Vp Program Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Faeth Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company listed on Nasdaq that recently raised $200M in funding. With a strong scientific foundation and a founding team that includes the discoverer of our target pathway, we are advancing PIKTOR, a multi-node PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitor program, toward multiple near-term milestones. We are a small, focused team where every person has direct impact - united by a shared commitment to care deeply, create boldly, and never stop learning.

We are looking for a highly self-motivated Vice President, Program Management to serve as the operational backbone of our pipeline. Reporting to the CEO, this person will be the connective tissue across every function that touches our programs - finance, legal, regulatory, clinical development, clinical operations, CMC, nonclinical, and beyond - ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks, that leadership always has a clear and current view of timelines and risks, and that the decisions that move our programs forward are surfaced early and teed up well. Roughly 80% of the focus will be our lead program, PIKTOR, with the expectation that this person scales into a broader program and portfolio remit as the pipeline grows. This is a unique opportunity to be the person who makes a small, ambitious biotech run like a much larger one - and to do it as a genuinely AI-native operator.

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Remote (U.S.)

Responsibilities:

• Own the integrated program plan. Build and maintain a single, authoritative view of timelines, milestones, dependencies, and the critical path across all functions for PIKTOR and, over time, the broader portfolio. Make the interdependencies between functions visible and actively managed rather than discovered late.
• Keep leadership ahead of the program, not behind it. Serve as the source of truth for where each program stands and what is about to change. Proactively surface roadblocks, slippage, and any new information that could affect readouts or timelines to the ELT and C-suite - early, clearly, and with options, not just problems.
• Run the decision-making machinery. Design and own the governance model - core team cadence, stage gates, decision rights, and escalation paths - so that strategic decisions are framed and surfaced early. Draft OKRs, prepare and drive toward key decision points in partnership with the functional leaders who own them.
• Surface strategy early and prepare the materials to support it. Work alongside functional leaders to anticipate the strategic choices coming down the pipeline, frame the options and trade-offs, and help build the materials that let the CEO and ELT decide well. Act as a strategic thought partner and right hand to the CEO on program direction - with a clear path to growing into de facto asset leadership as the company scales.
• Be genuinely AI-native. Use AI extensively and by default as leverage - to compress the busywork of timeline integration, synthesis, status reporting, and cross-functional communication so you operate at a higher altitude than a traditional program manager. Design and continuously improve the dashboards, briefings, and communication tools (dashboards, email cadences, and other formats you invent) that keep the whole company aligned on timelines and risks. This is a core expectation of the role, not a nice-to-have.
• Manage program budget and resources. Track program-level budget, resourcing, and CRO/vendor coordination in partnership with Finance, with dual responsibility alongside Clinical Operations for the clinical-development portions of the plan. Keep a timeline and spend in the same conversation so trade-offs are explicit.
• Quarterback business development execution. As partnership and corporate-development conversations progress, serve as the internal quarterback of diligence and deal readiness - coordinating cross-functional inputs, keeping the company "diligence-ready," and ensuring a coherent, defensible data package. The CEO owns the external relationship; you own the internal machinery behind it.
• Lead through influence, not authority. Drive alignment and execution across functions you don't directly manage. Build the trust and credibility that let you hold senior, expert colleagues to shared commitments and timelines.
• Support board and investor readiness. Help prepare program-related board and investor materials and keep externally communicated timelines honest against the internal integrated plan.
• Set the program-management standard. As the company's senior-most program-management hire, establish the tools, templates, and operating rhythms that the organization scales on.

Requirements:

• ~10+ years in biotech/pharma drug development, with meaningful time in a program or portfolio management capacity. We care more about what you've shepherded than years on a badge - a sharp operator who has been through the fire beats a longer tenure that hasn't.
• Direct experience taking a program through late-stage development and to approval and/or commercialization. Oncology strongly preferred; familiarity with small-molecule and/or PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway programs is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-functional programs and influence senior executives without direct authority - a proven balance of strategic leadership and hands-on execution, with a bias toward execution and closure.
• Deep, hands-on command of the integrated drug-development process across functions (clinical development, clinical operations, regulatory, CMC, nonclinical, finance, legal).
• Genuinely AI-native: already using AI tools extensively in your daily work and eager to push further. Comfortable designing and iterating on dashboards, reporting, and communication tooling yourself.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and executive-presentation skills; able to synthesize complexity into clear, decision-ready narratives.
• Experience supporting business development / corporate development diligence, alliance management, or partnership execution is a strong plus.
• Thrives in a small, fast-moving, ambiguous environment; low-ego, collaborative, and comfortable being the person who makes sure nothing gets missed.
• Experience preparing board- or investor-facing materials is a plus.

Compensation Range: $270,000 - $350,000 (actual compensation may vary based on experience, qualifications and location)

Working at Faeth

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and equity in a well-funded, clinical-stage biotech
• 100% remote work and flexible schedule
• Health, dental, and vision for you and your dependents
• Flexible time off
• Generous parental leave
• Traditional and Roth 401k 
• Mission oriented, remote first culture

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background check and verification of eligibility to work in the United States.