Director, Research and Development

PICTOR LABS INC • Austin, TX

4d • Remote

About The Position

The Director, Research and Development at Pictor Labs will coordinate the strategy and execution of our scientific data generation, laboratory operations, and execution of regulatory and scientific clinical trials as well as support evidence dissemination activities. This position will serve as the primary program / project management resource for the medical team’s contribution to engineering and product development projects, which currently includes generating whole slide image data via tissue procurement, tissue staining / scanning, and coordinating pathologist reviews. The ideal candidate combines scientific thought leadership and strong project management skills with a practical understanding of pathology workflows and research operations. The position will ensure smooth coordination between scientific, regulatory/quality, engineering, product, and technical teams helping to maintain timelines, organize data and specimens, and support quality control processes for digital slide and tissue data. As the company evolves, additional or changing responsibilities will be assigned to align with needs of our product development portfolio as appropriate.

Requirements

• MS or higher with a degree in biological / medical sciences.
• Experience / training in pathology laboratories with familiarity of histopathology workflows and key histopathological identifiers across several therapeutic areas required.
• 5+ years work experience in clinical laboratories and/or scientific research setting is required.
• Project and people management experience is required.
• Strong organizational, leadership, and project management skills for cross-functional organizations needed.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• MD, PhD, and/or PA(ASCP) preferred.
• MBA, PMP, and/or relevant business/operations experience a plus.
• Experience in digital pathology and interest in AI/ML is preferred.
• Experience with regulated products and clinical research processes desired (CAP/CLIA, GMP, IVDR/MDR, FDA)

Responsibilities

• Work with teams across the company, including laboratory, medical affairs, quality/regulatory affairs, product, engineering, and commercial to ensure business objectives are met for both research & development projects and clinical delivery of services. A key deliverable will be ensuring sufficient and adequate data (e.g. whole slide images of representative stains) for use in our machine learning algorithms.
• Manage team of laboratory staff to ensure scientific operations of rapidly evolving startup business.
• Intellectual input into the design of study protocols and tasks required to advance product development and generate evidence for regulatory submissions, customer adoption, and marketing needs.
• Support planning, execution, and tracking of commercial, R&D, and clinical validation projects.
• Manage projects and coordinate participation of Medical team for AI model development and validation, clinical trials, regulatory submissions, and more.
• Develop and maintain a system for tissue procurement and inventory management of tissue blocks, slides, and digital pathology data for use in various scientific and clinical projects including required documentation, identification, and traceability.
• Organize and maintain digital pathology data sets, file structures, and records.
• Oversee supply chain for research and development equipment, reagent needs, and research distribution of products
• Coordinate a panel of internal and external pathologists and experts to review projects under development to ensure appropriate case selection, assignment, and completion / documentation
• Provide program and project management support for pathology related programs including quality metrics, timeline adherence, progress trackers, vendor qualification and management (i.e. CROs), and collaborator coordination
• Support quality assurance activities and standard operating procedure adherence for all research and development activities.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation with benefits
• Equity participation in a rapidly growing company is possible depending on employment status
• Opportunity to learn from and work with a talented and passionate team at the cutting edge of pathology AI for future career growth

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director