---
title: 'Senior Director, Business Development at Sana Biotechnology'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-business-development-sana-biotechnology-cambridge-7ytx363858nx'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Senior Director, Business Development at Sana Biotechnology

- **Company:** Sana Biotechnology
- **Location:** Cambridge, MA
- **Posted:** 2024-12-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/sanabiotech/jobs/7752948002

## Job description

## About the role

Sana Biotechnology is growing, and we are hiring new team members who believe in the potential of engineered cells as medicines, who are passionate about delivering the possible to patients, and who lead with the desire to work on novel ideas. As a Senior Director, Business Development, you will report to the Chief Financial Officer to lead and execute key business development initiatives for a publicly traded biotechnology company advancing innovative cell and gene therapy programs. This individual will play a central role in evaluating, structuring, negotiating, and managing transactions that support the company’s long-term growth objectives, including licensing, partnerships, collaborations, co-development arrangements, platform transactions, and other strategic opportunities.

## What you’ll do

- Lead or play a central role in the execution of business development transactions, including: in-licensing and out-licensing, co-development and co-commercialization agreements, research collaborations & platform partnerships, option-based deals, key supply agreements, geographic licensing arrangements, and joint ventures or other structured transactions.
- Coordinate cross-functional diligence processes involving R&D, technical operations/CMC, clinical, regulatory, legal, IP, finance, commercial, and executive leadership.
- Develop business cases, valuation frameworks, competitive assessments, and transaction rationale to support internal decision-making.
- Structure, negotiate, and finalize term sheets, letters of intent, confidentiality agreements, and definitive agreements in collaboration with legal and executive leadership.
- Support preparation of presentations and recommendations for senior management, executive committees, and the Board of Directors.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with biotechnology peers, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions.
- Serve as a key point of contact for existing and prospective partners, representing the company with professionalism, credibility, and strategic insight.
- Support alliance transition and post-signing governance as needed to help ensure successful execution of strategic collaborations.
- Partner closely with internal leaders across research, development, manufacturing, commercial, finance, legal, intellectual property, investor relations, and corporate strategy.
- Help drive internal alignment on external opportunities by synthesizing complex scientific, clinical, strategic, operational, and financial considerations.
- Contribute to broader corporate planning efforts, including portfolio prioritization discussions, long range planning and strategic reviews.
- Develop financial frameworks to properly analyze potential transactions.

## What we’re looking for

- 7+ years of experience in biotech/life sciences business development, specifically in technology licensing or tech transfer; however, an alternate combination of education and experience will be considered in exchange for a specific degree.
- Deep understanding of the scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial dynamics relevant to therapeutic development.
- Proven track record of successfully negotiating and closing complex transactions, demonstrating strong strategic judgment, financial and transactional acumen, and cross-functional leadership.
- Ability to engage effectively with internal senior leadership and external stakeholders with a track record of operating with executive-level visibility and confidentiality.

What will separate you from the crowd

- Advanced degree (MD, PhD, MBA, or JD).
- Experience in a public company environment.

## What you should know

- The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $250,000 and $315,000/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
- This position is located in our Cambridge, MA office.

## How we work together for patients

- Lead from every seat – we seek to understand, act with honesty, and engage in the crucial conversations
- Thrive as a team – we hire amazing people, are intensely curious, and cultivate inclusion and personal connectivity
- Make it happen – we value vigorous debate, alignment around our decisions, and resilient execution

Get to know us

At Sana, we believe that a workforce with varied backgrounds strengthens us as a company and helps us to achieve our mission to meaningfully change the outcome of many human diseases. This belief is a pillar of our business and is critical to our success. Our goal is that Sana is the place for talented people to bring their authentic selves to work, to have a great career and to deeply, positively impact patients.

Core to our values, we believe there is nothing more important than the health and wellness of you and your family. For benefit eligible employees, we cover a generous portion of the cost for employee health coverage, making high-quality care more accessible and affordable. We offer ample time-off (various paid time off benefits, such as holidays, vacation, sick time, and parental leave), short- and long-term disability, employer paid basic life insurance, additional voluntary life insurance protection, financial wellness programs including financial planning resources, a 401(k) Plan with an immediately vested employer match, Tuition Reimbursement and Student Loan Repayment, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, commuter subsidy and a variety of wellness offerings to support each person individually.  For more details on our benefits, visit Sana’s [Benefits Portal](https://app.newfront.com/employee/7b75041e-1408-425e-9114-937275388e19/overview).

