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Senior Manager of Research and Development

Pendulum


Job Location:

San Francisco, CA - USA

Monthly Salary: $ 190000 - 210000
Posted: 21 August 2026 (16 days ago)
Application Deadline: 18 November 2026
Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

About Pendulum

Pendulum is leading a revolution that is occurring around the world to improve physical and mental health by first understanding then restoring and enhancing the human microbiome.

Studies have shown that our microbiome (the bacterial communities in and on our bodies) is linked to everything from metabolism and diabetes to longevity weight loss healthy immune systems cancer prevention feelings of well-being inflammatory bowel disease and even healthy skin. We have just scratched the surface of understanding the impact that our microbiome has on our lives. During early life we develop a diverse and balanced microbiome that plays a critical role in shaping our long-term health. Over our lives a combination of diet lifestyle antibiotics and aging can decrease the effectiveness of our microbiome.

Pendulum recognized the enormous impact they could have on peoples lives if they were able to address the imbalances in the microbiome. To accomplish this Pendulum created proprietary probiotic pipelines and a unique discovery platform to identify key novel bacterial strains and the prebiotics that feed them. The company has also built and developed the worlds first manufacturing technology to produce bacteria in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment at scale.

The medical probiotics that Pendulum has formulated have transformed the consumer probiotics market into a new category of therapeutic offerings that deliver the power and efficacy of pharmaceuticals with the safety and accessibility of a natural probiotic. Due to Pendulums explosive revenue and customer growth over the last two years the company earned a spot on Forbes Magazines exclusive The Next Billion Dollar Startups list.

Please continue reading if you want to improve peoples lives globally and love working in a cross-functional collaborative inspiring environment.

We are a highly collaborative team of scientists engineers physicians marketers and analysts interested in improving human health using the latest research from diverse fields such as microbiology molecular biology high-throughput genomics distributed computing pharmaceutical development and nutrition. We firmly believe in cultivating a transparent team culture where effective communication drives both individual and collective success.

Position Summary

The Senior Manager of Research and Development will manage and execute key R&D projects and programs from early development to commercialization under the direction of Product leadership. This includes leading project teams and collaborating with cross-functional teams fostering innovation generating data to support marketing teams and helping ensure products meet regulatory and quality requirements. The ideal candidate will have solid experience in biopharma-related disciplines a strong understanding of microbiome science and products and a track record of contributing to successful products in market.

The successful candidate will be a highly collaborative and results-oriented manager with strong critical and analytical thinking skills. This role demands a blend of hands-on scientific work and people leadership. As a manager you will help drive the priorities of your projects and team aligning your research efforts with broader clinical commercial and business goals. As a working scientific lead you will directly guide bench scientists troubleshoot experiments and foster a culture of scientific excellence. You will serve as a collaborative partner to cross-functional teams ensuring seamless collaboration and a shared vision for success. Things move quickly around here and we seek someone who thrives in a fast-paced lean collaborative environment. While we want someone who can think big we also need someone who can be resourceful in how they approach executing. They should be passionate and comfortable working with an exciting young brand as it quickly scales.

What Youll Do

Research Leadership & Execution

  • Contribute to the R&D strategy and roadmap aligned with the companys vision and business goals and own execution of assigned programs balancing internal efforts with effective external collaborations.

  • Stay current on emerging trends and opportunities in probiotics microbiome research and related biopharma fields.

  • Work closely with the Executive Clinical Revenue Data and Product teams to support and help drive key cross-functional initiatives.

  • Serve as a resource and contributor across multiple departments for cross-functional projects including consumer studies investigator studies and regulatory dossiers.

  • Coordinate with other key departments including Marketing as well as external partners to support science-based initiatives including consumer studies.

  • Communicate R&D progress findings and project plans to Product leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

  • Attend and where appropriate present at industry conferences and scientific meetings.

Innovation and Product Development

  • Lead the design development and optimization of assigned microbiome products formulations and delivery systems.

  • Support innovation through collaboration with academic institutions research organizations and industry partners.

  • Contribute as a scientific lead on the science team partnering with scientific staff to help develop a scientific roadmap and research strategy.

  • Inspire a culture of scientific rigor and innovation translating discoveries into high-impact applications.

Team Leadership and Development

  • Establish clear goals KPIs and performance metrics for your team and projects.

  • Manage mentor and develop a team of scientists fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.

  • Provide technical guidance troubleshoot experimental challenges and ensure the successful execution of research projects.

Project Management

  • Oversee multiple projects simultaneously ensuring timely delivery of milestones within budget.

  • Have a multiplicative effect by building and harmonizing data analysis infrastructure and best practices within the team and aligning analysis and infrastructure practices with Pendulums Data Science and Engineering.

  • Coordinate with cross-functional teams to manage external partnerships including contract research organizations (CROs) and manufacturing partners.

What Youll Need

Education

  • Ph.D. in Microbiology Immunology Biochemistry Molecular Biology or a related field (or an M.S. with equivalent additional experience).

Experience

  • Minimum 5-7 years of progressive experience in R&D within the biopharma or biotech industry with at least 23 years in a management or team-lead role.

  • Record of high-quality achievement demonstrated by increasing responsibilities promotions peer-reviewed publications patents and/or successfully developed products.

  • Track record of supporting effective cross-functional teams and collaborating closely with bench scientists. Direct experience developing novel assays directly or indirectly with external academic collaborators.

  • Experience generating and standardizing experimental data to integrate with AI machine learning and predictive in silico workflows.

  • Hands-on expertise in microbiome research or related disciplines.

  • Experience contributing to products moving from concept to market in a regulated environment.

Skills

  • Possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to design and interpret complex experiments analyze large datasets (e.g. microbiome sequencing data metabolomics) and draw meaningful conclusions.

  • Deep understanding of microbiome science probiotic strains formulation science and biopharma product development.

  • Strong leadership communication and project management skills.

  • Ability to foster cross-functional collaboration and manage external partnerships.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Publications or patents in microbiome-related fields.

  • Familiarity with relevant cell culture and in vitro assays critical to characterizing strains understanding their function and optimizing formulations.

Salary & Beneifts
  • $190000 - 210000
  • Medical Dental and Vision
  • Commuter Benefits
  • Life & STD Insurance
  • Company match on 401 (k)
  • Flexible Time Off (FTO)
  • Equity
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process such as reviewing applications analyzing resumes or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed please contact us.

Required Experience:

Senior Manager


About Company

Company Logo

Improve glucose control, metabolic health, gut function, and support a healthy weight. The only brand with live Akkermansia. Pendulum Metabolic Daily | Optimizes metabolism Pendulum Akkermansia | For gut health Pendulum Glucose Control | For A1C management Pendulum Butyricum | For occ ... View more

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