About Arc

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution that conducts curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley, providing deeply collaborative research and training opportunities for jointly appointed Investigators and their research trainees and staff.

• Funding: Arc will fully fund Core Investigator's research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators. Read more in our recent blog post
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

About the position

Arc is searching for a Chief Operating Officer. With $650M in committed funding, the vision in the first 2-3 years is to grow from 60 people currently to a team of roughly 200 team members, with plans for further significant growth over the decade ahead.

In this position you will

• Own the overall management of the General Operations, Finance, Research/Laboratory Operations, University Relations/Academic Affairs, and People organizations.
• Partner closely with the Institute cofounders in establishing Institute strategy and assembling effective execution plans.
• Ensure effective collaboration between the operational teams (reporting to you) and the science teams (reporting to the Executive Director).
• Grow an organization from 40 - 200 employees, including developing processes and systems needed to scale for the next 2-3 years without disruption.

Requirements

• Expertise in managing at least two different functional orgs (e.g. Finance and Sales or Operations and People etc.) and having personally scaled at least one of them
• Experience overseeing organizations/teams of 80+ people, managing complex situations, and directly building your own team (10+ individuals)
• Strong on process, planning and coordination across different functions and complex initiatives
• Excellent operational skills with high attention to detail and speed along with the ability to manage at a high strategic level
• Strong inspirational leader who is able to attract and hire other strong leaders
• High standard of excellence for yourself and your team
• In-person at least 3 days a week (our headquarters are in Palo Alto, CA)
• Experience with logistical planning to achieve critical timelines while dealing with regulatory constraints or compliance
• A science, non-profit, or biotech background is not required but a genuine interest in science and a passion for Arc's mission is critical