About the Opportunity
Precede Biosciences is seeking a highly motivated scientific leader to serve as Director, External Partnerships within the Translational Science organization. This role sits under the Chief Scientific Officer and is accountable for the the development and execution of Precede’s academic translational research collaborations. Specifically, this individual will build and maintain a strong network of partnerships that deliver clinically relevant samples, translational datasets, and biological insights to support the advancement of our epigenomic platform, including driving biomarker discovery and assay development as well as continued scientific leadership in the space. Building and maintaining strong relationships with leading investigators and institutions is foundational to this role.
About Us
Founded in 2021, Precede Biosciences is a diagnostic company pioneering a minimally invasive, comprehensive epigenomics platform. Our technology has the potential to profoundly impact the research and development of new medicines and getting the right therapy to the right patient at the right time. More information on our company and platform can be found on our company website and in our recent publication in Nature Medicine.
Our team cares deeply about creating a place where folks can do their best work from the start and have intentionally created an environment that is defined by purpose, teamwork, and excellence. This means nurturing team spirit, facing challenges together, collaboratively solving complex problems, while also ensuring a strong focus on individual initiative, accountability, and delivery.
Who You Are
- Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent advanced degree in cancer biology, molecular biology, genomics, or a related biomedical field, or an MBA with a scientific background
- Experienced in managing academic or industry collaborations in translational research, diagnostics, or biotechnology
- Strong understanding of translational oncology, biomarker discovery, and multi-omic data environments
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex scientific collaborations involving multiple stakeholders
- Strong organizational and project leadership skills with the ability to drive initiatives from concept to execution
- Ability to work effectively across scientific, operational, and legal teams in a fast-paced research environment
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to build strong relationships with internal and external partners
- Deeply networked in leading academic centers.
What You'll Do
- Identify, develop, and manage strategic academic collaborations aligned with Precede’s translational research priorities
- Partner with the Chief Scientific Officer and his team to define collaboration strategies and prioritize partnerships across disease areas and scientific programs
- Evaluate potential collaborators and institutions based on scientific expertise, clinical sample access, and translational relevance
- Build and maintain a network of academic investigators and key opinion leaders in oncology and related fields
- Co-develop translational research plans with external investigators and internal translational scientists
- Translate scientific questions into executable study designs and collaboration frameworks
- Lead the operational execution of collaborative studies, ensuring clear timelines, milestones, and deliverables
- Maintain strong scientific engagement with collaborators to ensure productive and long-term partnerships
- Develop and manage strategies for acquiring high-quality clinical samples and associated metadata through academic collaborators
- Oversee end-to-end sample acquisition workflows, including study coordination, logistics, and tracking
- Ensure samples and datasets meet quality standards required for computational and translational analysis
- Enable the generation of datasets that support biomarker discovery, algorithm development, and assay validation
- Work closely with Computational Biology to ensure incoming datasets are structured, analysable, and aligned with platform development needs
- Coordinate with Laboratory Operations on sample intake, processing workflows, and quality control procedures
- Partner with Legal to manage collaboration agreements, including MTAs, CDAs, SOWs, and data use agreements
- Ensure clear internal communication of collaboration goals, status updates, and scientific outcomes
- Support the development and execution of disease-focused scientific advisory boards
- Identify and engage key opinion leaders who can provide insight into disease biology, clinical practice, and emerging scientific opportunities
- Translate advisory insights into actionable internal scientific priorities
- Represent Precede Biosciences in scientific meetings and academic forums
- Strengthen relationships within academic and translational research networks
- Support the communication of scientific findings generated through collaborative studies
Top Skills
What We Do
We've experienced the significant gaps in our collective ability, as a medical and research community, to access and understand disease-defining biology when it matters most. To address this, we've developed a simple blood test to uncover actionable disease-defining transcriptional biology. Our unique genome-wide platform profiles circulating chromatin and the DNA methylome to deliver resolution into the dynamic activity of individual genes and pathways in diseased tissues from just 1mL of plasma. By partnering with developers of new medicines and advancing our own diagnostic tests, we’re working towards a world where new medicine development efforts succeed more frequently, and where anyone can receive a minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment that’s precise to the biology of their disease.
