---
title: '(Senior) Director, Translational Medicine and Diagnostics at insitro'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-translational-medicine-and-diagnostics-insitro-south-san-fg3r8bm11cp4'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# (Senior) Director, Translational Medicine and Diagnostics at insitro

- **Company:** insitro
- **Location:** South San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-07-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/insitro/ad312c11-a046-4a16-939e-524094fc006c

## Job description

## THE OPPORTUNITY

The unprecedented convergence of multi-modal data, advanced disease modeling, and computational power is revolutionizing drug discovery. insitro is harnessing this moment to redefine how medicines are developed for complex diseases. Our AI/ML-enabled platforms integrate and scale data to rapidly discover novel biological insights, identify new targets and drugs, and redefine complex diseases. To enable this vision, we are seeking a Director (or Senior Director) of Translational Medicine and Diagnostics.

This role is an opportunity to directly improve patients' lives by leading translational medicine across our three therapeutic areas — neurology/neurodegeneration, metabolism/cardiovascular, and ophthalmology — and by making clinical trials more efficient and beneficial for patients and drug developers through AI/ML and innovative translational strategies.

Reporting directly to the Chief Medical Officer, you will lead the translational medicine function at insitro, supporting the development of multiple therapeutics — biologics, oligonucleotides, and small molecules — along with multimodal biomarkers and diagnostics. This position can be onsite (three days per week) or hybrid (~one week per month) in our South San Francisco office, with additional travel to relevant medical and translational science conferences and health authorities.

## RESPONSIBILITIES

Translational Strategy & Leadership

- Build the Function: Build and lead insitro's translational medicine function, from IND/CTA through clinical proof-of-concept, across biologics, oligonucleotides, and small molecules
- Lead Key Assets: Serve as translational lead for advanced pre-clinical and initial clinical-stage assets
- Own End-to-End Strategy: Be accountable for translational medicine strategy, GCP adherence, and regulatory-authority interactions, including biospecimen CRO selection and oversight

Biomarker Science & Patient Stratification

- Design Stratification Strategies: Design innovative approaches to patient stratification using laboratory and digital biomarkers
- Generate Proof-of-Mechanism Evidence: Generate proof-of-mechanism evidence that drives objective, data-driven, and timely go/no-go decisions

Regulatory Strategy, Partnership & Influence

- Interpret Regulatory Requirements: Interpret regulatory translational medicine requirements and quantify the return on investment of translational strategies
- Partner Across Functions: Collaborate closely with preclinical, clinical, regulatory, and computational teams
- Shape the Field: Influence emerging AI/ML policy in translational science through original publications, presentations, and stakeholder engagement

## ABOUT YOU

## Experience & Qualifications

- Advanced Degree: Advanced degree in life sciences, technology, chemistry, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience
- Proven Tenure: 10+ years of experience in translational science in biotech and/or pharma, including direct experience as a translational lead delivering therapeutics and diagnostic biomarkers from FIH through proof-of-concept to NDA/BLA submission
- AI/ML Exposure: Experience applying AI/ML approaches to drug discovery and development
- Technical Breadth: Deep understanding of diagnostic and device regulations, good clinical practice, clinical trial design and execution, clinical pharmacology, biostatistics, and the application of computation to drug development

Core Competencies

- Cross-Functional Collaborator: Track record of communicating and collaborating effectively with diverse stakeholders across clinical, translational, computational, and life sciences functions
- Motivating Leader: Strong interpersonal skills that inspire others to do their best work
- Patient-Driven: Genuine passion for bringing better medicines to patients in need

## COMPENSATION & BENEFITS AT INSITRO

Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $224,000 - $299,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data.

This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies.

In addition, insitro also provides our employees:

- 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions
- Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support
- Open, flexible vacation policy
- Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)
- Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development
- New hire stipend for home office setup
- Monthly cell phone & internet stipend
- Access to free onsite baristas and daily lunch for employees who are either onsite or hybrid
- Access to a free commuter bus network that provides transport to and from our South San Francisco HQ from locations all around the Bay Area

insitro is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion need to be at the foundation of our culture. We work hard to bring together diverse teams–grounded in a wide range of expertise and life experiences–and work even harder to ensure those teams thrive in inclusive, growth-oriented environments supported by equitable company and team practices. All candidates can expect equitable treatment, respect, and fairness throughout the interview process.

#LI-Hybrid

Please be aware of recruitment scams: we never request payments, all recruitment communications are from @insitro.com http://insitro.com, and if in doubt, contact us at info@insitro.com.

