Director, People

About Formation Bio

Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development.

Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in-licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients. The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others.

You can read more at the following links:

• Our Vision for AI in Pharma
• Our Current Drug Portfolio
• Our Technology & Platform

At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.

About the Position

Formation Bio is looking for a Director, People to drive operational excellence, lead strategic people programs, and partner with leaders to solve complex organizational challenges.

Reporting to the SVP, Head of People, you'll have broad ownership across the People Team, translating business priorities into scalable programs, processes, and decisions that help the company grow. This is a high-impact role for someone who is comfortable thinking strategically, diving into the details, and operating with a high degree of autonomy.

Our People Team operates as business-first partners, setting a high bar for talent, culture, and execution while embracing AI and technology to rethink how People Teams create value. We're looking for someone who shares that mindset, is energized by challenging conventional approaches, and wants to help build an AI-native People Team that supports Formation's mission and culture.

Responsibilities

This role is responsible for three areas that are critical to the success of our People Team and the broader business. The majority of your time will be spent in the first two pillars, where you'll drive strategy, execution, and continuous improvement across our People Team.

People Operations Excellence

• Drive AI-native operations across the People Team, identifying opportunities to leverage technology and fundamentally redesign workflows while maintaining the human elements of our work.
• Ensure operational excellence and compliance and continuously evolve our people processes as the business scales.
• Lead complex, cross-functional processes and partner with internal stakeholders including Legal, Finance, Tech Ops, and Quality Assurance to deliver business outcomes.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex people operations, benefits, and compensation matters.
• Manage external vendor relationships and consultant partnerships while continuously evaluating opportunities to improve quality, cost, and effectiveness.

Program Design & Strategic Execution

• Elevate and own our performance, promotion, and compensation review programs to ensure quality, consistency, and scalability as we grow.
• Own our compensation strategy and execution for Formation's unique business model, including framework design, market positioning, and equity programs.
• Lead benefits strategy, vendor selection, and plan design, ensuring our total rewards package is competitive and supports our culture and business needs.
• Anticipate future people program needs based on business priorities and organizational growth.

People Business Partnership

• Serve as a strategic People partner for designated leaders and functions.
• Develop a deep understanding of the business and build trusted relationships with leaders to anticipate business needs, identify organizational risks, and develop solutions.
• Coach managers through complex people situations while balancing employee experience, business outcomes, and long-term organizational health.

About You

• 8+ years of experience in people operations, people business partnering, total rewards, and/or HR leadership roles.
• Proven track record leveraging AI and automation to improve people operations. You have concrete results, not just enthusiasm, and a clear vision for what an AI-native People Team can become.
• Strong operational background. You've owned people systems, benefits, compliance, and built scalable people operations infrastructure that enables the business.
• Experience designing and scaling people programs while balancing quality, consistency, and operational efficiency. You’ve successfully led change by building alignment and bringing leaders and employees along through it.
• Ability to make independent, complex decisions. You exercise strong judgment, evaluate tradeoffs with a company-wide perspective, and anticipate long-term implications.
• Strong ownership mentality and high accountability. You take full responsibility for outcomes, proactively identify opportunities, and drive work to completion.
• People management experience. You've developed and elevated individuals and teams, set a high bar for performance, and care deeply about career development.
• Strong cross-functional partnership skills. You build trusted relationships with leaders, internal teams, and external vendors.
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, high-growth environments. You thrive in ambiguity and can seamlessly shift between strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
• Compensation expertise is a plus. You've designed compensation frameworks, conducted market analyses, and thought strategically about equity and total rewards.
• Experience in biotech, pharma, or other technical or regulated industries is a plus but not required.

Total Compensation Range: $177,500 - $232,000

Compensation Individual compensation is determined by several factors, including role scope, geographic location, and skills & experience. Your offer will reflect where you fall within the range based on these considerations. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, comprehensive benefits, and generous perks. If the posted range doesn't match your expectations, we still encourage you to apply!

Where We Hire Formation Bio is prioritizing hiring in key hubs, primarily the New York City and Boston metro areas, with a hybrid model requiring 3 days per week in office. Applicants from the Research Triangle (NC) and San Francisco Bay Area may also be considered. Please apply only if you reside in these locations or are willing to relocate.

Equal Opportunity Formation Bio is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.