Job Description

Company Overview

Light Horse Therapeutics is a small molecule drug discovery company based in San Diego, employing tools from chemical and computational biology, in conjunction with precision genome editing to identify functional/ ligandable sites on high value targets for therapeutic intervention. Light Horse Therapeutics was founded by leading academics Brian Liau (Harvard), Ben Cravatt (Scripps) and Nathanael Gray (Stanford) with initial financial backing from Versant Ventures and Mubadala Capital and from three strategic investors: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Taiho Ventures, and AbbVie Ventures. In 2025, Light Horse entered a strategic multi-target collaboration with Novartis to identify and develop potentially first-in-class therapeutics. We are a mission-driven, scientifically rigorous team committed to transforming cancer treatment by developing first-in-class therapies.

Position Summary

Light Horse Therapeutics is seeking an innovative scientific leader to head the Discovery Biology department of Light Horse. Reporting to the CSO, the candidate will partner closely with leaders across the company to shape the scientific strategy and lead a top tier target and drug discovery team. The candidate will leverage his/her experience leading teams of PhD level scientists to mentor and expand Light Horse growing biology group and contribute as a vital member of the senior leadership team. This role will have a major impact on the innovation and future applications of our platform and on the development of first-in-class molecules from target/hit discovery to IND enabling studies.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive an innovative research strategy that leads to the discovery of novel targets and a deep understanding of their previously unknown biology.
• Provide scientific leadership with deep expertise in cell biology and state of the art molecular techniques.
• Lead the Discovery Biology team to identify and drive solutions toward innovation to execute the R&D strategy.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to lead platform innovation, contribute to or lead the advancement of pipeline programs and explore new applications for our technology.
• Define budget and allocate resources to meet corporate and departmental objectives.
• Build and lead a world-class biology team uniquely suited to leverage the company’s platform.
• Draw on his/her extensive biology and drug discovery expertise to develop, mentor and elevate the capabilities of the biology team.
• Establish and foster a highly productive, innovative and collaborative culture focused on scientific excellence, open communication, and continual improvement.
• Provide career development opportunities to a team of scientists, manage relationships, and support growth through mentorship.
• Establish relationships with cost-effective, high-quality CROs and CMOs to support external biology efforts.
• Manage projects, objectives, and timelines; communicate findings in various forums across the company and externally.
• Foster collaborative relationships across the team and company and engage in a positive and exciting work environment.
• Represent our organization to stakeholders, including board presentations, investors, and the scientific community.
• Lead and contribute to collaborations, patent applications and scientific publications related to the company’s technology.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in molecular biology or related field with 10+ years of industry experience.
• Demonstrated managerial experience leading a diverse scientific and technical background team with an emphasis on resource/timeline management to meet team objectives.
• Strong track record of productivity in biology research with experience in using cutting-edge technologies.
• Demonstrate high learning agility regarding grasping and exploiting new scientific concepts and methods across multiple teams.
• Proven ability to identify and prioritize targets with strong therapeutic potential.
• Experience leading drug discovery through target ID and validation, hit to lead, and candidate nomination stages.
• Proven track record of collaboration and positive influence across the organization at all levels.
• Demonstrated ability to present complex technical topics to a wide range of audiences with varying technical depth.

Why Join Us?

At Light Horse, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Work with world-class founders and scientists on some of the most challenging and rewarding problems in drug discovery.
• Shape the trajectory of a rapidly growing biotech at the forefront of chemical biology and precision therapeutics.
• Be a core contributor in a mission-driven team passionate about developing life- saving medicines.

We offer a competitive total compensation package, as well as working in a supportive team environment.

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in San Diego, CA on site is $230,000 to $350,000 . The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the industry, education, etc.

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