Manifold Bio is a platform biotechnology company pioneering AI-guided protein design and massively multiplexed in vivo screening to unlock tissue-targeted medicines and organism-scale models of living systems. Using proprietary molecular barcoding technology, we screen hundreds of thousands of protein designs simultaneously in living systems, producing in vivo-validated datasets at a scale no one else can match. The datasets power our computational models, which leads to better drug designs, creating a flywheel that gets stronger with every campaign. Our team of protein engineers, biologists, and computational scientists works across this full stack to pursue programs both internally and with leading pharma companies.
Position
Manifold Bio is looking for our first dedicated IT leader to keep our fast, highly technical company secure and scalable as we grow and expand into new space. Manifold builds what it needs: our scientists write their own workflows, our labs run on automation we designed, and our AI team puts new agents to work every week. This is a hands-on role. You will configure systems yourself, fix what breaks and set the standards that let a fast, highly technical company keep moving. You will not inherit a large team or a finished playbook. You will inherit a technology program already in motion, with single sign-on, a security awareness program and a new network under way, along with runbooks and a working plan, and you will own it from your first week.
You will work closely with our COO, our cloud and data engineers, our AI and computational scientists and our lab automation team. The right person earns trust by being useful first, then makes the case for change in plain language.
Responsibilities
Run IT
•Own day-to-day IT for everyone across our offices and labs, on Mac and Windows, and be the person people know to call.
•Administer our identity platform (Okta), Google Workspace, Slack, device management and the password manager yourself.
•Run onboarding and offboarding so access is ready on day one and removed the same day someone leaves.
•Keep an accurate record of every device, application, license and owner, and reclaim what goes unused.
•Keep conference rooms, printing and the everyday tools working so nobody loses time to them.
Lead security
•Own the security program, including phishing-resistant sign-in, endpoint protection, awareness training and phishing tests, incident response and tabletop exercises.
•Answer security questionnaires and diligence requests from pharma partners with evidence, not promises.
•Hold the line on least privilege for everyone, executives and administrators included.
•Keep our cyber insurance requirements met and the evidence ready at each renewal.
Enable science and AI
•Partner with our cloud and data engineers on AWS identity, access, logging and backup. You set the guardrails, and they run the platform.
•Help decide how AI agents get access to data and systems, so the team keeps its pace without exposing the company.
Infrastructure, vendors and budget
•Own the network across two floors with our network partner.
•Run backup and recovery for cloud, storage and SaaS data, with restore tests on a schedule.
•Keep lab instruments connected, patched on a schedule that respects their runs, and recoverable, working closely with lab automation.
•Manage IT service providers and contractors against clear service levels.
•Build and run the IT budget, recommend when IT should add people or services, and take every purchase through Manifold’s approval process.
Grow the function
•Write and maintain the standards and runbooks that let IT scale with the company.
•Work with Quality as our programs move toward the clinic, so IT practices are ready for the controls that brings.
•Build IT’s multi-year roadmap and investment plan with the COO and finance, tied to our hiring, space and clinical plans.
Your First Year
In your first 90 days you take over a working program from our fractional CIO, learn how our labs and computational teams work, and meet every team. By six months you run IT day to day on your own, and the security program, records and runbooks are yours. By the end of your first year, Manifold has IT that people trust, security that holds up to partner diligence and a plan for the next stage of growth.
Required Qualifications
•10 or more years in IT, with at least [three] in a startup or high-growth company, ideally in biotech or another science-driven business.
•Exposure to GxP or computer system validation
•Experience with supporting lab instruments and automation
•Experience as the first or only IT leader at a growing company, building the function from there.
•Hands-on depth in identity and single sign-on (Okta or similar), Google Workspace, Mac and Windows management, and networking.
•Real security experience, including leading an incident response and taking a company through customer or partner security reviews.
•Network management across a complex environment spanning multiple floors and labs
•Experience managing IT vendors, contracts and a budget.
•Comfort working alongside engineers who know cloud infrastructure deeply, and the judgment to know when to lead and when to support.
•Clear writing and plain speaking with scientists, executives and vendors alike.
Preferred Qualifications
•AWS identity and access management
•Setting guardrails for AI tools or agents
•Moving a company into a larger, multi-floor site
This Role Might Be Perfect For You If
•You build, and you fix what you find without waiting to be asked.
•You have a low ego, and you earn trust before you ask anyone to change.
•You know the difference between a guardrail and a gate, and you choose guardrails.
•You can explain why a control matters in a sentence anyone can follow.
•You are comfortable when the company moves faster than its processes, and you help the processes catch up.
Base Salary Range: $200,000-$260,000
This reflects the typical offer range for this role, based on experience, role scope, and internal equity. Final compensation decisions are made using a consistent leveling framework and consider the candidate’s experience, interview performance, and expected impact.
This role is eligible for:
•Annual performance-based target bonus
•Stock options
•Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
•401(k) plan
•Flexible paid time off and holidays
•Perks including on-site gym, onsite lunch, and commuter support
Our compensation ranges are reviewed annually to ensure alignment with market trends and internal equity.
We value different experiences and ways of thinking and believe the most talented teams are built by bringing together people of diverse cultures, genders, and backgrounds.