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Company Overview: Terray Therapeutics is a venture-backed biotechnology company led by pioneers and long-time leaders in artificial intelligence, synthetic chemistry, automation, and nanotechnology. We’re generating chemical data purpose-built to propel drug discovery into the information age — and we’re doing it on a larger scale and faster than has ever before been possible.

Our closed loop system generates precise chemical datasets at unrivaled scale that work seamlessly with AI to systematically map biochemical interactions between small molecules and causes of disease. Iterative cycles of virtual molecular design and experimentation power AI and machine learning models, which in turn guide the next cycle of design. With a chemistry engine that measures billions of interactions daily and becomes increasingly precise with every cycle, we can answer an unprecedented array of questions — deriving insights that enable us to predictably create drugs for patients in need.

Position Summary: Terray runs a number of interconnected workflows related to its proprietary tArray technology and needs a leader to ensure materials and information for these workflows are produced and communicated across Terray with the quality, speed and cost that we desire. This all must be done while considering risk/reward trade-offs in the context of a small company. This is a servant leader position with multiple customers.

Thus, Terray is currently seeking a Head of Lab Operations to be the lead who is accountable across all tArray related workflows for Terray’s ability to execute with efficiency and measure quality, speed and cost. Given how many aspects of Terray the tArray workflows touch, this role will include both direct leadership of some of the teams participating in this workflow and partnership with others. Thus, the ideal candidate must be very comfortable collaborating and communicating across teams. As one example, this role is responsible for identifying areas for optimization and communicating those needs to partners in Computational Data Sciences, Platform and Pre-Clinical development in order for them to develop new solutions.

This role will be responsible for leading compound management, library synthesis, microarray preparation and decoding, small molecule resynthesis, and small molecule purification. These teams’ workflows are a blend of operations that occur across the industry and highly specialized, proprietary technology only found at Terray. The ideal candidate will bring expertise that accelerates our work and be an eager learner who is invested in personnel development.

This role will report to the CEO. Depending on the candidate, this role may be at the Director to VP level.

The core responsibilities of this position are:

• For all tArray related workflows across Terray:
• • Develop a technical understanding for all aspects of the workflow
  • Facilitate cross-team communication so that needs are understood and expectations are met
  • Coordinate and optimize availability of Terray prepared materials
  • Inventory management and planning
  • Workflow visibility and planning
  • Ensure that quality is defined and controlled at every step (with an understanding of risk/reward trade offs)
  • SOPs are accurate
  • Deviations from SOPs are documented and addressed, including CAPAs as necessary
  • Any changes to the workflow are fully validated, documented, SOPs are updated, and there is an ROI for making the change
  • Ensure that all workflows have defined QC, metrics, and KPIs that are readily viewable and interpretable to drive decision making

• For each of the teams that directly report to this role – Compound Management, Library Synthesis, tArray Chip Preparation, Resynthesis, and Purification:
• • Lead the strategic goal setting for this team to achieve Terray’s corporate goals and then deliver against those goals
  • Manage and develop an engaged team that can effectively and efficiently execute across these interdependent workflows
  • Technical execution of all operations

• In all aspects, this role is critically responsible for identifying areas for improvement in Terray’s workflows that involve Lab Operations and partnering with other teams to prioritize efforts to address these opportunities. This is particularly important at the interfaces between teams. This will include:
• • Working with the Preclinical and Platform teams to optimize existing experimental processes and develop new ones. This includes working with our Automation team on equipment
  • Working with the Computational Data Sciences team to optimize existing computational processes and develop new ones
  • Working across all teams to develop and optimize workflows and information transfer

Experience and Qualifications: Terray’s mission is rooted in making the world a better place by bringing relief to patients in need. We are looking for a mission-driven candidate who is looking to make an outsized impact on a collaborative and inclusive team. The candidate must be a data-driven decision maker with deep expertise in executing a repetitive workflow (high-throughput screening, core services in pharma, assay kit manufacturing, etc) that must deliver for multiple stakeholders. At Terray, we take decisive action in context and are looking for a leader who prioritizes understanding the needs of stakeholders, solicits feedback from team members and is then comfortable making decisions amidst uncertainty and seeing them through to execution with excellence.

One of the primary areas of emphasis for this role is personnel recruitment and development. The candidate must be a proven people leader who is able to work with technicians and scientists at early and mid-career stages to help them learn both technical and interpersonal skills. The candidate must also be proficient in working as part of a leadership team to efficiently coordinate cross-team workflows and deliverables and “translate” between teams and their stakeholders.

Required Qualifications:

• Degree in a technical or scientific discipline (Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, etc)
• 10+ years of experience in life sciences
• 5+ years managing lab operations in a life sciences company
• Track record of prioritizing safety and maintaining a safe work place
• Track record of being a team player in a cross-functional environment
• Track record of hiring and developing early and mid-career team members
• Proven record of defining and implementing criteria for process transfer from R&D to Operations as well as quality management in Operations while balancing risk/reward as is appropriate for different companies/stages
• Excellent attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience with LIMS and/or workflow planning tools
• Experience participating in financial planning to connect strategic goals to lab operations

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading production/manufacturing/core services in an environment where R&D frequently delivers improved processes to implement
• Experience working with teams to build and use informatic tools to derive actionable insights from large and complex production data sets
• Experience with one or more of the technical underpinnings of the tArray process (synthetic chemistry, oligonucleotides, proteins, imaging systems/software, analytical chemistry, LC/MS and/or laboratory analytical systems

Compensation Details: Depending on the level of the role $235,000 - $384,000 (annually) depending on seniority; participation in the Company's option plan; 3% retirement safe harbor contribution; fully-paid medical, dental, vision, life and disability benefits.