Director / Senior Director, Corporate Development

Location: Boston, MA (onsite Monday through Thursday, option to WFH Friday)

Position Overview: 

Emulate is seeking a Director / Senior Director, Corporate Development to help shape and execute strategic growth initiatives across partnerships, transactions, and market expansion opportunities, with a particular focus on opportunities at the intersection of Organ-on-Chip technology, human-relevant biology, proprietary biological data, NAMs, and AI-enabled drug discovery.

This individual will lead corporate development initiatives from strategy through execution, including identifying and prioritizing strategic opportunities, building business cases, leading diligence, structuring and negotiating deals, and closing partnerships, collaborations, licensing agreements, data partnerships, and other strategic transactions. The ideal candidate has a demonstrated track record independently leading transactions from opportunity identification through diligence, negotiation, execution, and close.

This is a highly hands-on role in a small-company environment. The successful candidate must be comfortable operating without a large corporate development infrastructure and able to partner effectively across scientific, commercial, legal, finance, product, and executive teams.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Lead corporate development initiatives from opportunity identification through diligence, negotiation, execution, and close.
• Identify and prioritize strategic partners across pharma, biotech, life sciences tools, AI-native drug discovery, data/analytics, CROs, and related technology organizations.
• Develop and pressure-test business cases for partnerships, licensing opportunities, collaborations, market expansion, data partnerships, and other strategic transactions.
• Structure, negotiate, and close corporate development transactions, including strategic partnerships, licensing agreements, collaborations, data partnerships, and other value-creating deals.
• Build financial models, valuation analyses, deal scenarios, and strategic recommendations to support executive and board-level decision-making.
• Evaluate partner fit, strategic rationale, commercial opportunity, scientific value, operational feasibility, and transaction risks.
• Work cross-functionally with R&D, Commercial, Product, Legal, Finance, and executive leadership to align transaction strategy with company priorities.
• Translate Emulate’s scientific and technical capabilities into compelling partner-facing value propositions.
• Identify opportunities where Emulate’s platform and proprietary human-relevant biological data could create strategic value for pharma, biotech, and AI-enabled drug development companies.
• Support alliance management and governance for strategic partnerships after execution, ensuring clear ownership, milestones, communication, and value capture.
• Track relevant market trends, including AI-enabled drug discovery, NAMs, Organ-on-Chip technologies, advanced cell models, regulatory tailwinds, and competitive activity.
• Represent Emulate externally with credibility, strategic judgment, and strong executive presence.

Qualifications: 

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of relevant experience in corporate development, business development, strategic partnerships, licensing, M&A, venture, or related roles within life sciences, biotech, pharma, life sciences tools, AI/drug discovery, or adjacent sectors.
• Demonstrated track record independently negotiating and closing corporate development transactions.
• Experience leading transactions from initial strategy and partner identification through diligence, deal structuring, negotiation, and execution.
• Strong understanding of strategic partnerships, licensing agreements, collaborations, and other corporate development deal structures.
• Ability to build financial models, business cases, market analyses, and valuation frameworks to support deal recommendations.
• Strong scientific and commercial judgment, with the ability to evaluate technical platforms and translate complex science into business opportunities.
• Experience working directly with executive leadership and cross-functional teams, including Legal, Finance, R&D, Product, and Commercial.
• Ability to operate as a hands-on individual contributor in a fast-paced, resource-constrained company environment.
• Strong communication skills, executive presence, and ability to influence without authority.
• Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to create structure, process, and momentum where none may exist.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in advanced in vitro models, Organ-on-Chip, organoids, NAMs, translational biology, drug discovery platforms, life sciences tools, or related areas.
• Experience with AI-enabled drug discovery, data partnerships, computational biology, biological datasets, digital biology, or AI-native technology organizations.
• Existing network across pharma, biotech, life sciences tools, AI/drug discovery, venture, or strategic innovation groups.
• Experience structuring partnerships involving platform access, data generation, analytics, co-development, licensing, or other non-standard collaboration models.
• Advanced scientific degree, MBA, or equivalent experience preferred.
• Experience in a small-company, startup, or high-growth environment.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

The successful candidate will be both strategic and execution-oriented. They will be able to identify where Emulate can create differentiated value, determine which partners matter most, develop a compelling business case, and then drive the transaction to completion.

They will not only understand the science, but also know how to turn scientific capability into a partner-ready story, a clear value proposition, and a negotiated agreement. They will be comfortable moving between high-level strategy and hands-on execution, and they will bring enough transaction experience to operate independently in a small-company environment.

Work Authorization & Location:

This position is based on site in Boston, MA. Emulate operates with an onsite expectation Monday through Thursday.

Compensation & Benefits:

The expected base salary range for this role is $200,000 to $225,000 per year, with final compensation determined based on level, experience, and qualifications. This position is also eligible for equity and a comprehensive benefits package. Given the seniority and transaction experience required for this role, candidates with highly relevant deal execution experience may be considered outside of the posted range.

Equal Opportunities:

Emulate is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We take unbiased action to offer employment and advancement opportunities to all applicants, without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or ability status. Our methods for hiring include ensuring that all available opportunities are fairly promoted — via online globally available channels — in a manner accessible to all potential applicants.

About Emulate, Inc.

Emulate, Inc. is the pioneer of Organ-on-a-Chip technology, enabling researchers to accurately replicate human tissue function and disease biology through next generation in vitro models. From target discovery to IND submission, Emulate aims to ignite a new era in human health research—one that reduces animal testing, cuts drug development costs, and accelerates the delivery of life-saving treatments. Emulate’s Organ-Chip platforms, consumables, and organ models help the world’s leading pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic teams generate human-relevant data that advance safer, more effective therapies. Learn more at www.emulatebio.com.