Director R&D

Natera • South San Francisco, CA

2d

About The Position

The Director R&D on the Platform team oversees and directs the activities of research and development of products across the entire Natera portfolio touching all major business units. In addition to individual products, there is a strong focus on core technical infrastructure and capabilities that will allow improvements to existing products as well as more effective launch of new products and features. The ideal candidate will have strong skills and experience in the areas of molecular biology, NGS, assay/methods development, and implementation in a regulated clinical environment.

Requirements

• PhD in molecular biology or related field
• Minimum 10 years of post-PhD biotech industry experience including significant leadership experience in diagnostics
• Expertise in NGS, cell-free DNA, methylation and other advanced molecular biology technologies strongly preferred
• Demonstrated leadership in building and managing a team to meet specific goals
• Proven ability to manage product development through Research and Development phases to hand off
• Strong ability to dive into and understand experiment planning and results
• Effective communication and collaboration with other teams

Responsibilities

• Leadership & Mentorship: Provide strategic leadership and oversight to ensure alignment with company goals. Develop and execute the roadmap for NGS assay development to meet clinical and commercial objectives. Lead and mentor scientists, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. Support professional growth and development of scientists by providing guidance and tools to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Innovation: Stay current with emerging methodologies and technologies in molecular diagnostics, genetics, and oncology. Drive ideation, conceptualization, development of new tools, assays and technologies as well as adoption of new technologies to enhance research capabilities to support development of new product lines.
• Research Oversight: Oversee the design, execution, and analysis of research innovation, technology and assay development. Ensure scientific rigor and integrity in all research activities. Coordinate with other departments to align research efforts with business objectives.
• Assay Design & Optimization: Lead the development, feasibility testing, and optimization of end-to-end NGS workflows, including library preparation, target enrichment, and sequencing.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teams including bioinformatics & data science, medical, and program management to integrate research findings and strategies with organizational goals and product offerings.
• Communication: Present research findings to internal and external stakeholders.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision)
• 401(k) with company match
• Generous paid time off and company holidays
• Additional wellness and work-life benefits
• Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents.
• Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits.
• Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more.
• We also offer a generous employee referral program!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree