, collaborations, and acquisitions.

• Leverage AI to drive program, portfolio, or functional performance through prioritization and scaled adoption

People Leadership

• Recruit, mentor, and develop exceptional scientists.

• Foster an innovative, collaborative, and scientifically rigorous culture.

• Establish organizational goals, priorities, and performance expectations.

• Build capabilities supporting future portfolio growth.

External Scientific Leadership

• Build productive collaborations with academic investigators, biotechnology companies, CROs, and strategic partners.

• Represent the company at scientific conferences and advisory boards.

• Publish high-impact scientific work where appropriate.

• Maintain awareness of emerging technologies relevant to radiopharmaceutical drug discovery.

Qualifications:

• PhD in Cancer Biology, Pharmacology, Molecular Biology, Immunology, or related scientific discipline.

• 12+ years of biotechnology or pharmaceutical or similar industry experience.

• Demonstrated leadership in oncology drug discovery and proven track record of advancing discovery programs from target identification through development candidate selection.

• Significant experience leading multidisciplinary research teams with strong understanding of oncology biology, pharmacology, and translational science.

• Experience integrating biology with medicinal chemistry, DMPK, imaging, toxicology, and clinical development.

• Excellent communication and organizational leadership skills.

• Demonstrated success mentoring and developing scientists.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience developing radiopharmaceutical therapies strongly preferred.

• Deep understanding of target biology relevant to radioligand therapies, including target expression, internalization, retention, biodistribution, dosimetry, and companion imaging.

• Experience supporting IND filings and early clinical development.

• Knowledge of theranostic strategies and biomarker-driven patient selection.

• Experience evaluating external technologies and business development opportunities.

• Strong publication record and recognized scientific leadership within oncology and/or radiopharmaceuticals.

Why Join Us

This is a unique opportunity to define the biology strategy for next-generation radiopharmaceutical therapies and lead a talented team dedicated to bringing transformative medicines to patients with cancer.

You will play a pivotal role in shaping the future discovery portfolio, advancing innovative targets into the clinic, and building one of the industry's leading biology organizations in radiopharmaceutical drug discovery.

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

San Diego - RayzeBio - CA: $227,418 - $275,577

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience. 

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.
 

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.

• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).

• Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.

​Work-life benefits include:

Paid Time Off

• US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)

• Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays

Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.

All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

*Eligibility Disclosure: The summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program.

RayzeBio and Bristol Myers Squibb

RayzeBio was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) in 2024 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMS; however, RayzeBio will continue to operate as a standalone organization.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS and RayzeBio are dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS and RayzeBio will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection/

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at TAEnablement@bms.com. Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response.

R1605184 : Director, Biology Group Lead