Position Summary

HAYA Therapeutics is seeking a bold and visionary leader to serve as our Head of Drug Discovery Sciences – a transformative role at the forefront of RNA-based medicine. This is your opportunity to architect and lead a strategically positioned department focused on the design, optimization, and preclinical advancement of next-generation nucleic acid-based therapeutics. This role bridges early target discovery and translational development, ensuring a seamless progression from hit-to-lead through to high-quality development candidates.

We’re looking for scientifically rigorous leadership – someone who brings deep expertise in RNA therapeutics, delivery technologies, and, most importantly, effective cross-functional team leadership. You’ll manage a small, high-performing internal team while working in a tight partnership with experts across Data Science, Functional Genomics, and CMC to deliver potent, safe, and scalable therapeutic candidates for clinical development. Your ability to influence and coordinate across disciplines will be critical in driving discovery efforts forward and positioning HAYA for continued growth and innovation.

What’s in it for me?

Leading HAYA’s Drug Discovery Sciences department, you’ll have a rare opportunity to work with the leadership team to shape the strategy, culture, and scientific direction of a function critical to HAYA’s mission. You’ll be at the forefront of pioneering RNA-based therapeutics, translating breakthrough science into real-world impact for patients with common and chronic diseases.

You’ll work alongside a collaborative, deeply knowledgeable team that thrives on intellectual curiosity and scientific rigor. Every day will offer opportunities to learn, grow, and stretch your expertise—whether you're exploring novel delivery platforms, refining candidate selection strategies, or integrating the latest advances in AI, computational biology, and organoid models.

This role is designed for those who want to do career-defining work—where your ideas will be heard, your contributions will be valued, and your growth will be supported in an entrepreneurial environment that celebrates innovation and impact.

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‍Key Responsibilities:

1. Leadership & Vision

• Shape and articulate the vision and operational strategy for the Drug Discovery Sciences function with a focus on regulatory genome-targeting RNA therapeutics.
• Seamlessly integrate chemistry, biology, pharmacology, delivery science, and preclinical development into a unified drug discovery engine.
• Translate platform innovations and target biology into differentiated therapeutic programs.
• Optimize resources and budgets while managing vendors and contract research organizations (CROs) in alignment with program goals.
• Develop and deliver high-impact scientific and strategic summaries for board meetings, investor presentations, and potential financing opportunities, clearly articulating progress, value creation, and scientific differentiation.
  

2. Candidate Design and Optimization

• Lead the nomination and optimization of drug candidates, leveraging best-in-class design strategies for stability, potency, and safety.
• Oversee the integration of novel delivery platforms (e.g., LNPs, conjugates, targeted polymers) in collaboration with formulation experts and translational teams.
• Drive candidate selection by AI/ML-guided modeling, predictive toxicology, and iterative screening.
• Drive the generation of robust data packages to support IND-enabling activities and investment decisions.
  

3. Cross-Functional and Translational Interface

• Partner closely with Functional Genomics to validate targets and mechanisms of action using genome-scale perturbation data.
• Partner closely with Data Science to incorporate multi-modal data and computational tools into candidate selection and optimization pipelines.
• Align with CMC and Translational Sciences to ensure candidates meet regulatory, manufacturability, and scalability criteria from early development.
  

4. Scientific and Team Leadership

• Lead and inspire a high-performing multidisciplinary team of scientists across nucleic acid chemistry, delivery, pharmacology, and biology.
• Foster a high-performance culture of innovation, that thrives on scientific rigor, and collaboration across internal teams and external partners.
• Monitor trends in RNA therapeutics, delivery, and discovery technologies to ensure HAYA remains at the cutting edge.

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Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, RNA Biology, or a related field; postdoctoral training and industry experience preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in RNA biology and therapeutics, with at least 5 years in drug discovery for nucleic acid-based therapeutics in an industry setting.
• Proven leadership in advancing therapeutic programs from discovery through preclinical development.
• Strong understanding and background in in non-coding RNA biology
• Deep understanding of nucleic acid drug modalities, delivery systems, and optimization strategies.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams in a matrix organization and collaborating with external partners, including academia, biotech, and contract research organizations (CROs).
• Strong knowledge of functional genomics, AI/ML applications, and preclinical development workflows is a significant plus.
• Excellent leadership, communication, collaboration, and project management skills.

HAYA Therapeutics is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where all individuals feel valued and empowered. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression), national origin, ancestry, age, marital or familial status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind and are committed to ensuring fair and equitable treatment in all aspects of recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, training, and career development.

At HAYA, we believe that diversity of thought, experience, and background drives innovation and strengthens our mission to transform patient care through cutting-edge RNA-based therapeutics.