Senior Recruiter, Leadership Search

About Formation Bio

Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development.

Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in-licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients. The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, Sam Altman, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others.

You can read more at the following links:

• Our Vision for AI in Pharma

• Our Current Drug Portfolio

• Our Technology & Platform

At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.

About the Position

Formation Bio is adding a Senior Recruiter, Leadership Search to our high performing talent team. In this role, you will own mission-critical roles across Development, G&A, and other non-Tech functions at the Senior Director level and above.

This role requires significant in-house executive recruiting experience. You will act as the internal owner of complex leadership searches, partnering closely with executive stakeholders and operating with a high degree of autonomy, judgment, and urgency.

While familiarity with retained search is important, success in this role depends on having operated inside a company, balancing competing priorities, shaping roles in real time, driving decision-making, and owning outcomes end-to-end.

This role is foundational to how Formation Bio scales its leadership bench and reduces reliance on external firms.

Responsibilities

• Independently own end-to-end execution of senior leadership searches across Development, G&A, and other non-Tech functions (e.g., Translational, Pharmacology, CMC, BD, Commercial, Finance, Legal), including:

• Role scoping and calibration with senior leaders

• Market mapping and sourcing strategy

• Candidate assessment and bar management

• Stakeholder alignment and decision velocity

• Offer strategy and closing

• Partner with executives and hiring managers as a trusted in-house thought partner, not just a process executor.

• Determine when to use retained search firms and manage those partners effectively when engaged.

• Maintain a consistently high hiring bar while operating with urgency in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment.

• Contribute to the evolution of Formation Bio’s executive hiring practices, including interview rigor, calibration, and process improvements.

About You

• Relevant Experience: 8+ years of recruiting experience, including meaningful in-house ownership of VP+ / executive searches.

• Experience must include working as an internal recruiter or talent leader within a company; agency-only backgrounds are not a fit for this role.

• Proven track record of independently running complex leadership searches in biotech, pharma, healthcare, life sciences, or similarly high-bar environments.

• Strong executive presence and credibility with senior stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to operate with high judgment, urgency, and autonomy while managing multiple senior searches simultaneously.

• Deep understanding of what it takes to close senior leaders in a real-world, in-house context (competing priorities, imperfect information, evolving role scope).

• Comfortable pushing back, raising the bar, and driving clarity when priorities compete.

• Motivated by ownership and impact; thrives in environments that are lean, fast-moving, and ambiguous

Formation Bio is prioritizing hiring in key hubs, primarily the New York City and Boston metro areas, with additional growth in the Research Triangle (NC) and San Francisco Bay Area. Please only apply if you reside in these locations or are willing to relocate.

Compensation:

The target salary range for this role is: $128,000 - $175,000

Salary ranges are informed by a number of factors including geographic location. The range provided includes base salary only. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, comprehensive benefits, generous perks, hybrid flexibility, and more. If this range doesn't match your expectations, please still apply because we may have something else for you.

You will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.