Associate Director, R&D

POSITION SUMMARY:   The Assoicate Director of Research & Development is a technical lead who manages research and development activities for new products and product improvements in NGS based diagnostic tests. This role focuses on designing, optimizing, and validating advanced sequencing workflows to support innovative diagnostic and research applications in women’s health, including prenatal screening, carrier screening, reproductive health, and organ transplant testing. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in NGS technologies and a collaborative mindset, complemented by exceptional communication and scientific writing skills. Computational and bioinformatics capabilities are also a valuable asset.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the end-to-end development of NGS and sequencing-based assays tailored to women’s health applications, ensuring clinical-grade performance and regulatory compliance.
• Design and optimize high throughput protocols for sample preparation, library construction, sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis. 
• Oversee validation studies to meet quality and regulatory requirements, such as CLIA, CAP, and FDA standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including data science/bioinformatics, project management, operations, regulatory, and product teams to advance women’s health diagnostics.
• Provide scientific leadership and management to a team of researchers, fostering a culture of innovation, inclusivity, and excellence.
• Stay at the forefront of NGS technologies, ensuring the adoption of cutting-edge methods and platforms relevant to women’s health.
• Support the integration of bioinformatics pipelines for data analysis, variant interpretation, and reporting to enhance test development.
• Author and review scientific documents, including protocols, reports, regulatory submissions, and publications, with clarity and precision.
• Communicate effectively across disciplines, presenting complex scientific concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Contribute to strategic planning and resource allocation for assay development projects within the women’s health portfolio.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genomics, or a related field with 8+ years of relevant post-PhD experience; or MS with 12+ years of experience in NGS assay development.
• Demonstrated expertise in developing and validating high throughput NGS assays, including experience with targeted sequencing, whole-genome/exome sequencing, or RNA-seq.
• Familiarity with women’s health diagnostic needs, such as non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), carrier screening, or cancer genomics.
• Proven leadership and management experience, including mentoring and managing technical teams, performance management, and fostering professional development.
• Exceptional communication and scientific writing skills, with experience authoring technical documents, regulatory submissions, and peer-reviewed publications.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving abilities with a detail-oriented approach.

The pay range is listed and actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, years & depth of experience, certifications and specific office location. This may differ in other locations due to cost of labor considerations.San Carlos, CA $168,900—$211,100 USD

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.

WHAT WE OFFER

Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and