Vice President, Quality Assurance

olema

San Francisco, California · San Francisco · United States

Posted Apr 21, 2026

Other
Clinical

Job description

Olema Oncology is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to transforming the standard of care and improving outcomes for patients living with breast cancer and beyond. It’s an exciting time to be part of Team Olema, with our transformation into a fully integrated oncology company well underway, top-line data from our lead program expected later this year, and our first potential commercial launch on the horizon.

Our lead product candidate, palazestrant, is a novel, orally available complete estrogen receptor antagonist (CERAN) and selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) currently in two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials. We expect top-line data from OPERA-01, our ongoing Phase 3 trial of palazestrant as a monotherapy in patients with second- or third-line ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (MBC), in the fall which, if successful, could lead to our first potential approval and commercial launch in 2027. OPERA-02, our Phase 3 trial of palazestrant in combination with ribociblib in patients with frontline ER+/HER2- MBC, is enrolling patients. Together with its mechanism of action, pharmacokinetic properties, and the potential to demonstrate activity in both ESR1 wild-type and mutant tumors, palazestrant has the potential to transform the metastatic breast cancer treatment paradigm and access a $15 billion global market opportunity.

Our follow-on product candidate, OP-3136, is a potent KAT6 inhibitor with the potential to generate further value and meaningfully impact the metastatic breast cancer treatment landscape – particularly in combination with palazestrant. We recently reported encouraging Phase 1 monotherapy data from this program across multiple solid tumor types and are advancing patient enrollment in the ongoing combination arms in MBC.

Aspiring to transform the metastatic treatment paradigm is an ambitious endeavor that requires a resolute approach to developing better therapies and a passionate team dedicated to helping the patients we serve feel better, longer. We possess a deep commitment to our shared purpose, the sustained pursuit of excellence, cultivating the courage required to advance our programs, drive to succeed, and a collective capacity for adaptability through learning, growth, and evolution. Team Olema is made up of nimble self-starters who bring consistency in their quest for the extraordinary every single day.

If you’re ready to be part of a tenacious, courageous, agile, and growing team, join us in making a profound impact, together – for our patients, for your career, and for what’s beyond.

About the Role >>> Vice President, Quality Assurance 

The Vice President, Quality Assurance serves as the senior leader accountable for defining and driving Olema’s global quality strategy, systems, and governance across the full product lifecycle, including clinical development, manufacturing, pharmacovigilance, and commercial. This leader is the primary voice of Quality at the executive level and ensures a phase-appropriate, risk-based approach to quality that reflects the needs of oncology drug development, where patient safety, data integrity, and speed are critical. 

Operating with appropriate independence, this role partners cross-functionally and leads an established Quality leadership team across GCP, GMP, and GPV - aligning priorities, strengthening execution, and ensuring inspection readiness as Olema advances toward late-stage development.

This role is based out of our either our San Francisco, CA or Boston, MA office and will require some travel as needed.

As Vice President, Quality Assurance, your work will primarily encompass:

Quality Strategy & Leadership 

Define and drive a pragmatic, phase-appropriate and unified Quality strategy aligned with Olema’s pipeline and corporate objectives  
Serve as the senior Quality leader, establishing clear governance, decision-making frameworks, and escalation pathways  
Lead and develop Quality leadership across GCP, GMP, and GPV, enabling strong execution and maintaining clear accountability  
Foster a culture of quality, integrity, and patient focus across the organization  
Act as escalation point for significant quality, compliance, and patient safety risks  
Ensure ongoing inspection readiness across clinical, manufacturing, and safety domains

Quality Systems & Governance 

Set expectations and direction for a scalable, integrated, and sustainable Quality Management framework spanning clinical through commercial stages  
Ensure effectiveness and evolution of Quality systems through oversight of functional leaders across the QA function  
Drive consistency in quality processes, risk management approaches, and data integrity standards across the organization  
Establish clear quality metrics and reporting to enable risk visibility and informed decision-making

Clinical Quality (GCP) 

