Senior Director, Biocatalysis

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead the biocatalysis strategy across starting materials, oligonucleotides, and small molecule processes.
• Identify high-impact opportunities for biocatalyst substitution, new enzymatic chemistry, and improved synthetic routes.
• Lead enzyme discovery, engineering, screening, and optimization through internal capabilities and external partnerships.
• Establish internal protein screening and engineering capabilities, including protein design, expression, purification, characterization, and reaction screening.
• Drive biocatalytic applications for oligonucleotide synthesis and small molecule process development.
• Partner with Process Chemistry, CMC, Manufacturing, Quality, and Regulatory teams to translate biocatalytic concepts into scalable, robust, and manufacturable processes.
• Manage strategic collaborations with academic institutions, CROs/CDMOs, and enzyme discovery or engineering companies.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and external opportunities in biocatalysis, protein engineering, and biocatalyst manufacturing.
• Serve as the technical authority for biocatalysis, providing scientific guidance, risk assessments, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• PhD in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Molecular Biology, Enzymology, Biochemical Engineering, Protein Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 12 years of relevant experience in biocatalysis, enzyme engineering, protein discovery, process chemistry, or biochemical process development within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, CDMO, or industrial settings.
• Demonstrated experience discovering, engineering, screening, or implementing enzymes for synthetic or manufacturing applications.
• Strong technical understanding of Enzyme and reaction screening; Protein design and engineering; Protein expression, purification, and characterization; Biotransformation and enzyme-enabled synthesis; Process development, scale-up, and technology transfer.
• Experience evaluating external technologies and managing collaborations with academic institutions, CROs, CDMOs, or biotechnology companies.
• Able to operate effectively across early discovery, development, manufacturing, and CMC environments.
• Strong communication, influencing, and cross-functional leadership skills.