Director, Alliance Management- Drug Discovery Collaborations

JOB SUMMARY We are seeking an experienced Director of Alliance Management to support strategic drug discovery collaborations. In this role, you will serve as the primary relationship lead for external partnerships, drive operational execution across collaborations, and work closely with scientific and functional leaders to ensure partnered programs advance scientific, operational, and strategic objectives. You will coordinate cross-functional teams across medicinal chemistry, biology, DMPK, pharmacology, toxicology, CMC, legal, business development, and project management while serving as a trusted partner to pharmaceutical and biotechnology collaborators. Success in this role requires exceptional program leadership, relationship management, and a strong understanding of the drug discovery process, with the ability to coordinate complex cross-functional programs, anticipate risks, and keep collaborations aligned from early discovery through preclinical development. We prefer candidates who can work onsite at our San Diego headquarters, but we are open to hybrid working models and remote U.S.-based applicants. Key Responsibilities Serve as the primary alliance manager for drug discovery collaborations and strategic external partnerships. Build and maintain trusted relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners across scientific, operational, and executive levels. Lead collaboration governance, including Joint Steering Committees (JSCs), scientific working groups, executive reviews, agendas, action tracking, and decision documentation. Partner with Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, DMPK, Pharmacology, Toxicology, CMC, Legal, Business Development, and project teams to ensure alignment on collaboration objectives, milestones, and deliverables. Develop and maintain integrated collaboration plans, including timelines, governance milestones, partner commitments, contractual obligations, budgets, and partnership metrics. Coordinate cross-functional execution across multiple partnered programs by proactively identifying risks, tracking dependencies, facilitating issue resolution, and ensuring operational excellence. Support execution across the drug discovery lifecycle by coordinating milestones spanning target identification, hit discovery, lead optimization, DMPK/ADME, pharmacology, toxicology, compound supply, and development candidate nomination. Maintain visibility into integrated discovery timelines, including design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycles, assay execution, data delivery, partner review cycles, and governance decision points. Partner with Legal and Business Development to support collaboration agreements, governance structures, data sharing, publications, and strategic partnership activities. Prepare executive updates, partnership reports, and presentations while contributing to evaluation and launch of new strategic collaborations. Help establish and continuously improve alliance management processes, governance standards, and best practices. Qualifications Required Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline, engineering, business, or related field; advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) preferred. 15+ years in alliance management, scientific program management, project management, scientific operations, or related functions within biotechnology or pharmaceuticals. Experience managing complex scientific collaborations and strategic partnerships. Strong understanding of small molecule drug discovery from target identification through preclinical development. Ability to influence multidisciplinary teams without direct authority. Excellent organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills. Preferred Experience supporting discovery through IND-enabling activities, including DMTA workflows, DMPK/ADME, pharmacology, toxicology, and CMC. Experience working with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, or CRO partners. Familiarity with collaboration agreements, governance structures, and cross-company