--- title: 'Senior Manager of Research and Development at Pendulum™' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-of-research-and-development-pendulum-san-francisco-qavkx2x1ab4y' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-15' --- # Senior Manager of Research and Development at Pendulum™ - **Company:** Pendulum™ - **Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-07-20 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-15 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/pendulum/f4ea5cbc-34a6-49c3-901c-30a502bcd926 ## Job description ## About Pendulum Pendulum® is leading a revolution that is occurring around the world to improve physical and mental health by first understanding, then restoring and enhancing the human microbiome. Studies have shown that our microbiome (the bacterial communities in and on our bodies) is linked to everything from metabolism and diabetes to longevity, weight loss, healthy immune systems, cancer prevention, feelings of well-being, inflammatory bowel disease, and even healthy skin. We have just scratched the surface of understanding the impact that our microbiome has on our lives. During early life, we develop a diverse and balanced microbiome that plays a critical role in shaping our long-term health. Over our lives, a combination of diet, lifestyle, antibiotics, and aging can decrease the effectiveness of our microbiome. Pendulum recognized the enormous impact they could have on people’s lives if they were able to address the imbalances in the microbiome. To accomplish this, Pendulum created proprietary probiotic pipelines and a unique discovery platform to identify key, novel bacterial strains and the prebiotics that feed them. The company has also built and developed the world’s first manufacturing technology to produce bacteria in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment at scale. The medical probiotics that Pendulum has formulated have transformed the consumer probiotics market into a new category of therapeutic offerings that deliver the power and efficacy of pharmaceuticals with the safety and accessibility of a natural probiotic. Due to Pendulum’s explosive revenue and customer growth over the last two years, the company earned a spot on Forbes Magazine’s exclusive “The Next Billion Dollar Startups” list. Please continue reading if you want to improve people's lives globally and love working in a cross-functional, collaborative, inspiring environment. We are a highly collaborative team of scientists, engineers, physicians, marketers, and analysts interested in improving human health using the latest research from diverse fields, such as microbiology, molecular biology, high-throughput genomics, distributed computing, pharmaceutical development, and nutrition. We firmly believe in cultivating a transparent team culture where effective communication drives both individual and collective success. Position Summary The Senior Manager of Research and Development will manage and execute key R&D projects and programs, from early development to commercialization, under the direction of Product leadership. This includes leading project teams and collaborating with cross-functional teams, fostering innovation, generating data to support marketing teams, and helping ensure products meet regulatory and quality requirements. The ideal candidate will have solid experience in biopharma-related disciplines, a strong understanding of microbiome science and products, and a track record of contributing to successful products in market. The successful candidate will be a highly collaborative and results-oriented manager with strong critical and analytical thinking skills. This role demands a blend of hands-on scientific work and people leadership. As a manager, you will help drive the priorities of your projects and team, aligning your research efforts with broader clinical, commercial and business goals. As a working scientific lead, you will directly guide bench scientists, troubleshoot experiments, and foster a culture of scientific excellence. You will serve as a collaborative partner to cross-functional teams, ensuring seamless collaboration and a shared vision for success. Things move quickly around here, and we seek someone who thrives in a fast-paced, lean, collaborative environment. While we want someone who can think big, we also need someone who can be resourceful in how they approach executing. They should be passionate and comfortable working with an exciting young brand as it quickly scales. ## What You'll Do Research Leadership & Execution - Contribute to the R&D strategy and roadmap aligned with the company’s vision and business goals, and own execution of assigned programs, balancing internal efforts with effective external collaborations. - Stay current on emerging trends and opportunities in probiotics, microbiome research, and related biopharma fields. - Work closely with the Executive, Clinical, Revenue, Data and Product teams to support and help drive key cross-functional initiatives. - Serve as a resource and contributor across multiple departments for cross-functional projects, including consumer studies, investigator studies, and regulatory dossiers. - Coordinate with other key departments, including Marketing, as well as external partners, to support science-based initiatives, including consumer studies. - Communicate R&D progress, findings, and project plans to Product leadership and cross-functional stakeholders. - Attend and, where appropriate, present at industry conferences and scientific meetings. Innovation and Product Development - Lead the design, development, and optimization of assigned microbiome products, formulations, and delivery systems. - Support