Associate Director, Biotherapeutic Production and Characterization

Location: Somerville, Massachusetts, United States

Base salary: $160,000–$210,000 per year, plus annual bonus, equity compensation, and benefits.

Company

hirify.global is a clinical-stage generative biology company using machine learning and large-scale experimentation to design proteins and develop protein-based medicines.

What you will do

• Lead protein production, purification, characterization, quality control, normalization, and assay-ready handoff across mammalian, bacterial, and cell-free systems.
• Develop solutions for difficult antigens, membrane proteins, multispecific antibodies, and other complex modalities through construct optimization, format selection, alternative expression systems, labeling, and enabling technologies.
• Establish standards for yield, purity, aggregation, concentration, identity, oligomeric state, stability, biotinylation, and related quality attributes.
• Plan portfolio priorities, resources, capacity, timelines, outsourced activities, and external spend.
• Manage CRO, vendor, and technology-provider relationships and communicate progress, risks, resource needs, and tradeoffs to senior stakeholders.
• Lead automation, structured data, AI/ML-enabled tools, agentic workflows, operational metrics, risk management, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• PhD in biochemistry, molecular biology, chemical engineering, bioengineering, protein sciences, or a related discipline with 8 years of relevant industry experience; or an M.S. in a related discipline with 10 years of relevant industry experience.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing scientific teams in a biotechnology or pharmaceutical environment.
• Experience producing or characterizing complex biologics, including multispecific antibodies.
• Expertise in protein expression, purification, characterization, construct design and optimization, protein formats, boundary engineering, affinity tags, and site-specific labeling strategies.
• Strong experience with mammalian expression systems; experience with cell-free or other specialized systems is valuable.
• Expertise in affinity capture, size-exclusion chromatography, and other protein-purification methods used to generate high-quality research or assay-enabling material.
• Understanding of analytical and biochemical methods for evaluating protein purity, aggregation, concentration, identity, stability, oligomeric state, and related quality attributes.
• Experience managing CRO, vendor, and external technology-partner relationships.
• Track record of improving workflows, implementing technologies, and increasing throughput, reproducibility, material quality, or operational efficiency.
• Strong resource planning, prioritization, and decision-making skills for complex scientific and operational problems involving competing programs, capacity, timelines, partnerships, and approved spending plans.

Culture & Benefits

• Lead and develop a high-performing team spanning construct design, molecular biology, expression, purification, characterization, and protein reagent operations.
• Build a culture centered on technical excellence, inclusion, integrity, urgency, collaboration, accountability, and career development.
• Competitive benefits package, annual bonus eligibility, and equity compensation.
• Equal employment opportunity is provided regardless of protected characteristics.