## About insitro

insitro is a drug discovery and development company using machine learning (ML) and data at scale to decode biology for transformative medicines. At the core of insitro’s approach is the convergence of in-house generated multi-modal cellular data and high-content phenotypic human cohort data. We rely on these data to develop ML-driven, predictive disease models that uncover underlying biologic state and elucidate critical drivers of disease. These powerful models rely on extensive biological and computational infrastructure and allow insitro to advance novel targets and patient biomarkers, design therapeutics and inform clinical strategy. insitro is advancing a wholly owned and partnered pipeline of insights and therapeutics in neuroscience and metabolism. Since launching in 2018, insitro has raised over $700 million from top tech, biotech and crossover investors, and from collaborations with pharmaceutical partners. For more information on insitro, please visit www.insitro.com http://www.insitro.com.

## About insitro

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: insitro is a drug discovery company using machine learning, high-throughput biology, and human genetics to build causal models of disease and accelerate the development of transformative medicines.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C)
- **Headquarters**: South San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Daphne Koller (CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Biotechnology Research; AI-driven drug discovery
- **Target customers**: B2B (pharma partnerships) and self-originated pipeline – therapeutic areas including metabolism (MASH, lipogenesis), oncology, and neuroscience
- **Mission/purpose**: “Bring better drugs faster to the patients who can benefit most” by decoding the complexities of biology with ML and data at scale

## Products & Services
- **Insitro Platform**: An industrialized ML platform that integrates in vitro cellular data (produced in automated labs) with human clinical and genetic data to identify causal disease drivers and design optimal therapeutic interventions.
- **Virtual Human™**: A genetically anchored causal AI engine that models how disease begins, progresses, and can be resolved.
- **TherML™ AI Platform**: An AI system for designing optimal small molecule medicines.
- **Pipeline Programs**: Wholly-owned and partnered programs in metabolism (e.g., CTRO-1013 for MASH), oncology (ADC biology), and neuroscience.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric – Total Funding**: $743M (per LinkedIn) to >$750M (per company press release); includes Series A ($100M, 2018; $100M, 2019), Series B ($143M, 2020), Series C ($400M, 2021)
- **Annual Revenue**: $20.3M (LinkedIn estimate; also reported ~$140M in total collaboration revenue to date from partnerships with BMS, Lilly, and Gilead)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: a16z, ARCH, BlackRock, Casdin, CPP Investments, Foresite Capital, GV, SoftBank, Temasek, Third Rock Ventures, T. Rowe Price. Partners include Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Gilead.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount decreased ~20.6% YoY to ~211 employees; however active job postings increased 400% YoY (10 postings). The lead MASH candidate CTRO-1013 is expected to enter first-in-human clinical trials in 2026. New data presented at ADA 2025 shows anti-fibrotic signals.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Causal biology focus**: Integrates human genetics, multi-modal cellular data, and clinical imaging to identify causal intervention points – distinguishes from purely correlative AI models.
- **Industrialized learning loop**: Each program generates data that improves the platform’s predictive models, enabling faster scaling across therapeutic areas.
- **World-class team and investors**: Led by AI pioneer Daphne Koller with backing from top-tier tech and healthcare investors.
- **Revenue‑generating partnerships**: Validated by large pharma collaborations (BMS, Lilly, Gilead) bringing in ~$140M.

## Strategic Focus
- **Advancing pipeline to clinic**: CTRO-1013 (IRS1 inhibitor for MASH) is the lead wholly-owned program entering human trials in 2026. Additional programs in metabolism, oncology, and neuroscience are progressing.
- **Deepening platform capabilities**: Continued investment in automation, multi-modal data generation (imaging, genomics, proteomics), and ML model refinement across all biology scales.
- **Expanding partnerships**: Leveraging platform to support partner drug discovery while retaining wholly-owned programs.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Cross-disciplinary environment where life scientists, data scientists, engineers, and drug hunters collaborate on first-in-class drug discovery problems.
- **Work model**: Roles primarily based in South San Francisco, CA and Krakow, Poland; specific remote/hybrid policy not publicly detailed.
- **Notable perks**: Not explicitly listed, but the company emphasizes a “unique culture” focused on scientific breakthroughs and scaling data-driven medicine.
- **Employer ratings**: Mixed (2.7/5 on LinkedIn from 31 reviews). Compensation scores higher (3.6/5) while culture (2.6/5) and career development (2.7/5) are areas of concern.
- **Engineering/ML culture**: Strong focus on applying state-of-the-art ML (including generative AI, causal inference, imaging analysis) to real biological problems. Open roles span ML science, software engineering (scientific pipelines), and computational biology.
- **Growth trajectory**: Despite recent headcount reductions, the near-term clinical milestone (CTRO-1013 Phase 1) and increased hiring point to a potential inflection point.

## Sources
1. [insitro.com – Company site](https://www.insitro.com/)
2. [insitro.com – Platform page](https://www.insitro.com/platform/)
3. [LinkedIn – Insitro company page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/insitro)
4. [CBInsights – Insitro company profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/insitro)
5. [Greenhouse – Insitro careers page](https://boards.greenhouse.io/insitro)

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