Project Director

A Bit About Us

We are Arcadia Science, an evolutionary biology company founded and led by scientists. Our mission is to turn natural innovations into real-world solutions by developing systematic and quantitative approaches to leveraging biology for therapeutics R&D. We share our research as openly as possible to accelerate discovery and engage with the broader scientific community.

The Opportunity

We’re seeking a Project Director to operationalize scientific programs that develop and scale Arcadia’s experimental and computational biology platforms, including areas such as high dimensional phenotyping, molecular genetics, and protein design. This role is ideal for a PhD scientist who thrives at the interface of science and management—an operator who amplifies scientific leadership by bringing structure, focus, and coordination to their efforts. Strong candidates can quickly translate high-level scientific goals into actionable research plans, guide experimental progress, and ensure effective collaboration and communication across teams.

As Project Director, you’ll manage a small group of scientists who are responsible for executing the scientific agenda set by a scientific leadership. You’ll turn research goals into concrete roadmaps, manage cross-functional dependencies, and ensure efficient execution across projects. You’ll help prioritize work, set milestones, identify bottlenecks, and ensure your team is resourced, aligned, and focused. You’ll also drive communication about research progress across teams, scientific program leads, and leadership to ensure alignment and allow effective, rapid iteration.

Who You Are

This is a role for someone who understands that ambitious science needs excellent execution. We are looking for someone who takes pride in keeping complex efforts on track, surfacing insights early, and creating clarity amid scientific complexity.

You’re a scientifically literate, operationally minded leader who sees yourself as a key, enabling partner to the scientists you manage. You’re motivated by helping others realize technical goals, and you approach your work with curiosity, humility, and precision.

We’re especially excited about candidates who bring depth in two or more of the following:

- Molecular tool development

- Cross-species molecular genetics

- Optical tool development or imaging-based phenotyping

- Protein design or protein engineering

- In vitro and in vivo functional assay development

You’re skilled at translating abstract vision into concrete plans and ensuring that progress stays visible and coordinated, often across both experimental and computational teams. You balance urgency with respect for scientific uncertainty, and you bring just enough structure to make bold ideas executable without dampening creativity. You understand that your success is measured not by control or local metrics, but by how effectively you enable outcomes.

• Develop a clear understanding of the relevant scientific vision, goals, and decision-making structure.
• Build strong working relationships with your team, scientific leadership, and cross-functional collaborators.
• Design a 90-day execution plan aligned with the scientific roadmap and team priorities.
• Establish operational systems for tracking progress, such as check-ins, dashboards, and milestone reviews.
• Begin coordinating timelines, dependencies, and communication across teams.

• Take full ownership of project execution, ensuring that scientific goals translate into actionable, trackable work plans.
• Facilitate communication between scientific leads and contributing teams, ensuring clarity around priorities and deliverables.
• Identify risks, bottlenecks, and resource needs early, surfacing them for scientific or organizational decision-making.
• Refine operational rhythms and mechanisms to improve transparency and accountability without adding friction or bureaucracy.

• Establish consistent execution across projects within your program area.
• Proactively synthesize learnings, dependencies, and progress updates for scientific and organizational stakeholders.
• Strengthen collaboration between teams by clarifying interfaces, expectations, and shared milestones.
• Create systems that make it easier for scientific leads to focus on strategy and discovery, while keeping execution smooth and visible.

• PhD in the life sciences or a related field, and at least three years of post-PhD work
• 3 years leading complex, multi-stakeholder research and development projects or programs in a fast-paced, goal-oriented environment
• Familiarity with research operations or project management tools
• Experience developing complex experimental and/or computational workflows (for example, high-throughput assays, molecular or optical methods, or modeling/design pipelines)
• Demonstrated ability to design and deliver structured execution in dynamic, research-driven environments
• Exceptional communication, organization, and facilitation skills
• Experience supervising or mentoring scientists 
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and helping others make progress through it

• Experience in high throughput molecular assays, genetic perturbation screens, or imaging-based multi-dimensional phenotyping
• Experience in protein design or protein engineering, protein biochemistry or structural biology, or integrating machine learning/protein language models into design or analysis workflows
• A track record of open, collaborative work (e.g., preprints, open data, code sharing)
• Experience in fast-paced, iterative start-up environments

Arcadia Science is an equal opportunity workplace; we welcome people from all backgrounds and communities. 

Please note that an offer of employment from Arcadia is contingent upon the successful clearance of a reference and background check.

Salary : $150,000 - $180,000