AI Biotech R&D Leadership Hire Success

Building a Scientific Leadership Team for an AI-Driven Immunology Start-Up

Our client is a Series A biotechnology company operating at the intersection of immunology and artificial intelligence (AI). With a pioneering platform designed to accelerate drug discovery, the company is positioned to transform how immune-related diseases are understood and treated. As a fast-growing start-up, the business is scaling rapidly and required strong leadership to guide its research and development function into its next stage of growth.

Having previously partnered successfully with Skills Alliance on a critical leadership hire, the client once again engaged us on a retained search for a Vice President of Research & Development—a role pivotal to shaping the company’s scientific strategy and future direction.

The Challenge

As the organisation prepared for its next phase of expansion, they faced several challenges in identifying the right R&D leader:

• Specialised Expertise: Their internal talent acquisition team lacked the network to identify senior candidates operating at the unique intersection of AI, automation, and drug discovery.
• Tight Timeline: The company needed the new VP in place within 4 months —leaving a short window to search and go through the recruitment process to secure a world-class candidate.
• Cultural Fit: As a small, close-knit start-up, culture was the number one priority. The ideal leader needed to combine scientific credibility with emotional intelligence—someone capable of motivating a diverse team, supporting junior staff, and instilling accountability while maintaining a collaborative spirit.
• Strategic Impact: The new hire would take ownership of the company’s scientific direction, uniting multiple global sites and aligning research teams to hit key milestones required for the next stage of funding.

The Solution

To meet these challenges, Skills Alliance executed a targeted and collaborative search strategy:

• Conducted comprehensive market mapping of biotechnology and AI companies with strong automation and drug discovery capabilities.
• Assigned a dedicated search team led by a consultant with a scientific background, ensuring credibility and deep technical understanding throughout the process.
• Utilised direct headhunting to engage top-tier candidates who were not actively seeking new opportunities.
• Maintained weekly video calls with key stakeholders to refine the brief, provide transparent progress updates, and ensure ongoing alignment on both technical and cultural fit.

This proactive and consultative approach allowed us to identify, assess, and engage with a highly targeted pool of qualified candidates within a short timeframe.

The Results

• Time-to-Fill: The entire search was completed in six weeks, with the successful candidate identified from the first shortlist of candidates.
• Efficiency: Two shortlists were presented in total, covering seven candidates, each meeting the client’s high bar for expertise and leadership capability.
• Client Satisfaction: The client was delighted to have the new VP onboard ahead of schedule—enabling them to participate in critical end-of-year leadership meetings and maintain momentum toward key business milestones.
• Long-Term Partnership: Following the success of this search, Skills Alliance has been appointed as the exclusive partner for all future senior-level hires within the organisation.

Client Testimonial

“I do not work with external agencies or retain search firms often, but when I do, I have incredibly high expectations of them. I was immediately impressed with Amber’s scientific background. She had credibility in the field that our team could not duplicate internally. She was able to turn around two incredibly important (and niche) roles for us in short order—calibrated quickly and was so easy to work with. Will absolutely engage with her in the future if I have other opportunities!” — Vice President of Talent