Ensure Quality approaches appropriately support the execution of oncology clinical trials  
Provide oversight of clinical quality and CRO management to ensure patient safety and data integrity  
Partner with Clinical and Regulatory to support inspection-ready programs and submissions

Manufacturing & Commercial Readiness (GMP) 

Ensure Quality strategy supports manufacturing scale-up and readiness for late-stage development and commercialization  
Oversee GMP Quality through established leadership, ensuring appropriate CMO/CDMO oversight and inspection preparedness  
Provide Quality input into CMC, validation, and supply chain readiness activities

Pharmacovigilance Quality (GPV) 

Oversee the pharmacovigilance quality framework, ensuring compliance, data integrity, and effective safety surveillance  
Ensure PV systems and vendors are appropriately governed and inspection-ready  
Partner cross-functionally to support ongoing evaluation of benefit-risk

Inspection, Audit & Risk Management 

Lead the Company’s approach to regulatory inspections, including preparation and execution  
Ensure risk-based audit programs across GCP, GMP, and GPV  
Drive proactive identification and mitigation of quality and compliance risks

Cross-Functional Leadership 

Partner with Executive Leadership, Regulatory, Clinical, and Manufacturing, to embed quality across the organization  
Provide clear, actionable Quality perspectives to support business decisions  
Represent Quality in executive discussions and external engagements as needed

Ideal Candidate Profile >>>

A love of challenging, important work. We are a pragmatic team, driven to imagine and develop meaningful therapies for improving lives. All employees within our company play a unique and crucial role in our success, both in accomplishing our mission and building a positive company culture. As such, we are looking for someone with the right combination of knowledge, experience, and attributes for this role.

Knowledge

Advanced degree in Life Sciences or related discipline (PhD, PharmD, MS)
Deep knowledge of FDA, EMA, ICH, and global GxP and pharmacovigilance (GPV) regulatory requirement
Expertise across GCP, GMP, and GPV Quality domains
Strong understanding of Quality systems, governance, and inspection readiness practices
Working knowledge of oncology drug development

Experience

Minimum of 15+ years of Quality experience in biotech/pharma with increasing scope and responsibility
Significant people management and leadership experience, including leading senior team members
Experience overseeing global vendor networks, including CROs, CMOs, CDMOs, and PV vendors
Demonstrated experience across GCP, GMP, and GPV environments
Proven track record supporting programs from clinical development through late-stage or commercial readiness
Experience leading regulatory inspections and interacting with global health authorities
Experience implementing and maintaining Quality systems and compliance frameworks

Attributes

Strong leadership capability with ability to lead through and develop senior leaders
Effective communicator with executive presence and influencing skills
Sound judgment and decision-making in complex, risk-based environments
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving biotech environment
Commitment to quality, compliance, and patient safety

The base pay range for this position is expected to be $315,000 - $340,000 annually, however the base pay offered may vary depending on location, market, job related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience. The total compensation package for this position also includes equity, bonus, and benefits.

#LI-AD1

Important Information >>>

We provide equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment and believe that great ideas and discoveries come from a mix of expertise, background, and experience. Olema is building a culture where the value of difference is celebrated.

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, seeking to provide an open, flexible, and friendly work environment to empower employees and provide them with a platform to develop their long-term careers. A Summary of Benefits is available for all applicants.

Please note: Olema doesn’t accept agency resumes and is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. Thank you.

Fraud Alert: We are aware of employment scams where individuals pose as representatives of Olema Oncology and make false use of our company name to defraud job seekers. To protect yourself, please note that Olema’s official email addresses end in @olema.com. Our official corporate website is olema.com; our careers page is olema.com/careers; our LinkedIn page is linkedin.com/company/olema-oncology. Please visit these links for official information from Olema. Communication from any other variant is fraudulent. Olema does not conduct interviews via text message/messaging platforms, will not ask you to download anything as part of your interview, will never request any form of payment, provide upfront payments of any kind, and does not make job offers without an in-person interview.