Melbourne, Australia | Full time | On site, five days per week | Travel ~10 per cent

Reports to the Chief Executive Officer / Chief Scientific Officer (currently held jointly)

ABOUT ATISAMA THERAPEUTICS

Atisama is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering splice-switching oligonucleotide (SSO) therapies that return gene transcription pathways to their optimal form. Our lead asset, RB042, is an inhaled SSO targeting the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE), converting it from its pro-inflammatory isoform to its protective counterpart: a precision approach to COPD and other chronic inflammatory lung disease.

RB042 is the first application of a broader platform. Aberrant isoform balance drives chronic inflammatory and fibrotic disease well beyond the airway, and we are building a pipeline of SSO programmes across lung, liver, kidney, ocular and central nervous system indications, each with the target, route and tissue exposure strategy the organ requires.

Spun out of Monash University, Atisama raised AU$29 million in Series A funding led by IP Group Australia and Hostplus with Monash Ventures, and in 2026 was awarded AU$15 million with Monash from the Australian Government's MRFF Frontier Initiative to fund the Phase 1a/1b trial of RB042.

POSITION PURPOSE AND SCOPE The Director of Research contributes to the company's scientific strategy and is accountable specifically for the research plan that delivers it: the discovery and non-clinical science supporting RB042 and the pipeline behind it. Scientific strategy and portfolio prioritisation are owned by the CEO/CSO; this role is the single point of accountability for translating that direction into a resourced, milestoned research plan and delivering against it.

The role leads the Melbourne laboratory and is the senior scientific interface between Research and Translational Science, Clinical Development, CMC and Regulatory. The team at commencement is three Senior Scientists, a Research Scientist and a Research Associate, with further hiring planned through FY27.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Research planning and delivery

- Partner with the CEO/CSO to shape the research strategy and own its translation into a research plan with milestones, decision points and go/no-go criteria, delivery against that plan, and honest reporting of progress and slippage.
- Make resourcing and sequencing decisions within the function, and bring portfolio trade-offs to the CEO/CSO with a transparent recommendation and the data behind it, including when to accelerate a programme and when to terminate it.
- Develop the capability roadmap for CEO/CSO endorsement: which platforms, disease models and delivery routes we build internally and which we source.

Discovery and non-clinical science

- Lead the sequence and chemistry screening cascade across SSO programmes, from design and plate synthesis through primer-probe validation, transfection optimisation, primary screening and dose-response confirmation of splice-shift activity in the relevant cell system for each tissue.
- Direct target and indication selection for new programmes: build the evidence package for a candidate target, covering the isoform biology and switch hypothesis, the human genetic or expression evidence, the tissue in which the switch must occur, and the IP position.




- Own the non-clinical pharmacology package for each programme together with the route and delivery strategy its target organ requires: inhaled delivery and lung deposition for the respiratory programme and, as the pipeline extends, systemic and conjugated delivery for liver and kidney and local administration for ocular and CNS.
- Direct assessment of on- and off-target pharmacology risk, including in silico off-target prediction with in vitro confirmation, immunostimulatory potential and tolerability screening, and act as senior internal reviewer of experimental design and data interpretation across the function.

Governance, regulatory and quality

- Represent Research at project review and portfolio governance forums, and author and review the non-clinical sections of study protocols and reports, IND and CTA-enabling packages and Investigator's Brochures.
- Serve as, or oversee, the study monitor for non-clinical studies, ensuring conduct in accordance with GLP where applicable, ICH M3(R2) and internal SOPs, and own data integrity, audit readiness, safety, biosafety and ethics compliance.

Partners, people and resources

- Lead selection and technical qualification of contract research organisations, own the governance relationship and technical oversight of outsourced work, and own scientific delivery of our obligations under the Monash and MRFF programmes.
- Recruit, develop and retain the research team, own performance management and the organisational design of Research as it scales, and build a culture in which well designed and executed experiments are celebrated regardless of outcome.
- Build and manage the annual research budget, grow academic and industry collaborations, ensure timely invention disclosure and freedom-to-operate input, and support the CEO/CSO on partnering, diligence and grants.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

- PhD in molecular biology, immunology, cell biology, biochemistry, pharmacology or a closely related discipline, with approximately 12 or more years of relevant experience, at least eight of them in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry. Extensive industry experience is a requirement of this role, not a preference. Management experience may run concurrently with the technical experience above.
- Demonstrated experience leading a research function or substantial research group in industry, including recruitment, development and retention of PhD-level scientists and building a team through growth.
- Experience across at least one full discovery-to-candidate cycle, with a demonstrable personal contribution to a programme that progressed to development.
- Track record of designing and overseeing well-controlled in vitro and in vivo studies, reconciling conflicting data into a defensible recommendation, and commissioning and overseeing outsourced studies at CROs.
- Working knowledge of GLP and of ICH and regulatory expectations for non-clinical data supporting first-in-human studies,



with a track record of authoring or reviewing non-clinical sections of submissions.
- Financial literacy sufficient to construct and manage a research budget, and proven ability to influence without authority and to distil complex science for an executive or investor audience.
- Ability to work on site in Melbourne: located here or willing and able to relocate, and holding or eligible for the right to live and work in Australia.

Desirable

- Direct experience in oligonucleotide or RNA-targeting therapeutics: antisense and splice-switching oligonucleotides, siRNA or related modalities, and conjugate or formulated delivery.
- Experience in chronic inflammatory or fibrotic disease in one or more of lung, liver, kidney, eye or CNS, ideally in respiratory or inhaled drug development, and in more than one target tissue.
- Experience of the non-clinical path to IND or CTA including agency interactions, and familiarity with Oligonucleotide Safety Working Group recommendations.
- Experience managing managers as well as individual contributors, in both a small-company and a larger-organisation setting, and in securing non-dilutive research funding.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

Delivers results through leading others rather than through personal bench output. Invests time in helping others to enhance their skills and perform at a higher level, provides transparent, accurate and timely feedback, and fosters a culture of scientific rigour, collaboration and accountability. Acts decisively and exercises sound judgement in making decisions with limited information, reconciles conflicting data into informed recommendations, and is willing to take informed risks or to leave appropriate knowledge gaps where doing so maintains speed and programme progression.

Ensures clear and objective communication of results and of the associated risks, uncertainties and limitations. Influences without authority in a matrixed environment, distils complex issues into simple comprehensible terms, and respectfully challenges assumptions.

WHAT WE OFFER

- Accountability for the research engine behind a first-in-class inhaled SSO entering the clinic and the pipeline that follows it across lung, liver, kidney, ocular and CNS indications, with scope to build the function over the coming years.
- A high growth trajectory, supported by Series A backing alongside AU$15 million of non-dilutive government funding, and a defined path to first-in-human data.
- A research team of experienced scientists, a leadership group with prior industry drug development and clinical experience, and a purpose-built laboratory in the Jumar Bioincubator.
- Participation in the equity incentive scheme. Remuneration is competitive and dependent on experience, plus superannuation.

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply through this posting with a CV and a short covering note on your industry experience and one programme decision you are proud of. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. This description is not an exhaustive list of duties, and we are not engaging recruitment agencies for this search.

Atisama Therapeutics is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and identities, and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. If you need an adjustment to take part in the recruitment process, please tell us.

📌 Director of Research (Melbourne)
🏢 Atisama Therapeutics
📍 Melbourne