Director, Neurobiology - Target Validation and Drug Discovery

About Us

Valo Health is a human-centric, AI-enabled biotechnology company working to make new drugs for patients faster. The company’s Opal Computational Platform transforms drug discovery and development through a unique combination of real-world data, AI, human translational models and predictive chemistry.

Our talented team of biologists, chemists and engineers, armed with advanced AI/ML tools, work together to break down traditional R&D silos and accelerate the speed and scale of drug discovery and development.

Valo is committed to hiring diverse talent, prioritizing growth and development, fostering an inclusive environment, and creating opportunities to bring together a group of different experiences, backgrounds, and voices to work together. We embrace new ways of learning, solve complex problems and welcome diverse perspectives that can help us advance patient-centric innovation.

Valo is headquartered in Lexington, MA, with additional offices in New York, NY and Tel Aviv, Israel. To learn more, visit www.valohealth.com. 

What You’ll Do…

• Develop strategies and validation platforms that may be used to validate novel targets.

• Serve as research project lead on various stage preclinical drug discovery projects.

• Lead and mentor a team of scientists dedicated to cell model development for target validation and support of biology goals in drug discovery programs.

• Serve as a subject matter expert in Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases mechanisms involved in immune and other CNS-relevant cell type dysregulation

• Provide thought leadership and guidance on CNS disease-relevant assays, staying abreast of emerging trends and advancements in the field.

• Generate hypothesis-driven experimental plans and proposals for target validation in close collaboration with data scientists and other subject matter experts to enable crisp decision making.

• Manage scientists (direct report) and teams in a matrixed manner to ensure high-quality data generation and timely delivery of key readouts supporting team goals.

• Design experiments to coordinate and manage with CROs.

• Work in collaboration with Valo’s tissue and cell model experts to support target validation projects as well as ongoing drug discovery projects.

What You Bring...

• A PhD in Biological Sciences or a related field with 10+ years of experience (which may include postdoctoral experience), MS with 14+ years, or BS with 16+ years and deep expertise in Parkinson’s disease, human cell assay/model development, and immunology/neuroinflammation.

• Expertise in in vitro systems including cell culture, molecular biology, genetic manipulation, and development of functional assays.

• Experience leading early and established preclinical stage drug discovery programs.

• Experience managing and collaborating with teams and scientists in a matrixed fashion to produce high-quality data.

• Track record of impactful scientific contributions as demonstrated by high impact publications and prior success in progressing programs through a therapeutic pipeline.

• Strong oral and written communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.

MA Salary Range
$195,500—$247,000 USD

Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Valo Health currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Valo Health's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.

Please note: At this time, we are only able to consider candidates who currently have permanent US work authorization without the need for immediate or future sponsorship.