Biogen Posted July 13, 2026

Director, Biotherapeutics Discovery

San Francisco, United States Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Director

Biogen is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

On Site - South San Francisco.

About This Role

At Biogen, we are committed to discovering, developing, and delivering innovative therapies for people living with serious neurological and immunological diseases. In this role, you will lead biologics efforts for Biotherapeutics Discovery at Biogen’s West Coast Hub in South San Francisco. You will drive cross-functional research and portfolio programs, shape the strategy around tomorrow’s way of discovering biological drugs, and advance discovery innovation in close partnership with colleagues across the broader Research organization including key teams in Cambridge, MA.

What You’ll Do

· Lead and develop a high-performing team while advancing biologics technologies and platform innovation aligned with portfolio priorities

· In strong partnership with the Cambridge, MA team, support antibody discovery, engineering, optimization, and candidate selection strategies across discovery programs

· Evaluate external innovation opportunities and help shape adoption of next-generation biologics capabilities

· Contribute to molecular design strategies, including multi-specifics, novel formats, affinity tuning, epitope targeting, and developability assessments

· Partner across functions, including protein engineering, computational design, pharmacology, translational sciences, Immunology, and Neurology, to initiate and shape discovery campaigns

· Guide modality and candidate selection based on target biology, mechanism of action, and translational considerations, and support early target assessments that test key biological hypotheses

· Coach and mentor scientists, fostering technical growth, scientific excellence, and strong collaboration

· Build an inclusive culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning

Who You Are

You are a strategic and collaborative scientific leader with deep expertise in biologics discovery and antibody engineering. You bring strong scientific judgment, thrive at the intersection of biology and molecular design, and are motivated by solving complex problems in partnership with cross-functional teams. You are also a strong people leader who is passionate about developing talent, enabling collaboration, and building high-performing teams that deliver meaningful scientific impact.

Qualifications

· Ph.D. in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, or a related scientific discipline

· 12+ years of industry experience in biologics drug discovery, including leadership of antibody discovery and optimization programs

· Proven success advancing molecules from discovery through candidate nomination

· Deep expertise in antibody engineering, molecular design, and biologics discovery workflows

· Experience across biologics modalities, including bispecifics, fusion proteins, and conjugates

· Demonstrated experience leading and developing scientific teams

· Strong track record of cross-functional partnership, including collaboration with disease biology teams

· Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence scientific direction across teams and sites

Additional Qualifications

· Experience in translational immunology and a strong understanding of immunology disease biology

· Experience partnering with Immunology or Neurology research teams

· Background in early target assessment and discovery campaign initiation

· Experience identifying and sourcing external innovation through collaborations with CROs, biotech companies, or academic groups

· Familiarity with computational design or AI/ML applications in biologics discovery

Job Level: Management

Additional Information

The base compensation range for this role is: $204,000.00-$281,000.00

Base salary offered is determined through an analytical approach utilizing a combination of factors including, but not limited to, relevant skills & experience, job location, and internal equity.

Regular employees are eligible to receive both short term and long-term incentives, including cash bonus and equity incentive opportunities, designed to reward recent achievements and recognize your future potential based on individual, business unit and company performance.

In addition to compensation, Biogen offers a full and highly competitive range of benefits designed to support our employees’ and their families physical, financial, emotional, and social well-being ; including, but not limited to:

Medical, Dental, Vision, & Life insurances

Fitness & Wellness programs including a fitness reimbursement

Short- and Long-Term Disability insurance

A minimum of 15 days of paid vacation and an additional end-of-year shutdown time off (Dec 26-Dec 31)

Up to 12 company paid holidays + 3 paid days off for Personal Significance

80 hours of sick time per calendar year

Paid Maternity and Parental Leave benefit

401(k) program participation with company matched contributions

Employee stock purchase plan

Tuition reimbursement of up to $10,000 per calendar year

Employee Resource Groups participation

Why Biogen?

We are a global team with a commitment to excellence, and a pioneering spirit. As a mid-sized biotechnology company, we provide the stability and resources of a well-established business while fostering an environment where individual contributions make a significant impact. Our team encompasses some of the most talented and passionate achievers who have unparalleled opportunities for learning, growth, and expanding their skills. Above all, we work together to deliver life-changing medicines, with every role playing a vital part in our mission. Caring Deeply. Achieving Excellence. Changing Lives.

At Biogen, we are committed to building on our culture of inclusion and belonging that reflects the communities where we operate and the patients we serve. We know that diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives make us a stronger and more innovative company, and we are focused on building teams where every employee feels empowered and inspired.  Read on  to learn more about Biogen.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. Biogen is an E-Verify Employer in the United States.

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
San Francisco, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 94 comparable Director Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 22 biopharma companies.

94Comparable roles tracked
89Currently active
22Companies hiring similar roles
8Countries represented

Salary context

41 of 94 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Peer group range $129,125 – $322,650 (median $224,445)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 94 comparable roles

United States82
China3
India2
China's Mainland2
United Kingdom2
Spain1

+ 2 more countries

Seniority mix

94 of 94 peers have a known seniority level

Principal57
Director25
Senior Director12

Therapeutic area mix

22 of 94 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology11
Immunology4
Cardiovascular / CVRM4
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Neuroscience1
Respiratory1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Louisville, Colorado, United States of America Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Director / Sr / Exec Dir - Applied Intelligence for Discovery (AI4D)
Lilly · San Francisco, California, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Medicinal Chemistry
Lilly · Louisville, Colorado, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Research Systems
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Statistical Genetics
Cambridge Discovery Hub · Cambridge Crossing, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.