Senior Director, AIRx Discovery Biology Lead

Responsibilities

• Own the disease biology and target validation strategy across the AIRx portfolio; ensure all programs have mechanistic rationale, clear differentiation, and clinical line of sight
• Define translational biomarker strategies supporting go/no-go decisions and future clinical development
• Design and provide strategic oversight of CRO-executed in vitro and in vivo biology studies; critically evaluate data packages for scientific quality and decision-readiness
• Integrate biology data into AI-enabled DMTA cycles alongside medicinal/computational chemists, DMPK, safety, and structural biology
• Challenge scientific assumptions across the team; ensure biological integrity and mechanistic depth underpin all program decisions
• Represent biology perspectives at Takeda governance forums; contribute to IND-enabling biology packages
• Stay current with disease biology and the competitive landscape; proactively inform the team of relevant developments
• Shape how biology is practiced in the AIRx model — your ways of working here will become the template for Takeda Research’s future operating model

Qualifications & Competencies

• PhD in cell biology, molecular biology, pharmacology, or closely related discipline
• 12-15+ years of drug discovery experience with a strong track record in target validation and disease biology
• Proven contributions to IND filings; experience supporting IND-enabling biology packages
• Track record designing and managing externalized CRO biology programs; ability to scope, oversee, and critically interpret study data
• Ability to connect target biology to clinical hypothesis and translational strategy
• AI/ML data integration experience; comfortable working with large multi-source datasets
• Experience in at least one therapeutic area represented across the Takeda Research portfolio
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills; able to operate effectively in a lean, fast-paced team