The Fynder Group emerged from NASA-funded research in Yellowstone National Park studying extremophiles: microorganisms that thrive where most life reaches its limits. At these extremes, biology revealed a different standard for performance. Inspired by this biology, we rethink what is possible in food, pharmaceuticals, and materials.

We offer a fast-paced, startup environment centered around solving complex, world-changing problems.

Position Summary
We are seeking an engaged, strategic, and accomplished R&D leader to join our organization at the Vice President, Senior Director, or Director level (title and scope to be determined based on qualifications and organizational fit). The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise across strain engineering, bench-scale fermentation, protein chemistry, in-vitro assays, analytical development, paired with strong leadership capabilities. Experience in biotech platform development using engineered systems, drug discovery and early development would be a strong plus.

Depending on candidate seniority and technical focus, this position will either serve as an executive strategic lead driving high-level organizational growth and multi-disciplinary R&D roadmaps, or as a key scientific lead focusing on deep technical execution, lab mentorship, and daily scientific discipline across technical workstreams.

Key Responsibilities & Impact Areas

• Strategic Leadership, Organizational Building & Matrix Navigation
• Set Direction & Priorities: Manage and set strategic direction for scientific staff engineering filamentous fungi, optimizing bench fermentation, and characterizing proteins; translate high-level corporate OKRs into actionable technical milestones.
• Team Building & Talent Mentorship: Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing technical organization. Establish clear career pathways, foster a collaborative lab culture, and develop talent across strain engineering, fermentation, protein chemistry, and analytical disciplines.
• Matrix Leadership: Work seamlessly across matrixed organizational boundaries (Process/Pilot Engineering, Analytical, Regulatory, BD) to establish shared accountabilities, eliminate silos, and ensure smooth tech transfer.
• Advanced Fungal Engineering & Synthetic Biology
• Strain Design & Generation: Design strain modification strategies to develop new products and realize the full potential of our Fusarium strain as an expression host.
• Tool Development: Develop and optimize cutting-edge molecular biology, synthetic biology, and gene-editing tools (including CRISPR/Cas platforms and traditional transformation methods) specifically tailored for filamentous fungi
• Genotype-to-Phenotype Discovery: Lead efforts to discover deep biological connections between genotypes and key phenotypes of Fusarium to engineer improved strains with enhanced yield, stability, and functional profiles.
• Integrated Upstream, Protein Chemistry & Analytical Pipelines
• Bench-Scale Fermentation: Oversee bench-scale micro-fermentation and bioreactor evaluation to characterize strain performance, media requirements, and growth parameters early in the strain development process.
• Protein Chemistry & In-Vitro Assays: Direct, purification, quantification, characterization of folding and functional activity of recombinant proteins using robust in-vitro biochemical, biophysical and cellular assays.
• Analytical Development: Guide the deployment of quantitative analytical assays (HPLC, LC-MS, SDS-PAGE, enzyme activity assays) to support genotype/phenotype screening, protein characterization, payload potency assays, and process optimization.
• High-Throughput Screening, Automation & Data Analytics
• Biofoundry & HTP Workflows: Modernize and scale high-efficiency micro-scale screening protocols, automation systems, and liquid-handling workflows to integrate strain engineering with early bench fermentation and analytical screening.
• Data-Driven Insights & DOE: Champion a science-based, data-driven approach using advanced statistical methods, Design of Experiments (DOE), and standard computational/genomics frameworks.
• Multi-Omics Integration: Oversee integration of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) data, transcriptomics, metabolic flux analysis, and proteomics to accelerate predictive strain and protein engineering
• AI: Champion AI integration in the workflows above to streamline and automate activities, enhance efficiencies and augment the engineering of fungal strains, fermentation conditions, downstream processing, payload stability and biological activity using next generation AI prediction modeling tools.
  
  
  

Position Requirements & Qualifications
Education
Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biochemical Engineering, or a related technical biological field

Experience Metrics

• Director: Ph.D. with 5–9 years of industrial biotechnology experience, including a minimum of 2–3 years of direct people management, team building, and project leadership. Focuses heavily on daily lab mentorship and execution
• Senior Director: Ph.D. with 10+ years of industrial R&D experience across fungal strain engineering, fermentation, and protein characterization, with a proven track record of building, scaling, and leading technical teams in a matrixed organization
• Vice President: Ph.D. with 15+ years of industrial biotech R&D and executive leadership experience, including a demonstrated track record of leading multi-disciplinary units, driving strategic roadmaps, and translating scientific breakthroughs into commercial products
  
  
  

Technical Competencies

• Synthetic Biology & Fungal Genetics
• Must-Have: Strong foundational knowledge of molecular biology, synthetic biology, and genetic manipulation techniques
• Preferred: Direct experience with filamentous fungi (e.g., Fusarium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma) and advanced gene-editing platforms (CRISPR/Cas systems)
  
  

• Protein Chemistry & Analytical Development (Pharma Dev)
• Must-Have: Demonstrated understanding of protein expression, purification, and characterization workflows.
• Preferred: Direct experience in pharmaceutical/biotech process development, including quantitative assay development (HPLC, LC-MS, enzymatic assays), in-vitro biochemical, biophysical and cellular characterization, and analytical method validation.
  
  

• Digital Infrastructure, High-Throughput (HTP) & Omics
• Must-Have: Familiarity with data-driven scientific workflows, Design of Experiments (DOE), and standard computational biology toolkits.
• Preferred: Hands-on experience scaling biofoundry/HTP liquid-handling automation, LIMS/ELN deployment, and integrating multi-omics data (NGS, proteomics, metabolomics) into predictive pipelines.
  
  
  

Core Leadership & Mentorship Capabilities
Required for Vice President Candidates

• Biotech Platform Development: Track record of developing an early stage, genetically engineered microbial or viral platform, solving problems with creativity and advancing the platform to a preclinical stage drug development program all the way to IND.
• Executive & Matrix Leadership: Track record of building, scaling, and managing multi-disciplinary organizational units in matrixed startup or growth-stage biotech environments.
• Strategic Roadmap Ownership: Proven capability to translate corporate OKRs into multi-year technology roadmaps and align cross-functional stakeholders (R&D, Pilot Scale, Regulatory, Business Development).
• Talent Architect: Experience structuring teams, defining career pathways, and building sustainable R&D infrastructure.
  
  
  

Required For Senior Director / Director Candidates

• Hands-on Mentorship & Scientific Rigor: Passion for spending time in the lab to directly train, coach, and elevate junior scientists and research associates in daily execution and scientific thinking.
• Technical Project Ownership: Track record of driving specific technical workstreams from concept through bench-scale validation with tight operational timelines.
• Cross-Functional Execution: Demonstrated ability to interface smoothly with upstream/downstream groups (fermentation, analytical, process scale-up) stakeholders
  
  
  

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.