innovation through collaboration with academic institutions, research organizations, and industry partners. - Contribute as a scientific lead on the science team, partnering with scientific staff to help develop a scientific roadmap and research strategy. - Inspire a culture of scientific rigor and innovation, translating discoveries into high-impact applications. ## Team Leadership and Development - Establish clear goals, KPIs, and performance metrics for your team and projects. - Manage, mentor, and develop a team of scientists, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. - Provide technical guidance, troubleshoot experimental challenges, and ensure the successful execution of research projects. Project Management - Oversee multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery of milestones within budget. - Have a multiplicative effect by building and harmonizing data analysis infrastructure and best practices within the team and aligning analysis and infrastructure practices with Pendulum’s Data Science and Engineering. - Coordinate with cross-functional teams to manage external partnerships, including contract research organizations (CROs) and manufacturing partners. ## What You’ll Need Education - Ph.D. in Microbiology, Immunology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, or a related field (or an M.S. with equivalent additional experience). ## Experience - Minimum 5-7 years of progressive experience in R&D within the biopharma or biotech industry, with at least 2–3 years in a management or team-lead role. - Record of high-quality achievement demonstrated by increasing responsibilities, promotions, peer-reviewed publications, patents, and/or successfully developed products. - Track record of supporting effective cross-functional teams and collaborating closely with bench scientists. Direct experience developing novel assays directly or indirectly with external academic collaborators. - Experience generating and standardizing experimental data to integrate with AI, machine learning, and predictive in silico workflows. - Hands-on expertise in microbiome research or related disciplines. - Experience contributing to products moving from concept to market in a regulated environment. ## Skills - Possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to design and interpret complex experiments, analyze large datasets (e.g., microbiome sequencing data, metabolomics), and draw meaningful conclusions. - Deep understanding of microbiome science, probiotic strains, formulation science, and biopharma product development. - Strong leadership, communication, and project management skills. - Ability to foster cross-functional collaboration and manage external partnerships. ## Preferred Qualifications - Publications or patents in microbiome-related fields. - Familiarity with relevant cell culture and in vitro assays critical to characterizing strains, understanding their function, and optimizing formulations. Salary & Beneifts - $190,000 - 210,000 - Medical, Dental, and Vision - Commuter Benefits - Life & STD Insurance - Company match on 401 (k) - Flexible Time Off (FTO) - Equity ## About Pendulum™ ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Pendulum™ (Pendulum Therapeutics) is a biotechnology company developing clinically validated, science-backed probiotics and Live Synbiotics™ that target the gut microbiome to improve metabolic and overall health. - **Entity Type**: Private (late-stage venture-backed; last disclosed round: Venture Round 2023, plus Series B 2019) - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States (933 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94107) - **Founded**: 2012 - **Founders**: Colleen Cutcliffe (CEO & Co-Founder), John Eid (CSO & Co-Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary Industry**: Biotechnology / Microbiome science / Consumer health supplements - **Target Customers**: B2C (direct-to-consumer probiotics), B2B/Healthcare (wholesale, strategic channels, healthcare providers), Enterprise (health systems and clinical partners) - **Mission Statement**: "To improve the lives of millions through microbiome products" — bridging nature and medicine by creating products with "the power and efficacy of a pharmaceutical with the safety and accessibility of a probiotic" [pendulumlife.com](https://pendulumlife.com/pages/story) ## Products & Services - **Pendulum Akkermansia**: The company's flagship product — the first novel probiotic species brought to market in more than 50 years, and the first and only probiotic in the world clinically proven to lower A1C and blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes; it stimulates natural GLP-1 production. (Product type: clinically validated probiotic supplement) - **Live Synbiotics™ Line**: A portfolio of rationally designed probiotics + prebiotics targeting conditions such as metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. (Product type: synbiotic supplements) - **Proprietary Discovery Platform**: An internal R&D engine that identifies key novel bacterial strains and the prebiotics that feed them, enabling a pipeline of new products. (Service type: biotech research platform) - **Glucose Control / Metabolic Products**: Products designed for metabolic daily support, optimized glucose control, and healthy weight promotion. (Product type: probiotic supplements) ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (privately held) — *conflicting/limited data: total funding reported as $45M across multiple rounds* - **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue ~$3M (estimated via public data aggregators); Total Funding $45M - Venture Round (June 2023): $10M, 1 investor - Series B (May 2019): $35M, 