Senior Director, Program Management

Atrium is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering delivery of RNA therapeutics to the heart to transform the standard of care for people living with cardiomyopathies. Our proprietary technology leverages the targeted RNA delivery platform initially designed at Avidity, which combines the tissue selectivity of mAbs and other targeted delivery ligands with the precision of oligonucleotides.
This unique combination is designed to allow selective targeting of the underlying genetic drivers of disease that were previously undruggable. Through targeted, non-viral delivery of siRNA to cardiac tissues, our approach has the potential to overcome key limitations of nonspecific viral and nanoparticle-based delivery systems, including challenges related to tissue specificity, immunogenicity, and redosing. 

Position Overview:

The Senior Director, Program Management will provide strategic and operational leadership for Atrium’s cross-functional drug development programs, with a primary focus on partnering with the Early Development Lead and functional leaders to shape program strategy and drive integrated execution from early development through key clinical and regulatory milestones. This role will partner closely with Research, Translational Medicine, Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs, CMC, Technical Operations, Finance, and executive leadership to define program strategy, manage integrated plans, identify risks, and drive timely decision-making. The successful candidate will bring strong program management discipline, deep drug development experience, and the ability to lead through influence in a fast-paced, matrixed biotech environment. As an AI-forward organization, Atrium expects this leader to actively lean into AI-enabled tools and ways of working to improve planning, communication, decision support, and operational efficiency. This is a high-impact role for a leader who can create structure, drive alignment, and help advance Atrium’s mission to deliver RNA therapeutics for genetic cardiomyopathies.

Responsibilities:

•    Lead integrated program management for one or more cross-functional development programs, translating program strategy into executable plans, making implementation decisions across functions, and ensuring alignment on objectives, timelines, milestones, decision points, risks, and resource needs.
•    Own the development and maintenance of integrated development plans in partnership with the program lead, functional leaders, and subject matter experts, connecting scientific, clinical, regulatory, CMC, operational, financial, and business priorities.
•    Be a role model: build high-performing teams, inspire team members to achieve ambitious goals, provide feedback and mentorship to drive high performance, bring positivity, build trust and respect across the team and its members, model corporate culture behaviors, and support team members.
•    Internally and externally communicate a shared, bold vision for the program; exemplify and build a patient-centric program.
•    Drive cross-functional team effectiveness by establishing clear governance, meeting cadence, agendas, decision logs, action tracking, and escalation pathways that enable disciplined execution and transparent communication.
•    Identify, assess, and communicate program risks, assumptions, dependencies, and bottlenecks; make and recommend trade-offs across teams, functions, timelines, and resources; and partner with teams to develop mitigation plans and scenario options that support timely decision-making.
•    Shape executive-level program updates, governance materials, portfolio review inputs, milestone tracking, and decision recommendations; facilitate governance decisions; and secure alignment among senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
•    Drive program-level budget, resource, and prioritization recommendations in partnership with Finance. The EDL and functional leadership, including forecasting and resource tracking across development workstreams.
•    Apply program management best practices, tools, and continuous improvement approaches to strengthen planning quality, accountability, operational rigor, and team execution.
•    Build trusted relationships across internal teams and external partners, fostering a collaborative, solution-oriented culture focused on advancing programs with urgency and scientific rigor.
•    Mentor and support less experienced program management team members, helping establish scalable processes and ways of working for Atrium’s program management organization.

Education and Experience Requirements:

•    Bachelor’s degree in a life sciences, engineering, business, or related discipline required; advanced degree such as MS, PhD, PharmD, MBA, or equivalent experience preferred.
•    12+ years of biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry experience, including 5+ years of experience in drug development program management or integrated project leadership.
•    Strong understanding of the end-to-end drug development process, including nonclinical, translational, clinical, regulatory, CMC, quality, and operational workstreams; experience supporting IND/CTA submissions and early clinical development preferred.
•    Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams in a matrixed environment, influencing without direct authority, and aligning senior stakeholders around complex scientific, operational, and business decisions.
•    Experience developing and managing integrated program plans, timelines, decision frameworks, risk registers, dashboards, governance materials, and executive communications.
•    Excellent communication, facilitation, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to distill complex information into clear recommendations.
•    Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, resource-constrained biotech environment with shifting priorities and high visibility deliverables.
•    Experience with project management tools such as Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, or similar platforms required.
•    Will work tirelessly to foster an environment of transparency, direct dialogue, and exceptional teamwork.
•    “Roll up sleeves and get hands dirty” for the benefit of the team and the team’s objectives; be able to wear multiple hats and fill in when needed; hold self as accountable
•    Background in rare disease, cardiovascular disease, RNA therapeutics, oligonucleotides, targeted delivery platforms, or genetic medicines is a plus.
•    Ability to travel occasionally for company meetings, team collaboration, external partner meetings, or industry events.

What We Provide: 

•    The base salary range for this role is $256,500-$283,500 The final compensation will be commensurate with such factors as relevant experience, skillset, internal equity and market factors.
•    Atrium offers competitive compensation and benefits which include stock options & RSUs, as well as a 401(k) with an employer match. In addition, the comprehensive wellness program includes coverage for medical, dental, vision, LTD, and unlimited of time off including summer & winter breaks.
•    A commitment to learning and development which includes a variety of programming internally developed by and for Atrium employees, opportunities for job-specific training offered by industry, and an education reimbursement program.