Vice President, Engineering
Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development. Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in‑licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients. The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, Sam Altman, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others. You can read more at the following links: At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently. About the Position Formation Bio is seeking a bold and forward‑thinking Vice President of Engineering to lead and transform our technical capabilities into a strategic driver of clinical and commercial success. This critical leadership role will report to the CTO and serve as a senior thought partner in defining how sophisticated engineering and computational frameworks can fundamentally reshape drug development and asset acquisition. The ideal candidate is a biotech‑native technical leader who understands that our goal is not to build traditional software products, but to develop deep technical capabilities that drive hard insights. You will partner closely with Product to translate complex scientific and operational bottlenecks into high‑leverage technology solutions that accelerate workflows and deliver higher‑quality insights. You will oversee the engineering behind complex data science analyses – including Real‑World Evidence (RWE) platforms, large‑scale information ingestion pipelines, and comprehensive modeling – that move the needle for pharma decision‑making. You bring the vision and [biotech] experience to ensure our technical foundation supports clinical‑stage assets and highly regulated R&D workflows with precision and speed. Responsibilities Define and execute a technical vision that prioritizes high‑leverage computational capabilities over traditional software features, ensuring engineering effort directly increases drug asset quality and value. Act as a core collaborator for the CTO and leadership team, translating complex clinical and business bottlenecks into scalable engineering solutions. Embed engineering resources within Business Development, Clinical, and R&D units to leverage technology to address operational needs. Partner with Data Science to build the engineering architecture required for complex analysis, including Real‑World Evidence (RWE) platforms, asset screening frameworks, and prediction pipelines. Collaborate with Product to build specialized tools that streamline R&D workflows, moving the needle from manual efforts to technology‑augmented insight generation. Develop and scale proprietary platforms for the ingestion and operationalization of external, clinical, and biological datasets. Ensure the delivery of GxP‑validated clinical environments and automated security compliance, maintaining a regulatory‑first posture without sacrificing speed. Deploy and scale LLM‑integrated features and autonomous agents to drive multiplier efficiencies across the organization. Manage and mentor a specialized engineering organization, fostering a high‑performance culture that values technical rigor, interdisciplinary collaboration, and mission‑driven delivery. Refine the team structure to maintain high talent density and quality engineering in a fast‑paced biotech environment. About You 10 years of experience in software/data engineering and technical leadership, with a significant background in the Boston biotech or pharma‑tech ecosystem. Biotech Intuition : You have likely been a VP of Engineering at 2–3 different biotechs and possess a deep understanding of the drug development lifecycle, from Discovery through Phase III. Proven People Leader : Experience managing and mentoring a team of 15 engineers, with a track record of driving results in highly technical, interdisciplinary environments. Capability mindset : You understand that we aren't building a "user app"; we are building an engine for insights. You are passionate about the backend engineering required for RWE, data science, and trial automation. Engineering Rigor : Deep expertise in building data ingestion pipelines and managing complex, heterogeneous biological and clinical datasets. Regulatory Fluency : Experience working within GxP (GCP, GLP, GMP) environments. You know how to build technical capabilities that are "regulatory‑ready" from day one. Strategic Partner : You are comfortable discussing risk‑adjusted NPV, asset‑level ROI, and clinical trial bottlenecks with CEOs, CMOs, and investors. Mission‑Driven : Passionate about using hard engineering to solve the drug development bottleneck and bring life‑changing treatments to patients faster. Formation Bio is prioritizing hiring in key hubs, primarily the New York City and Boston metro areas. These positions will follow a hybrid work model with 1–3 days required at the office. Applicants from the Research Triangle (NC) and San Francisco Bay Area may also be considered. Please only apply if you reside in these locations or are willing to relocate. Compensation The target salary range for this role is: $347,000 - $435,000 Salary ranges are informed by a number of factors including geographic location. The range provided includes base salary only. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, comprehensive benefits, generous perks, hybrid flexibility, and more. If this range doesn't match your expectations, please still apply because we may have something else for you. You will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Voluntary Self‑Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file. As set forth in Formation Bio’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows: A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability. A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service. An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense. An "armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985. Voluntary Self‑Identification of Disability Form CC‑305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250‑0005 Expires 04/30/2026 Why are you being asked to complete this form? We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years. Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp. How do you know if you have a disability? A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to: Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally) Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS Blind or low vision Cancer (past or present) Cardiovascular or heart disease Celiac disease Cerebral palsy Deaf or serious difficulty hearing Diabetes Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders Epilepsy or other seizure disorder Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome Intellectual or developmental disability Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD Missing limbs or partially missing limbs Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) Neurodivergence, for example, attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities Partial or complete paralysis (any cause) Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema Short stature (dwarfism) Traumatic brain injury PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete. J-18808-Ljbffr