5 investors - Seed Round (May 2024): 1 investor - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Investors from prior rounds include institutional backers (specific fund names not disclosed in public sources); partners include healthcare sales and wholesale distribution channels. Leadership includes Dr. Adam Perlman (Chief Medical Officer), formerly Director of Integrative Health and Wellbeing at the Mayo Clinic. - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount: 94 employees (−20.8% YoY, −30 people) with active job postings up +100% YoY — a sign of selective rebuilding after contraction - Expanding commercial focus: hiring a Director of Healthcare Sales (Wholesale & Strategic Channels) and Director of Clinical Studies - Strong talent pipeline from Stanford University, BioMarin, PacBio, Zymergen, Second Genome, and Berkeley Lab - Workforce distributed across 5 countries (US, Canada, Philippines, India, Netherlands) ## Competitive Advantages - **First-Mover Market Position**: Pendulum was the first to bring a novel bacterial species to the probiotics market in over 50 years, giving it category-creator status in "Live Synbiotics." - **Clinical-Grade Evidence**: The only probiotic clinically proven to lower A1C and blood glucose in type 2 diabetes — a regulatory-grade moat that pure supplement companies lack. - **Strong IP and Scientific Talent**: Co-founders have deep backgrounds (Pacific Biosciences, Johns Hopkins, Harvard/Rowland Institute, Cornell/UIUC) in genomics, biophysics, and molecular biology; the team includes ex-Mayo Clinic and Duke physicians. - **Proprietary Discovery Pipeline**: Integrated platform spanning strain discovery, prebiotic matching, clinical validation, and commercialization — hard to replicate quickly. - **Cross-Disciplinary Expertise**: Combines biostatistics, microbiology, biotechnology, medical research, high-throughput genomics, distributed computing, and nutrition. ## Strategic Focus - **Category Creation**: Building a new category of microbiome-targeting health products with pharmaceutical-level efficacy claims and supplement-level accessibility. - **Expanding Clinical Pipeline**: Deepening research into metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and neurodegeneration through new clinical studies (active hiring for Director of Clinical Studies). - **Healthcare Channel Expansion**: Growing wholesale and strategic healthcare sales to move beyond direct-to-consumer into provider and health-system channels. - **R&D Continuity**: Maintaining proprietary pipelines for novel strain discovery across Compute R&D (software engineering/data analytics) and Lab R&D (biochemistry/microbiology) departments. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-Driven Work**: Employees work at the intersection of nature and medicine, with a stated mission to improve the lives of millions through microbiome products [pendulumlife.com](https://pendulumlife.com/pages/story) - **Cross-Functional Culture**: Described as "a highly collaborative team of scientists, engineers, physicians, marketers and salespeople" that values transparency, strong communication, autonomy, and collaboration in a fast-paced environment [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/pendulum/fbaed257-dc01-447a-ac23-24bafbc3763f) - **Work Model**: Hybrid and on-site roles based in San Francisco, CA (Mission District/Potrero Hill area offices) - **Benefits**: FSA/HSA eligible products; standard health-and-wellness benefits expected in biotech (details shared during interview) - **Departments Hiring**: Compute R&D (software engineering and data analytics), Lab R&D (biochemistry and microbiology), Manufacturing, People and Culture, Marketing, Medical Affairs, Operations, and IT - **Diversity Commitment**: "Pendulum Therapeutics, Inc. is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer" across race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, and veteran status [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/pendulum/fbaed257-dc01-447a-ac23-24bafbc3763f) - **Candid Assessment**: Employer rating is 2.9/5.0 from 45 reviews (Work-Life: 2.8, Compensation: 3.2, Culture: 2.8, Career: 2.8) — a moderate score; the company has experienced recent headcount decline (−20.8% YoY) and should be evaluated carefully on culture and stability during interviews [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/pendulumco) ## Sources 1. [lever.co — Pendulum Careers](https://jobs.lever.co/pendulum) 2. [linkedin.com — Pendulum Therapeutics](https://linkedin.com/company/pendulumco) 3. [pendulumlife.com — Careers](https://pendulumlife.com/pages/careers) 4. [pendulumlife.com — Our Story](https://pendulumlife.com/pages/story) 5. [jobs.lever.co — Pendulum Dream Job Application](https://jobs.lever.co/pendulum/fbaed257-dc01-447a-ac23-24bafbc3763f) ## Other roles at Pendulum™ - [Revenue Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/revenue-operations-manager-pendulum-remote-1nspp3zkttp8) - [Director, Influencer Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/director-influencer-marketing-pendulum-san-francisco-3y7e99cyqrzm) — San Francisco, CA - [Sr. Sourcing Manager, New Product Introduction](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-sourcing-manager-new-product-introduction-pendulum-san-francisco-gb7eh1vzp5r0) — San Francisco, CA - [Director, Healthcare Revenue](https://feeny.ai/job/director-healthcare-revenue-pendulum-san-francisco-2ccgrppf8vzv) — San Francisco, CA - [Director, People](https://feeny.ai/job/director-people-pendulum-san-francisco-v42jh2xcstv7) — San Francisco, CA - [Apply for your Dream Job](https://feeny.ai/job/apply-for-your-dream-job-pendulum-san-francisco-tpf0fkj8yp8b) — San Francisco, CA