Director, Legal Compliance

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies that change the world. Flagship Pioneering brings together the greatest scientific minds with entrepreneurial company builders and assembles the capital to allow them to take courageous leaps.

Those significant leaps in human health and sustainability exponentially accelerate scientific progress in areas ranging from cancer detection and treatment to nature-positive agriculture.

What sets Flagship Pioneering apart is its ability to advance biotechnology by uniting life science innovation, company creation, and capital investment under one roof in a way that is largely without precedent. Its scientific founders, entrepreneurial leaders, and professional capital managers are each aligned around an institutionalized process that enables the organization to innovate and transform for the benefit of people and planet.

Many of the companies Flagship Pioneering has founded have addressed humanity's most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship Pioneering has been recognized twice on FORTUNE's "Change the World" list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Company's annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies.

POSITION SUMMARY

This is an outstanding career opportunity for a highly motivated Compliance Director to join the Legal Operations team at Flagship Pioneering. The Compliance Director will operationalize the compliance program supporting Flagship's government contracts and grants, building the policies, training, certifications, monitoring, and reporting needed to meet the organization's obligations and set scalable standards as international operations expand. This is a ground-up build: the successful candidate will design and stand up a program that does not yet exist today, with substantial ownership over its shape and direction.

In the near term, the Compliance Director will work alongside outside advisors to establish the government contracting compliance program. The role will also require the Compliance Director to be well versed in the financial services and capital markets regulatory frameworks applicable to sophisticated capital allocators, both domestically and internationally including the compliance obligations that arise as fund structures, investment strategies, and regulatory expectations evolve over time. This position carries high visibility across the organization and requires a proactive, positive, and professional approach at all times.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Compliance Director shall be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:

• Operationalize the compliance program supporting government contracts and grants, including policies, training, certifications, monitoring, reporting, and remediation.
• Build the controls, documentation, and reporting required for government contracts, grants, and other funded programs.
• Monitor and advise on evolving financial services and capital markets regulatory requirements applicable to Flagship's investment activities, and help build the related compliance infrastructure.
• Develop and maintain the compliance framework supporting Flagship’s fund operations, including policies, procedures, and controls addressing investor communications, conflicts of interest, personal trading, books and records, and related regulatory requirements.
• Track regulatory developments affecting private fund sponsors and capital allocators, assess their applicability to Flagship’s activities, and recommend program enhancements to stay ahead of evolving obligations.
• Coordinate country-specific compliance requirements for expanding international operations and set scalable global standards.
• Establish consistent compliance ownership and escalation pathways across the Flagship ecosystem.
• Work alongside outside advisors during the near-term ramp-up of the government contracting compliance program, with the goal of limiting external advisor support over time. 
• Partner with Finance, Contracts, and other functions to ensure compliance requirements are reflected in contracting and grant processes.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

The following educational qualifications are required or preferred for the Compliance Director position.

• Bachelor's degree required.
• An advanced degree or relevant compliance certification (e.g., Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP), Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM), or similar) is preferred; a J.D. or other advanced legal or regulatory training is a plus but not required.

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

The following professional experience qualifications are required or preferred for the Compliance Director position:

• A minimum of five (5) to eight (8) years of professional experience in compliance, regulatory, or government contracts administration; direct experience with federal government contracting and/or grants compliance (e.g., FAR/DFARS, Uniform Guidance) is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with financial services or capital markets regulatory frameworks applicable to private fund sponsors, including the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and related SEC guidance, or a demonstrated ability to quickly build subject-matter expertise in a new regulatory area.
• Experience designing or operating compliance programs for investment advisers, private fund managers, or similar financial services organizations is a plus.
• Experience building or scaling compliance programs, policies, and training within a corporate or professional services environment.
• Experience working with outside counsel or consultants to transition compliance functions in-house is preferred.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

The Compliance Director shall possess or demonstrate the following skills and competencies:

• Strong working knowledge of compliance program design, including policies, training, monitoring, and remediation frameworks.
• Ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical, scalable processes for a fast-moving organization.
• Excellent organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple compliance workstreams simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to train and advise non-legal stakeholders on compliance requirements.
• Ability to build trusted relationships and establish clear escalation pathways across Flagship and its portfolio companies.
• High degree of independent judgment, discretion, and sound decision-making.
• Demonstrated willingness and enthusiasm to learn, evaluate, and apply state-of-the-art AI legal tools to improve the quality, speed, and efficiency of day-to-day compliance work.

WORK STRUCTURE AND LOCATION

This position follows an in-person work structure at Flagship Pioneering's Headquarters located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Specific scheduling expectations for in-person attendance will be coordinated with senior management and may be adjusted from time to time based on business needs and team requirements.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

Flagship Pioneering and its ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status.

All employment decisions, including but not limited to hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfers, training, discipline, and termination, shall be made without regard to any protected characteristic as defined by applicable federal, state, and local law. This commitment applies to all terms and conditions of employment and to all aspects of the employment relationship.

INCLUSIVE HIRING STATEMENT

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

RECRUITMENT AND STAFFING AGENCY NOTICE

Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, "FSP") do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates directly. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless such agency has been contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering's internal Talent Acquisition team.

Any resume submitted by a recruitment or staffing agency in the absence of a signed agreement between the agency and FSP will automatically become the property of FSP. FSP will not owe any referral fees, placement fees, or other compensation with respect to any such unsolicited submission.

By submitting an unsolicited resume to FSP or any of its employees, the submitting agency acknowledges and agrees to the terms set forth in this notice.

Privacy Notice for Applicants:  When you apply for a role at Flagship Pioneering or one of its portfolio companies, we collect and use personal information you provide (such as your name, contact details, work history, and application materials) to evaluate your application, communicate with you, and comply with legal obligations. Your application data is processed through Greenhouse, our applicant tracking system, and may also be reviewed using AI-assisted screening tools. We do not sell your personal information. California residents have rights under the CCPA/CPRA including to know, delete, and opt out of the sharing of their personal information. If you are located in the EU or UK, we process your data under GDPR and you have rights to access, rectify, and erase your data. To exercise your rights or for questions, contact [email protected]. 

The salary range for this role is $172,000 - $236,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Flagship Pioneering currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Flagship Pioneering's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.

Privacy Notice for Applicants:  When you apply for a role at Flagship Pioneering or one of its portfolio companies, we collect and use personal information you provide (such as your name, contact details, work history, and application materials) to evaluate your application, communicate with you, and comply with legal obligations. Your application data is processed through Greenhouse, our applicant tracking system, and may also be reviewed using AI-assisted screening tools. We do not sell your personal information. California residents have rights under the CCPA/CPRA including to know, delete, and opt out of the sharing of their personal information. If you are located in the EU or UK, we process your data under GDPR and you have rights to access, rectify, and erase your data. To exercise your rights or for questions, contact [email protected].