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental or sensory disability (including the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability), genetic information, actual or perceived HIV or Hepatitis C infection, medical condition (cancer or a record or history of cancer and genetic characteristics), marital status, sexual orientation, sexual preference, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), disability, veteran status, political ideology, social class (including caste/caste identity), taking or requesting statutorily protected leave, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

To perform this job successfully, you must be able to perform each job responsibility satisfactorily. The job description listed above is representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required for this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions described above.

## About Sana Biotechnology

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Sana Biotechnology is developing engineered cells as medicines to repair, control, and replace genes or cells in the body for diseases like diabetes, B-cell cancers, and autoimmune disorders.
- **Entity Type**: Public (NASDAQ: SANA)
- **Headquarters**: Seattle, Washington, United States
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Biotechnology (cell and gene therapy)
- **Target customers**: Patients with serious diseases (B2C via healthcare providers); partnerships with academic institutions and pharma companies (B2B)
- **Mission or purpose**: “Changing the possible for patients” – to deliver transformative engineered cell therapies that are broadly accessible.

## Products & Services
- **In Vivo Cell Engineering Platform**: Aims to deliver any payload to any cell in a specific, predictable, and repeatable manner for gene therapy (e.g., fusogen-based delivery, gene editing). Type: Platform technology.
- **Ex Vivo Cell Replacement Platform**: Differentiates pluripotent stem cells into functional cells (e.g., pancreatic islet cells for type 1 diabetes) with hypoimmune modifications to avoid rejection. Type: Platform technology / therapeutic candidate.
- **Hypoimmune Platform**: Gene-edited cells that evade immune rejection, enabling allogeneic cell therapies without immunosuppression. Type: Technology platform.
- **Pipeline Candidates**: Includes hypoimmune islet cells for diabetes, CAR-T cells for B-cell cancers, and B-cell related autoimmune therapies. Type: Therapeutics (clinical/preclinical).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: ~$2.2 billion (as of mid-2026, per LinkedIn)
- **Key Metric**: Annual revenue estimated between $100M–$500M (pre-commercial, likely from partnerships/grants); Total funding raised: ~$1.56 billion (including post-IPO equity)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly detailed in available sources; early investors include Flagship Pioneering, Arch Venture Partners (common knowledge, but not confirmed in search results)
- **Growth Signals**: IPO in February 2021; 173 employees (-3.7% YoY); active job postings up 550% YoY; published key clinical data in New England Journal of Medicine (2025) for hypoimmune islets; facilities in Seattle, Cambridge, and South San Francisco

## Competitive Advantages
- **Hypoimmune technology** that allows allogeneic cell transplants without immunosuppression – a potential breakthrough for diabetes and other cell replacement therapies.
- **Fusogen platform** for in vivo delivery of gene therapies, targeting hard-to-reach cells.
- **Broad platform approach** spanning gene repair, cell replacement, and scalable manufacturing – aims to address multiple diseases from a unified technology base.

## Strategic Focus
- Advancing lead programs into clinical trials (hypoimmune islets for type 1 diabetes, CAR-T for B-cell cancers/autoimmune).
- Scaling manufacturing to reduce cost and improve patient access.
- Building partnerships and acquiring complementary technologies (e.g., fusogen platform from acquisition).
- Long-term commitment to “replace any cell in the body” and “repair any gene.”

## Why Work Here
- **Culture highlights**: Values include “humble and unrelenting commitment to patients,” “lead from every seat,” “make each other better,” and “great choices with urgency and integrity.” [sana.com](https://sana.com/join-us/)
- **Work model**: Office-based at three main hubs (Seattle, Cambridge, South San Francisco); hybrid/remote policy not specified.
- **Benefits**: Comprehensive health and well-being resources, “thrive as a team” philosophy. [sana.com](https://sana.com/join-us/)
- **Engineering/science culture**: Emphasis on cutting-edge science (cell engineering, gene editing, machine learning); collaborative, cross-disciplinary teams.
- **Growth trajectory**: Public company with strong funding and recent clinical milestones; job postings up 550% YoY signals expansion.

## Sources
1. [sana.com - Home](https://sana.com/)
2. [sana.com - Join Us](https://sana.com/join-us/)
3. [sana.com - Our Story](https://sana.com/our-story/)
4. [sana.com - Our Science](https://sana.com/our-science/)
5. [LinkedIn - Sana Biotechnology](https://www.linkedin.com/company/sana-biotechnology)

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