The Keystone Hire
Posted June 2026Director of Engineering — Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls.
We have written this posting the way we wish every role was written: openly and specifically — so the right person recognises it as theirs.
Most job specs are written to appeal to everyone. This one is written to be unmistakable to the right person. Rather than smooth every edge until it could describe anyone, we have been specific and open about what this role is and who thrives in it — so the person it was written for recognises themselves immediately.
The role, in one sentence
You own the entire path from a validated active to a reliable, certifiable, cost-effective product — the chemistry, the manufacturing and the controls — and you build that function from a near-blank sheet.
Why this seat exists, and why now
ArrowBiome is a Singapore-headquartered precision-microbiome biotech with two platforms (Archer™ and Forge™) and two products already in market: ArcherZyme® for body odour and SmartArrow® for acne. With commercial traction underway and the platform broadening, the next chapter is about making these products reliably and at scale.
That is the chapter this role leads. As we grow from the lab into volume manufacturing, we are creating a dedicated owner for chemistry, manufacturing and controls — the person who turns proven science into a dependable, scalable, certifiable product. It is one of the most consequential hires we will make, and we are making it now, at the moment it can shape everything that follows.
The shape of the opportunity
2
Platforms in market
2
Products selling today
Scale
Lab → volume manufacturing
1
Function for you to build
What you would own
Process & scale-up — taking both products from pilot through to volume manufacturing, and the process-intensification work (titre, downstream recovery, batch reliability) that makes production robust. CDMO & tech transfer — the manufacturing-partner relationships, the transfer packages, and building the resilience of a multi-partner supply base.
Cost & economics — owning the true unit economics and the levers that improve them. Quality & controls — standing up the certifications the market gates on (EFfCI, ISO 9001, Halal), sequenced to unlock the SEA, EU and Japan channels. Across all of it, you build the CMC function and become its first true owner.
Your first 90 days — a real mandate, not an onboarding
You start by getting hands-on with the real economics and process of how we make our products — pressure-testing the numbers, finding the levers, and shaping the plan that turns proven science into dependable production. We want someone who reads that and feels excitement, not hesitation.
What makes this role special
This is a rare build-from-the-ground-up mandate. You would shape the CMC function from first principles, with a small, senior team and AI capacity giving you the leverage of a much larger one. The canvas is open, and what you create becomes the backbone of how we make everything.
You would work shoulder to shoulder with a brilliant scientist-CTO who built this platform, in a fast-moving, high-ownership environment where your decisions carry real weight from day one. For the right builder, that combination — genuine ownership, a clean slate, and a world-class scientific partner — is the appeal of a lifetime.
| What this role rewards | What it asks of you |
|---|---|
| Experience taking a biological or polymer process from bench to volume | A genuine hands-on builder, energised by a clean slate |
| A builder who creates the function rather than inheriting it | Comfort leading amid ambiguity and rapid change |
| Curiosity that turns a hard question into an elegant answer | Seniority measured by impact, not headcount |
| Fluency partnering with AI as part of the team | The confidence to pressure-test ideas, including your own |
Essential
Bench-to-scale, owned
You have carried real delivery accountability for taking a microbial or polymer/particle process from bench through pilot to commercial scale, with the hard-earned experience that brings.
Essential
Deep CMC fluency
Process development, tech transfer, downstream processing, QC and certification frameworks — hands-on, not advisory. You can build and defend a rigorous, fully-loaded cost model.
Essential
AI as capacity
You treat AI as capacity to manage and are comfortable being the senior judgment on top of fast machine output. Calm in ambiguity, allergic to vanity metrics.
How we would work together
You would report to the CTO, with direct and regular access to the CEO — on the questions that matter (manufacturing, scale, economics), you will be in the room. The CTO owns the science; you own the making of it, so the two of you cover the full arc from discovery to dependable product. The team is small, senior and AI-amplified: flat, fast, and full of room to build.
Capability gets you the conversation; chemistry with this specific team gets you the role. We are looking for someone who is direct and generous in equal measure, who builds trust by closing gaps rather than flagging them, and who treats “we don't know yet” as a shared question to answer together. If that is how you operate, you will love it here.
If this was written for you, you already know
We have been open about the ambition of this role and the kind of builder who thrives in it. If it resonates, download the full role & profile booklet below, then send us a Signal of Interest. Skip the CV; show us how you think.