About the role
Sana Biotechnology is growing, and we are hiring new team members who believe in the potential of engineered cells as medicines, who are passionate about delivering the possible to patients, and who lead with the desire to work on novel ideas. As the Principal Recruiter and Talent Lead, you will report to the Head of People and work onsite in Cambridge, MA. You will be the lead recruiter in shaping the organization’s talent strategy, ensuring we attract, hire and retain people in critical roles. This role blends full cycle recruiting with opportunities to influence broader people programs including workforce planning, talent pipeline development and operational excellence across the employee lifecycle. If you’re interested in broadening your skills beyond recruiting, this is the role for you!
What you’ll do
Talent Acquisition
- Lead full-cycle recruitment across scientific, technical, and corporate functions.
- Partner closely with hiring managers to define role requirements, competencies, interview plans, and selection criteria.
- Build and maintain strong talent pipelines using innovative sourcing strategies and market mapping.
- Lead and deliver an exceptional candidate experience from first touch through onboarding, which includes hosting candidates during interview days where applicable.
- Manage the relationship with Skills Alliance, which includes the contractor MSP and recruiting coordinator services
- Manage the relocation program
- Track and report recruiting metrics; translate insights into improved processes or strategies.
- Ensure compliance with hiring policies, employment laws, and equitable, inclusive hiring practices.
Strategic HR & People Initiatives
- Support workforce planning, including headcount forecasting, role architecture, and recruitment prioritization.
- Collaborate with investor relations on employer branding efforts, including messaging, recruitment materials, and candidate communications.
- Contribute to process improvement across the People Team (e.g., interview training, onboarding enhancements, systems optimization).
- Provide insights on talent trends, compensation competitiveness, and labor market dynamics.
- Participate in cross-functional projects related to culture, engagement, DEI, internal mobility, performance, and capability building.
- As an onsite member of the People Team, partner with other colleagues to drive site wide initiatives that contribute to the overall culture. This includes participating in townhalls and site events.
What we’re looking for
- 7+ years of recruiting experience, ideally including within cell and gene therapy biotech.
- Proven success managing full-cycle recruiting across varied functions and seniority levels.
- Strong sourcing capability across platforms, networks, and creative channels.
- Some experience supporting or leading people-focused strategic initiatives.
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management, organization and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to thrive in a small-team, high-collaboration environment with shifting priorities.
- Commitment to inclusive, equitable hiring and people practices.
- Ability to be onsite at least 3 days a week, with flexibility to meet the needs of the business.
What will separate you from the crowd
- Experience working in a fast-paced, hands-on and scrappy environment. You will work outside your scope!
- Familiarity with HR systems (Greenhouse and BambooHR a plus).
- Strong understanding of compensation fundamentals and offer structuring.
- Comfort supporting confidential or sensitive organizational matters
What you should know
- The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $200,000 and $240,000/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience
How we work together for patients
- Lead from every seat – we seek to understand, act with honesty, and engage in the crucial conversations
- Thrive as a team – we hire amazing people, are intensely curious, and cultivate inclusion and personal connectivity
- Make it happen – we value vigorous debate, alignment around our decisions, and resilient execution
Get to know us
At Sana, we believe that a workforce with varied backgrounds strengthens us as a company and helps us to achieve our mission to meaningfully change the outcome of many human diseases. This belief is a pillar of our business and is critical to our success. Our goal is that Sana is the place for talented people to bring their authentic selves to work, to have a great career and to deeply, positively impact patients.
Core to our values, we believe there is nothing more important than the health and wellness of you and your family. For benefit eligible employees, we cover a generous portion of the cost for employee health coverage, making high-quality care more accessible and affordable. We offer ample time-off (various paid time off benefits, such as holidays, vacation, sick time, and parental leave), short- and long-term disability, employer paid basic life insurance, additional voluntary life insurance protection, financial wellness programs including financial planning resources, a 401(k) Plan with an immediately vested employer match, Tuition Reimbursement and Student Loan Repayment, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, commuter subsidy and a variety of wellness offerings to support each person individually. For more details on our benefits, visit Sana’s Benefits Portal.
We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental or sensory disability (including the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability), genetic information, actual or perceived HIV or Hepatitis C infection, medical condition (cancer or a record or history of cancer and genetic characteristics), marital status, sexual orientation, sexual preference, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), disability, veteran status, political ideology, social class (including caste/caste identity), taking or requesting statutorily protected leave, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.
To perform this job successfully, you must be able to perform each job responsibility satisfactorily. The job description listed above is representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required for this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions described above.
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