Denali Therapeutics Inc. is a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of biotherapeutics designed to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) using its proprietary TransportVehicle™ platform. With the first FDA-approved biologic specifically designed to cross the BBB, a clinically validated delivery platform and a growing portfolio of therapeutic candidates across all stages of development, we are advancing toward our goal of delivering effective medicines to transform the lives of people living with neurodegenerative diseases, lysosomal storage disorders and other serious diseases.
Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant, Early Development will play a critical role in driving active, full life-cycle recruiting for Denali's Development organization, with a focus on early-development functions: the scientists, physicians, and program leaders who take assets from translational research and IND-enabling work through early clinical development. This is a full-time contract engagement (six months), fully remote-eligible, reporting to the Director of Talent Acquisition. This is a full req-load role, partnering directly with hiring managers, functional leaders, and HR Business Partners across Development and other functions as needed. The majority of searches are unique, highly specialized one-off roles rather than repeat requisitions, requiring deep functional knowledge to source and assess effectively.
Key Accountabilities / Core Responsibilities:
Full Life-Cycle Recruiting & Direct Sourcing
- Own full-cycle recruiting (intake, sourcing, screening, interview coordination, offer negotiation, and close) for roles across Denali's Development function, including but not limited to:
- Clinical Development & Clinical Operations (Clinical Scientists, Clinical Trial Managers, Medical Directors)
- Clinical Pharmacology & Quantitative Pharmacology/Pharmacometrics
- DMPK and Nonclinical Safety/Toxicology
- Regulatory Affairs & Regulatory Operations
- Drug Safety / Pharmacovigilance
- Manage a portfolio of concurrent searches spanning Scientist/Associate through Director and Senior Director levels, calibrating sourcing strategy to seniority and scarcity of talent.
Stakeholder Partnership & Candidate Experience
- Act as a strategic partner to hiring managers: run intake meetings that get to real role requirements, advise on realistic market data (timelines, talent availability), and aid hiring managers in structuring and guiding the interview team.
- Deliver a high-touch, transparent candidate experience for a technical, PhD/MD-heavy candidate population.
- Advise HR leadership on candidate compensation expectations, keep candidates informed of and aligned to the approved salary/comp range throughout the process, and present and negotiate offers on Denali's behalf.
Systems & Reporting
- Manage candidates through Denali's ATS (Workday Recruiting), ensuring accurate candidate tracking, interview scheduling, and reporting.
- Maintain close, ongoing coordination with the Director of Talent Acquisition, proactively surfacing progress, roadblocks, and candidate or hiring manager concerns rather than operating as a fully independent, outside resource.
Qualifications/Skills:
Education & Experience
- 8–10+ years of full life-cycle recruiting experience, with a significant portion spent recruiting within the biotech industry (in-house or agency).
- Demonstrated success recruiting for early-development / preclinical-through-early-clinical functions (e.g., Clinical Development, Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology/Nonclinical Safety, DMPK, Regulatory Affairs, or Drug Safety).
- Proven ability to independently manage a full requisition load (typically 10–15+ concurrent searches) across multiple functions and levels with minimal ramp time.
- Hands-on ATS proficiency; Workday Recruiting experience strongly preferred.
- Experience recruiting for both scientific (PhD-level) and clinical/medical (MD-level) populations.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong direct-sourcing skills: you don't wait for inbound; you know how to find passive, highly specialized scientific and clinical talent.
- Experience partnering with and influencing senior scientific/clinical hiring managers (Director level and above).
- Familiarity with GxP (GCP/GLP/GMP) context as it relates to role requirements and candidate evaluation.
- Comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy in a lean, fast-paced, contract capacity; you can hit the ground running with light onboarding.
- Excellent written and verbal communication; polished candidate- and stakeholder-facing presence.
- Knowledgeable and skilled in using AI tools to speed up candidate review (e.g., resume screening, initial assessment), while maintaining sound human judgment and analysis in final evaluations and decisions.