Strategy & Operations

Strategy & Ops

Key Responsibilities:

• Internal R&D Program Management – Oversee timelines, deliverables, and cross-functional coordination for high-priority internal R&D programs

• NeoLink Platform Strategy – Support platform-related initiatives, from experiment planning to data integration, ensuring the science and operations run seamlessly

• CRO Management - Oversee Proxima’s CRO portfolio ensuring alignment with program priorities and timelines

• Operational Infrastructure – Build, optimize, implement processes, tools, and workflows that enhance communication, automate repetitive tasks, and keep the company operating at peak efficiency

• Strategic & Competitive Insights – Conduct benchmarking, strategy and competitive landscaping to inform decision-making, uncover opportunities, and identify potential risks

• Manage relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and members of our Scientific Advisory Board

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a life sciences discipline, biology or chemistry preferred

• 3-5 years years’ experience in AI-driven drug discovery, CRO/vendor management, and/or data product management

• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Python, and GitHub

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present scientific information clearly to non-scientific stakeholders

• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple tasks, and meet deadlines

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to influence senior-level management and key stakeholders is a plus

• Strong sense of ownership and accountability; ability to manage multiple projects at once

• Strategy & operations experience, ideally in a high-pressure multi-stakeholder environment (e.g., biotech, consulting, life sciences venture capital or private equity ...)

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, along with a strong desire to work in cross-functional teams

• AI/Tech, Life Sciences and general business acumen with a comprehensive understanding of pharmaceutical or big-tech industries

About the Role:

Proxima is seeking an individual to build the strategic and operational foundation for our next stage of growth. In this high-impact role, you will work directly with the C-Suite and broader leadership team to oversee critical R&D workflows, connect the dots across the organization, and ensure timely execution of our highest priority initiatives. You’ll own the management of our CRO portfolio, drive strategy and operations for internal programs and our NeoLink platform , support key external relationships, and set roadmaps and benchmarks that enable VantAI to remain at the top of our competitive landscape.

About Proxima:

Proxima is advancing a new approach to drug discovery by making protein interactions programmable. Our platform brings together foundation-model machine learning, a scalable data generation engine, and a partnership track record exceeding $5B in collaborations across the world’s leading biopharma and tech organizations.

In 2025 we introduced Neo-1, an all-atom foundation model that combines state-of-the-art structure prediction and molecular generation in a single system. Neo-1 enables rapid exploration of chemical and structural space for high value, previously intractable targets, and in particular unlocks small molecule proximity therapeutics like molecular glues with AI for the first time.

In parallel, we are developing an advanced structural interactomics platform built on proprietary XLMS technology and a lab equipped with next-generation mass spectrometry instrumentation. This platform produces proteome-scale maps of protein interactions and helps identify small molecules that modulate proximity. Together with Neo-1, it creates an integrated system capable of co-folding protein complexes while generating candidate small molecules to influence those interactions.