Chief Operating Officer, Sentinel Bio

Role overview

Sentinel Bio is looking for a highly capable Chief Operating Officer to join its leadership group as the organization expands toward deploying more than $100M in support of its mission by 2030. The role is central to building the internal systems, structure, and operating model needed for the next phase of growth.

Sentinel Bio’s mission is to help make pandemics a thing of the past by identifying, backing, and scaling the most promising efforts to reduce catastrophic pandemic risk over the coming decade. Since its launch in 2024, the organization has become an important player in biosecurity, raised nearly $40 million in philanthropic funding, and supported more than 70 grants, special projects, and incubated organizations focused on protecting AI-enabled biology and DNA synthesis.

Why this position matters

The biosecurity landscape is changing quickly: the risk of misuse of AI-enabled biotechnology is rising, while new philanthropic capital is opening up major opportunities to strengthen resilience. With deep relationships across biosecurity, AI, and philanthropy, Sentinel Bio is positioned to act decisively at this pivotal moment.

The COO will be responsible for designing and operating the internal architecture required for Sentinel to scale 2x, 5x, and 10x beyond today’s size.

Key responsibilities

• Act as a senior operational leader, maintaining a clear view of the organization’s priorities, and proactively identifying risks, constraints, and opportunities.
• Shape and deliver Sentinel’s operating strategy, including annual plans and multi-year roadmaps across finance, people operations, compliance, and program operations.
• Support the launch of new biosecurity organizations from the ground up.
• Partner with program leadership to turn strategic goals into practical resourcing plans.
• Represent Sentinel externally with legal advisors, partners, and other stakeholders as needed.
• Lead hiring across the organization and its portfolio in collaboration with the CEO and program team, with a focus on attracting and retaining strong talent.
• Build and oversee the operations function, including direct management of the Operations Lead.
• Own onboarding, offboarding, compensation structures, and employee development across multiple jurisdictions and entities.
• Take responsibility for financial health, including budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and cash flow oversight, in partnership with the Operations Lead and an external controller.
• Ensure the organization remains compliant with all relevant nonprofit obligations, including filings, audits, and governance requirements, while coordinating with external legal counsel and accountants on complex or high-risk matters.

What the team is like

Sentinel Bio describes itself as a compact, high-trust team that moves fast, works carefully, and expects a high standard of execution. The mission is the central measure of success. When decisions are difficult or uncertain, the team relies on the following values: unwavering integrity, relentless prioritization, calibrated humility, and sustainable ambition.

The organization is led by Claire Qureshi, who brings more than 15 years of leadership experience across biotech, global health, public policy, and consulting, and Joshua Monrad, who has directed tens of millions of dollars in philanthropic grants and helped build several new biosecurity institutions. Sentinel also works with a geographically diverse network of philanthropists and is on track to raise and deploy $100M by 2030.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will be deeply committed to the mission, highly effective operationally, and comfortable exercising sound judgment in uncertain, high-stakes settings.

• Strong decision-making ability, including comfort with complexity, ambiguity, and high-stakes judgment calls.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to hire, coach, and manage strong teams, and to represent the organization well in writing, on video, and in person.
• Adaptability and low ego: able to think strategically about future needs while also handling hands-on operational work such as drafting contracts or resolving immediate issues.
• Strong alignment with biosecurity and pandemic prevention, and a genuine commitment to the mission.
• 8 to 12+ years of experience in operations and organizational leadership, with a track record of owning complex work end to end.
• Experience building operational infrastructure in a small organization from the ground up.
• Comfort with budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and nonprofit compliance and governance; prior US 501(c)(3) experience is especially valued.
• Experience in philanthropic grantmaking, biosecurity, or similarly high-stakes nonprofit environments is helpful but not mandatory.

Benefits and compensation

• Estimated pay of $220,000 to $260,000+.
• Unconditional retirement or pension contributions.
• Healthcare coverage and retirement contributions.
• Personal and professional development budget.
• Workspace membership.
• Travel support.
• Unlimited paid time off and paid holidays.
• Flexible work arrangement with remote work available, including internationally; hybrid is also possible.
• D.C. or San Francisco is preferred, but not required.

Eligibility and inclusion

This opportunity is open to candidates who are aligned with Sentinel Bio’s mission and able to work in a remote or hybrid setup. The organization encourages applications from people of all backgrounds and welcomes talent regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other characteristic that makes each person unique.

Application process

Applicants are asked to submit a CV and a few responses through the posting. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and strong candidates can expect a fast process that includes a compensated work test. Early-stage conversations are confidential.