Senior Program Officer, Biosecurity Chokepoints

Senior Program Officer - Biosecurity chokepoints

Sentinel Bio is dedicated to making pandemics history within our lifetimes by finding, funding, and scaling the most promising efforts to eliminate catastrophic pandemics over the coming decade. Since launching in 2024, we’ve played a central role as the biosecurity field has achieved significant milestones towards substantially mitigating pandemic risk.

We have raised nearly $40 million in philanthropic capital and funded >70 grants, special projects, and incubated organizations focused on safeguarding AI-enabled biology and DNA synthesis.

How to apply

To express interest in this role, please complete this form. We expect a large volume of inquiries, and we may not respond to each individually – but we read and appreciate every one.

We will review applications on a rolling basis and aim to move quickly for candidates with a strong fit. We'll ask candidates who advance in our process to complete a compensated work test.

Why this role exists

We believe that securing access to physical biotechnology chokepoints – such as synthetic DNA, live pathogens, and cloud laboratories --  is among our best bets for preventing the misuse of biology to cause pandemic-scale harm. Our initial focus has been on nucleic acid synthesis, where we have the clearest roadmap: uptake of existing screening tools grew by 180% in 2024–2025, and the policy landscape is increasingly favorable worldwide. But to stop determined actors, we need controls and monitoring layered across multiple points in the biotech supply chain. That's why we're expanding beyond synthetic DNA to chokepoints like live pathogen repositories, contract research organizations, and cloud labs.

We are seeking one or more Senior Program Officers to join Sentinel Bio’s biosecurity chokepoints program, as we operate at a much more ambitious level and scale toward deploying >$100M toward our mission by 2030. We see this as one of the highest-impact roles in biosecurity and tech governance today.

What you’ll own

As a core member of the Sentinel team, you'll help develop our strategy for physical chokepoints, oversee execution, and manage a portfolio of partnerships and grants.

The role may lean more toward synthesis screening or the other chokepoints. Because these programs sit at different stages of maturity, we're both looking for candidates who could can drive execution-ready work on synthesis screening and shape foundational strategies for the complementary chokepoints.

Strategy Development and Execution

• Develop, refine, and execute Sentinel’s strategy for physical chokepoints.
• We expect you to work closely with leading biosecurity experts, as well as Sentinel program staff and leadership, and grow into a program leadership over time.

Grants and Partnership Management

• Manage a substantial portfolio of grants and partnerships end-to-end: develop grant ideas, evaluate proposals, execute grants, and hold grantees accountable for progress. We expect you to make and manage grants totaling several million dollars in your first year at Sentinel.
• Identify and cultivate new partners in government, industry, and civil society.
• Help incubate and launch new organizations.

Representing Sentinel

• Represent Sentinel in meetings with government officials, industry leaders, academic institutions, and international organizations.

Communication and Team Contribution

• Synthesize strategy and progress for Sentinel's board, funders, and partners.
• Pitch in on operational tasks; we're a small team, and everyone rolls up their sleeves when needed.

Who You Are

• You’re mission-driven: you are passionate about Sentinel's focus on biosecurity and pandemic prevention, and share our seriousness about the mission.
• You’re a skilled strategist who can also execute: You can develop a theory of change, build a roadmap, and then do what it takes to make it happen.
• You demonstrate excellent judgment: you are confident in holding complexity, navigating ambiguity, and making sound decisions in high-stakes situations.
• You learn fast: You may not come in knowing the details of physical access controls, but you can achieve working fluency on niche technical topics within months and speak credibly in high-stakes settings.
• You're entrepreneurial: You operate with exceptional levels of agency, autonomously pursuing creative solutions and relentlessly taking things across the finish line.

This role spans several domains, and no one candidate will be strong in all of them. That said, we're particularly excited about candidates who bring some combination of:

• Several years of post-graduate experience, especially in leadership roles and/or roles in new organizations.
• Background in biology, biotechnology, security, or technology policy.
• Experience in technology governance, e.g., AI, semiconductors, biotech.
• Experience programs, research portfolios, and external collaborations.
• A well-developed threat model for catastrophic biotech misuse.

If this role excites you and you bring a strong subset of these, we encourage you to apply!

What We Offer

You'll work with a small, ambitious team that punches well above its weight, alongside some of the most influential organizations and individuals in biosecurity.

• Compensation: $150,000–$225,000, based on experience and location.
• Location: Remote, but you must be available for calls during morning hours U.S. EST and able to travel internationally 1-2 times quarterly.
• Competitive benefits: Healthcare and retirement contributions; personal and professional development budget; generous PTO, workspace membership, travel.

More About Sentinel Bio

We are a small, high-trust team that moves quickly, takes our work seriously, and holds ourselves to a high standard. Impact on our mission is the bottom line we use as our North Star. When the path forward is unclear or difficult, we turn to these guiding values for inspiration and motivation:

• Unwavering integrity: We seek and speak the truth even when it is costly to us.
• Relentless prioritisation: We diligently deploy our precious resources, including our time, funds, and the trust of our partners.
• Calibrated humility: We recognize our limitations without overstating them and generously share both credit and opportunities for impact with others.
• Sustainable ambition: We pursue the mission to our limits but no further, seeking the assistance we need and embracing that we will sometimes fail.

Sentinel Bio is led by Claire Qureshi, who has over 15 years of leadership experience in biotech, global health, public policy, and consulting, and Joshua Monrad, who has deployed philanthropic grants for tens of millions of dollars and helped build several new biosecurity institutions. We have strong partnerships with a geographically diverse group of philanthropists who share our long-term mission, and we're on track to raise and deploy $100M by 2030.

At Sentinel Bio, we're building a team that reflects the global community we serve, embracing differences in background, perspective, and experience. We actively seek out and welcome talent from all walks of life, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other aspect that makes you uniquely you.

Referral Bonus

Know someone who'd be a great fit? Please get in touch via our referral form, where we offer a $5,000 bonus to individuals who refer successful candidates.

To receive these bonuses, we must reasonably believe that you were responsible for referring the candidate to us (e.g., because we didn’t previously know them, or them mentioning you on their application as the reason they heard about the position).