Director Program Management Jobs in Needham, MA (NOW HIRING)

Company Summary
At Apriori Bio, our cutting-edge platform, Octavia™, is a fully-integrated, closed-loop engine functioning as a 'Bio-OS' for advanced biotech innovation and biodefense. This biology-enabled AI/ML platform transforms complex biological data into actionable intelligence to map viral fitness landscapes, predict immune escape trajectories, and enable the rapid, modular design of variant-resilient immunological therapies, including vaccines, antibodies, and next-generation immunogens. As the Director of Program Management at Apriori Bio, you'll be instrumental in driving our mission forward by working closely with senior leaders and engaging with both wet-lab scientists and computational experts. You will coordinate complex initiatives and oversee the preparation of key deliverables, fostering a culture of communication, accountability, and efficiency. By implementing robust project management strategies, you will lead major company initiatives across R&D, operational, and corporate objectives. Your strategic oversight will ensure R&D milestones align with broader corporate strategies, while your exceptional coordination skills will facilitate seamless communication and collaboration between senior leadership and functional teams.
Position Summary
We are seeking a Director of Program Management to drive coordination and execution across key initiatives spanning R&D and corporate operations. This role will ensure alignment between company goals and day-to-day project execution by managing milestones, tracking cross-functional dependencies, and enabling teams to deliver on critical priorities.
The Director will work closely with senior leadership to translate strategic objectives into clear operational plans, while helping ensure the organization stays aligned, focused, and moving forward.
This is a highly collaborative and hands-on role for a program leader who thrives in dynamic environments and can bring structure, clarity, and momentum to complex initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
Program & Project Management

• Lead project management for major company initiatives spanning R&D, operational, and corporate objectives
• Track cross-functional project timelines, deliverables, and dependencies to ensure initiatives remain on schedule; dentify risks, bottlenecks, and resource gaps, and collaborate with leadership to proactively address these issues; additionally, manage external grant responsibilities by tracking grant budgets, coordinating the preparation of technical and progress reports for grant program officers, and ensuring compliance with time tracking and other requirements
• Oversee people resourcing across project teams, ensuring appropriate staffing levels, workload balance, and reallocation as priorities shift
• Develop, implement, and maintain project management tools, dashboards, and reporting systems to improve organizational visibility and execution

Strategic Alignment & Integration

• • Align R&D milestones and program goals with broader corporate strategy by coordinating activities across scientific and operational plans
  • Focus 80% on program management and 20% on linking programs to strategy and operations
  • Establish scalable project management practices and processes to support organizational growth
  • Enable teams by creating clarity around priorities, responsibilities, and timelines

Leadership Support & Stakeholder Coordination

• Serve as a central point of coordination across leadership and functional teams, ensuring clear communication, accountability, and follow-through
• Support senior leaders by coordinating complex initiatives, preparing materials, and managing key deliverables
• Lead the coordination and preparation of grant and contract proposals, gathering input from scientific and operational stakeholders

Experience & Qualifications

• Education

• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, life sciences, or a related field required
• Advanced degree (MBA, PhD, or equivalent) preferred

• Experience
  • 8+ years of experience in program or project management within biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, or similarly complex technical environments and ideally covering both pre-clinical and clinical stage programs

• Proven experience managing cross-functional initiatives involving both scientific and operational stakeholders
• Experience aligning R&D programs with broader organizational or corporate objectives
• Experience working closely with senior leadership to coordinate complex initiatives and priorities

• Additional Qualifications

• Military command, logistics, or leadership experience is considered a strong plus
• Strong understanding of project management frameworks and tools
• Experience building operational processes and tracking systems in growing organizations
• Experience supporting grant development or scientific proposal coordination is a plus
• PMP or related program/project management certifications preferred

• Ideal Candidate
• Strategic and highly organized program leader who can bring structure to complex initiatives while maintaining a flexible, solutions-oriented approach
• Strong systems thinker able to synthesize information and identify dependencies across teams
• Collaborative operator who can build alignment across scientific, operational, and leadership stakeholders and thrives working iteratively and cross-functionally
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving environments with shifting priorities, demonstrating grit and a relentless drive to overcome challenges and deliver results
• Clear communicator who can translate complex initiatives into actionable plans and champion an agile, continuous-improvement mindset

About Flagship
Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies that Flagship has founded have addressed humanity's most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture. Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE's "Change the World" list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Company's annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.
At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.
Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, "FSP") do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering's internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.
The salary range for this role is $179,000 - $236,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Apriori Bio, Inc. currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Apriori Bio, Inc.'s good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.
Privacy Notice for Applicants: When you apply for a role at Flagship Pioneering or one of its portfolio companies, we collect and use personal information you provide (such as your name, contact details, work history, and application materials) to evaluate your application, communicate with you, and comply with legal obligations. Your application data is processed through Greenhouse, our applicant tracking system, and may also be reviewed using AI-assisted screening tools. We do not sell your personal information. California residents have rights under the CCPA/CPRA including to know, delete, and opt out of the sharing of their personal information. If you are located in the EU or UK, we process your data under GDPR and you have rights to access, rectify, and erase your data. To exercise your rights or for questions, contact privacy@flagshippioneering.com.