Flagship Pioneering Origination Principal Agriculture and Sustainability Cambridge, MA USA THE ROLE As a Principal at Flagship Pioneering, you will work closely with Ignacio Martinez to ideate, research, and refine novel venture hypotheses, validate key underlying unknowns in the life sciences and sustainability, and transition pressure-tested ideas into building a NewCo around the science. You will help drive every facet of company origination from the early stages including identification and recruitment of critical partners and advisors, establishment of foundational IP, hiring and leadership of the early scientific team, and establishment of working norms and culture for the team. In this role, you will partner with stakeholders across the broader Flagship ecosystem to bring the full experience of Flagship to support your companies. The successful candidate will become the expert on the foundational science of the company, frame and clearly communicate the strategy, and translate that strategy into a plan and lead operationalization of that plan alongside Ignacio and Flagship’s venture creation team. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Contribute to and lead Flagship model explorations to rapidly assess interesting areas of science and develop novel, actionable and high value venture hypotheses. Outline key scientific questions to enable venture hypotheses and develop experimental plans to rapidly create value and pressure test ideas. Identify, build, and maintain relationships with appropriate academic KOLs and thought experts, i.e., introducing them to the Flagship model, getting early buy-in, vetting/validation and de-risking key concepts of venture hypotheses. Understand IP landscape, formulate initial strategy, and write seminal applications for the technology and company. Assess patentability of existing IP landscape, including of key competitors and of potentially licensable estate. Develop corporate strategy and operations plan for the company. Define value creation, identify application spaces, build out organizational chart, define company goals, timelines and resourcing and identify strategic inflection points to set the company on the path to rapid growth and success. Develop audience-specific pitches for company. Support business development activities and continue to evolve the story. Manage and coordinate early scientific and IP employees. Source, recruit and manage KOLs and early-stage employees as well as relationships with CROs. Manage & lead scientific team (internal or external) and daily research. Manage operational tasks, including establishing lab facilities, purchasing, HR, real estate acquisition, etc. Become institutional subject matter expert and transfer to active company team. Stay up to date on the literature, conferences, funding opportunities, and new developments. Work closely with and leverage Flagship operations teams (Finance, IP, IT, HR, and Talent) expertise for maximal operational excellence. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS The ideal candidate must have a STEM-based Ph.D. or equivalent advanced degree from a top university and/or minimum of 8 years of experience in the area of sustainability, start-up or entrepreneurial activities. The candidate must have a passion for novel science in areas such as renewable energy, agricultural biology, and sustainable materials, and should be operationally savvy. Important skills/capabilities include: Proven ability to rapidly become conversant in new areas of science and capable of engaging thought leaders at the deepest level of technological understanding. Passion for innovation within the areas of sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, sustainable materials, and/or related fields. Ability to define a clear and compelling value proposition of a given scientific opportunity and effectively and cogently communicate that to technical and non-technical audiences. Excellent analytical skills and ability to synthesize & communicate complex information rapidly and effectively. Energetic self-starter with strong presence and the ability to work effectively in an entrepreneurial environment. Open, transparent communication style and demonstrated willingness to engage in difficult conversations in a professional and productive manner. Passion for growth and development, with clear demonstration of openness to both giving and receiving feedback and track record of acting on feedback. Able to work effectively and pleasantly in teams with demonstrated abilities to lead and manage. Unmatched sense of urgency. EDUCATION The ideal candidate will have either a PhD and/or an MBA. COMPENSATION An attractive compensation package will be offered based upon background and experience, including significant stock options. LOCATION Cambridge, MA ABOUT FLAGSHIP PIONEERING Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category life science platform companies to transform human health and sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, the firm has, through its Flagship Labs unit, applied its unique hypothesis-driven innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $90 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $2.4 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $19 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 41 transformative companies, including Axcella Health (NASDAQ: AXLA), Codiak BioSciences (NASDAQ: CDAK), Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Evelo Biosciences (NASDAQ: EVLO), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Indigo Ag, Kaleido Biosciences (NASDAQ: KLDO), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), and Sigilon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SGTX). Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. #J-18808-Ljbffr
