AcelaBio - Director, Translational Sciences in San Diego, California at Alimentiv

Scientific & R&D Leadership

• Maintain oversight of scientific operations for assay development, digital image analysis, and bioinformatics commercial and R&D programs, ensuring alignment with organizational strategies and client needs.
• Lead the design, development, optimization, and validation of immunostaining including multiplex IHC/IF, ISH, and spatial biology assays, image analysis pipelines, and computational/bioinformatics tools.
• Drive innovation initiatives to expand and differentiate AcelaBio’s scientific service portfolio.
• Ensure scientific rigor, reproducibility, and regulatory alignment (GxP, CAP/CLIA) across all commercial project and R&D activities.
• Perform hands-on assay development work, including designing, optimizing, and validating IHC, multiplex IF, ISH, and spatial biology assays particularly for novel or high-complexity projects.
• Directly develop and validate image analysis algorithms and pipelines for priority programs, maintaining technical depth alongside oversight of the broader team’s development work.
• Serve as the assigned lead scientist on select sponsor projects, taking direct technical ownership of assay and image analysis deliverables as required.

• Build, lead, and mentor a team of scientists and technical staff supporting assay development, image analysis, and bioinformatics.
• Manage staffing, resource planning, performance management, and professional development for direct reports.
• Foster close collaboration between the Scientific Operations team and the Laboratory, Project Operations, and Business Development team to ensure seamless delivery of scientific services.
• Serve as a role model and mentor, promoting a high-performing, collaborative scientific culture.

• Foster high quality, well-functioning client relationships throughout the project life cycle.
• Serve as the senior scientific point of contact for sponsors, act as a point of escalation as required and support staff in troubleshooting and issue resolution.
• Represent AcelaBio’s scientific capabilities at client meetings, industry conferences, and scientific forums as required.
• Support business development through RFP responses, scientific proposal development, and bid defense activities.
• Review and approve analysis plans, validation reports, study reports, and technical/scientific documentation.

• Participate as a member of the leadership team in departmental and organizational strategic planning.
• Develop and manage the Scientific Operations budget in coordination with the Executive Team.
• Maintain awareness of industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies to inform capability development.
• Ensure compliance with quality systems, SOPs, and regulatory requirements across all scientific deliverables.

• Ph.D. or M.Sc. in pathology, cell biology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, or a related scientific discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in assay development, digital pathology/image analysis, and/or bioinformatics within a CRO, biopharma, or regulated research environment.
• Proven scientific and strategic leadership experience, with a track record of translating vision into innovative, scalable solutions and business impact.
• Deep technical expertise in one or more of the following areas: immunostaining/IHC, multiplex IF, ISH, spatial biology, digital image analysis, and bioinformatics, with a demonstrated ability to remain hands-on in complex scientific work.
• Experience building, leading, and developing high-performing scientific or technical teams in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.
• Strong client-facing skills, including the ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to a range of technical and non-technical stakeholders and build trusted partnerships.
• Working knowledge of assay validation requirements and regulatory frameworks, including GxP and clinical research standards.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and collaborate effectively across scientific, laboratory, operational, and commercial teams to deliver impactful results.

• Comprehensive health package for all full-time, permanent employees (medical, dental, vision, STD, LTD)
• 401K matching program
• Generous time off in accordance with experience (up to 20 days for new employees, sick days in addition to PTO (up to 5 per year), 2 personal days per year
• A variety of additional monetary and non-monetary programs to support you, including a cash-based employee referral program, flex-working policies, etc.