The Director, Business Development will operate with a high degree of autonomy and strategic judgment; owning account strategy, shaping deal structures, and leading cross-functional execution across Science, Bio, Legal, and Finance. Success in this role requires balancing hands-on deal execution with thoughtful account planning and market insight.

Responsibilities Ownership & Deal Execution

• Carry and deliver against an individual quarterly and annual bookings target.
• Source, qualify, and advance new partnership opportunities with mid-sized and large pharma companies and AI/data-centric partners.
• Lead opportunities through the full deal lifecycle{{:}} discovery → scoping → proposal → negotiation → close.
• Shape opportunity-specific deal structures including pilot studies, discovery programs, efficacy/tox engagements, and data-enabled collaborations.
• Own follow-through and momentum on active deals to ensure timely progression and closure.

Run weekly pipeline reviews to reduce slippage, re-qualify deals, and improve forecast accuracy.

Account Strategy & Pipeline Management

• Develop and execute account-level strategies for a defined set of target and active accounts.
• Build and maintain a robust personal pipeline aligned with revenue goals and priority therapeutic areas.
• Conduct stakeholder mapping to identify scientific, operational, and commercial decision-makers and influencers.
• Expand existing accounts by identifying adjacent research groups, new use cases, or follow-on program opportunities.
• Maintain accurate CRM hygiene, deal staging, and pipeline updates.

Strategic Contribution

• Translate Vivodyne’s platform capabilities into tailored value propositions aligned to customer discovery-stage needs.
• Provide structured market and customer feedback to inform leadership, product positioning, and messaging.
• Contribute to the evolution of deal archetypes, pricing approaches, and engagement models based on learnings.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Bio teams to refine scientific narratives and customer-facing materials.
• Deliver structured market and customer intelligence to leadership to refine positioning, pricing/deal archetypes, and therapeutic-area prioritization.

Cross-Functional Deal Leadership

• Quarterback cross-functional deal teams, coordinating inputs from Science, Bio, Legal, and Finance.
• Ensure technical feasibility and resourcing alignment before advancing proposals.
• Partner with Legal and Finance during contracting and commercial negotiations.
• Communicate deal status, risks, and forecast updates clearly to BD and company leadership.
• Lead contracting and commercial negotiations to close efficiently (anticipate pharma procurement/legal patterns, manage redlines/risks, drive velocity through clear negotiation strategy).

Event Engagement

• Represent Vivodyne at key industry conferences and scientific meetings.
• Execute targeted meeting strategies and follow-up plans to support personal pipeline goals.
• Participate in seminars, site visits, and customer-facing scientific discussions as needed.
• Capture and operationalize field intel from conferences (themes, objections, competitor claims) into messaging updates and enablement for the broader BD/GTM team.
• Execute rigorous post-event follow-up with clear conversion targets to advance opportunities toward close.

Requirements Required

• 7–10+ years of business development or alliance experience in biotech or pharma.
• Proven success carrying an individual quota and closing complex, multi-stakeholder deals.
• Experience selling discovery platforms, preclinical services, or advanced research technologies.
• Strong understanding of drug discovery workflows and customer decision dynamics.
• Ability to translate complex science into clear, customer-aligned value propositions.
• Highly organized, with experience managing long sales cycles and a sizable personal pipeline.

Preferred

• Familiarity with oncology discovery, RNA modalities, and/or preclinical toxicology.
• Exposure to AI/ML-enabled discovery or data-driven collaboration models.
• Experience working with novel or emerging platform technologies.

San Francisco pay range{{:}} $170,000 USD - $275,000 USD