Associate Director, Business Development

A-Alpha Bio is an early-stage, rapidly growing biotechnology platform company headquartered in Seattle, WA. We are focused on building the foundational data layer for AI-driven protein engineering. We provide biopharma companies and model builders with access to ground truth experimental datasets, including affinity and structure, for training, benchmarking and validating AI protein models. In parallel, we apply our data and models directly with select partners to engineer next-generation dual-specific and molecular glue therapeutics, and to discover and optimize differentiated biologics.

Candidates must reside in the United States.

Starting Salary Range: $300,000 - $325,000 OTE (Base Salary: $150,000 - $175,000 + Target Incentive: $150,000)

Exemption Status: Exempt

Location Expectations: Remote-Eligible

Reporting To: Director, Commercial Sales & Operations

Role Description

A-Alpha Bio is seeking an Associate Director of Business Development to build and own business across Western North America and APAC. This is the first dedicated commercial hire in the territory. You will define the territory plan, identify and open the accounts that matter, and carry a bookings quota across our full portfolio, including but not limited to Atlas Data Consortium subscriptions, Data Block licenses, and antibody discovery and optimization programs.

Our customers are scientific and machine learning leaders at various organizations including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and AI model developers. Deals are consultative, technical, multi-stakeholder, and large-dollar-value. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy, represent A-Alpha Bio at the executive level with customers, and work closely with our scientific, data science, marketing, alliance management, and finance teams. Cross-functional work is a core part of this role. 

Key Responsibilities

• Own business development and revenue for the Western North America and APAC territory, from first contact through signed agreement and ongoing account management.
• Build and execute a territory plan: define target accounts by product line; prioritize them; and hunt through outbound prospecting, conference presence, referrals, inbound follow-up, and other business activities.
• Run complex, long-cycle sales processes involving scientific champions, ML teams, procurement, legal, and executive sponsors.
• Communicate deeply technical value propositions, including how large-scale quantitative protein-protein interaction (PPI) data improves machine learning models and how our platform accelerates antibody optimization, drawing on internal scientific and data science collateral and support as needed.
• Lead the commercial negotiation of various contracts and agreements.
• Structure deals and prepare proposals, quotes, and margin analyses for internal deal review, while contributing to pricing and packaging decisions.
• Develop the APAC market through inbound and outbound engagement across time zones. Frequent travel to this region is not required or expected.
• Maintain rigorous pipeline hygiene and forecast accuracy in Salesforce, manage lead capture and follow-up, and participate in weekly forecast cadence.
• Build and operate AI-assisted workflows (LLMs and agents) for prospecting, account research, forecasting, and business process improvement.
• Identify and develop channel and ecosystem partnerships that extend A-Alpha Bio's reach in the territory. 

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in life science, machine learning, or a related technical discipline, with 8+ years of quota-carrying business development or sales experience selling technical products or services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology accounts; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Track record of opening net-new accounts and closing complex, multi-stakeholder, 7+ figure deals with long sales cycles.
• Experience selling novel or platform technologies that require educating a scientific audience.
• Experience negotiating commercial agreements (CDAs, license agreements, SOWs, etc.) directly with customers.
• Ability to travel up to 50%, primarily domestic, with occasional international travel for conferences.
• Proficiency running pipeline and forecast in Salesforce or an equivalent CRM. 

Preferred

• Advanced degree (MS, PhD, MBA, or equivalent) in life science, machine learning, or a related field.
• Experience selling data licenses, subscriptions, software, or scientific services such as CRO, CDMO, or platform partnership programs.
• Existing relationships and experience with West Coast & APAC biopharma, biotech, or AI-driven drug discovery markets.
• Experience at a startup or early commercial-stage company, ideally as an early commercial hire.
• Working familiarity with machine learning for protein engineering or drug discovery.
• Hands-on experience with AI tools such as LLMs and agents for prospecting, account planning, forecasting, and business process improvement. 

In 2018, A-Alpha Bio spun out of the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design and Center for Synthetic Biology – both communities filled with brilliant and highly entrepreneurial scientists. Since the company’s inception, we have built and scaled AlphaSeq, our high-throughput platform for quantitatively measuring protein-protein interactions at unprecedented scale. What began as a technology for generating large, standardized affinity datasets has grown into a broader data engine for AI-driven protein engineering. New members of the team should expect a fast-paced, highly dynamic, and interdisciplinary work environment. We are building a diverse, meritocratic, and supportive team that shares our values of speaking the truth, shooting for the moon, taking the reins, playing for the team, and improving the world.

A-Alpha Bio is headquartered in a custom designed lab and office space in downtown Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. We are fortunate to be situated in a region that is renowned for its premier outdoor activities, including hiking, biking, climbing, skiing, kayaking, sailing, and more. At A-Alpha, you’ll find many who love the outdoors, but also gamers, amateur chefs, explorers, sports fans, bakers, crafters, photographers, brewers, jetsetters, animal lovers, and artists. Whatever your passions, you belong at A-Alpha Bio!