Job Description

Associate Director of Program Management

Department: 35 - Corporate Development

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Redwood City, CA

Compensation: $170,000 - $200,000 / year

Codexis, a biotechnology company based in Redwood City, CA, is looking to hire an Associate Director of Program Management .
Codexis is a leading enzyme engineering company leveraging its proprietary CodeEvolver® technology platform to discover, develop and enhance novel, high-performance enzymes and other classes of proteins. Codexis enzymes solve for real-world challenges associated with small molecule pharmaceuticals manufacturing and nucleic acid synthesis. The Company is currently developing its proprietary ECO Synthesis™ platform to enable the scaled manufacture of RNAi therapeutics through an enzymatic route. Codexis enzymes can drive improvements, such as higher yields, reduced energy usage and waste generation, improve efficiency in manufacturing and greater sensitivity in genomic and diagnostic applications.

To meet the goals we’ve set for ourselves, we look for individuals who are driven, eager to grow and ready to embrace meaningful challenges. We empower employees to be authentic, ambitious, agile and have the courage to take action where they can make a positive impact.

Come join us on this journey to transform the enzyme engineering landscape for the betterment of human health.

About the Opportunity: Associate Director of Program Management within our RNA Manufacturing team is responsible for partnering with all areas of the business to help advance customer assets into and through the clinic using ECO Synthesis™ technology.

In this role you will be responsible for overseeing both Codexis internal R&D Programs and customer programs centered on RNA manufacturing. Working directly with ECO Synthesis™ Innovation colleagues to develop the enzymatic platform and implement its use in customer programs. The Associate Director of Program Management will support customer programs for siRNA manufacturing via the ECO Innovation lab through GMP manufacturing in support pre-clinical and clinical studies for our customers. The Associate Director of Program Management is responsible for understanding all aspects and interdependencies of the internal R&D and customer programs and is accountable for managing timelines and key deliverables by working with subject matter experts and departmental representatives to coordinate operational activities. The Associate Director of Program Management will lead the process to ensure all client goals and stage gates are met, identifying and elevating risks and opportunities to achieve success. If any of the below describes you, we would love to meet you!

• Highly goal- and result oriented
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong, effective communication (verbal and written)
• Highly organized
• Attention to detail

In this role you will be responsible for:

• Engage with Business Development (BD) and customers during opportunity qualification and development of proposals and business cases, including cost/margin analysis.
• Lead multiple complex projects for both internal R&D and customer programs, working closely with commercial, technical, and quality/regulatory counterparts:
  
  • Act as the key liaison between internal Codexis teams within research, development, and operations.
  • Drive the definition, stakeholder alignment, and documentation of deliverables for development and commercialization projects.
  • Develop budgets, schedules, project plans, and resource requirements, identifying critical path, milestones, and interdependencies.
  • Ensure that projects are executed on time and within budget, and/or that exceptions are appropriately escalated and managed.
  • Lead teams in risk identification and assessment processes to effectively balance risk and reward, and identify and escalate when mitigation actions are needed.
  • Support prioritization across programs based on resource needs (FTE and budget), timelines, and complexity.
• Lead customer projects from concept to completion, partnering with both internal and external cross-functional teams and stakeholders:
  
  • Manage client programs to manufacture siRNA drug substances and oversee projects through scale-up at CDMO and future clinical trials.
  • Collaborate with Business Development to review new proposals and address scope changes.
  • Submit milestone invoices to Finance and provide revenue updates.
  • Promptly share project documentation (e.g., minutes, emails, data) capturing critical information for relevant stakeholders.
  • Ensure communication is clear, timely, and sensitive, especially in the case of deviations.
  • Develop team members to continuously improve performance to meet business needs.
• Lead efforts to identify and evaluate areas for improvement in project processes:
  
  • Collaborate with other departments to improve support for changing business needs.
  • Contribute recommendations for process and administrative improvements to address inefficiencies.

The essential requirements of the job include:

• Bachelor's degree in sciences or related field required, with an Advanced degree (PhD or MBA).
• Advanced understanding of CDMO industry, Codexis capabilities, and siRNA pharmaceutical life cycle.
• 10+ years' experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry with at minimum of 4 year in project or program management. Strong preference for experience in drug development programs on pre-clinical and clinical stage programs.
• Self-starter who can manage ambiguity, handle multiple stakeholder priorities while performing job responsibilities accurately.
• Ability to understand program objectives and risks across the entire API development, regulatory submission, and commercialization landscape.
• Skilled in the use of Project Management tools (Smartsheet, MS Projects, etc.)

Additional

Experience:

• Therapeutic oligonucleotide e.g. ASO, siRNA, aptamer API CDMO / drug innovator experience.

CODEXIS PAY TRANSPARENCY: The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in Redwood City is $170,000 to $200,000. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the industry, education, etc. Codexis is a multi-state employer, and this salary range may not reflect positions that work in other states​.

What can Codexis offer you?

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Basic Life, AD&D, Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• 401k with Company Match up to 4%
• Company Equity
• Generous Paid Time Off including 18 Company Holidays (with a summer and winter shutdown), Vacation, and Wellness Time
• Annual Lifestyle Account for reimbursement of fitness programs, equipment and more
• Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Commuter/Parking, Dependent Care & Healthcare)
• Student Debt Program (Company Contribution to Loans)
• Mental Health Wellness Program
• Subsidized onsite lunch program
• Onsite Gym Facilities
• Paid Parental Leave
• And More!