Associate Director, Product Protection & Stewardship

Reporting to: Vice President, Corporate Affairs

Location: Durham, NC (US-based); frequent international travel, including Latin America

Classification: Full-Time Exempt

Key strengths

• Strategic program design and risk-based prioritization: Builds systems that scale across sites and countries, and puts audit and surveillance effort where the risk is highest.
• Courage and candor: Raises findings early and plainly, including with partners and senior leaders, and holds the line on quality and release decisions.
• Evidence-driven leadership: Measures whether programs actually work, reports results without spin, and uses the data to improve.
• Initiative and foresight: Spots emerging risks (diversion, off-types, new jurisdictions) before they become incidents.
• Relationships and networks: Builds trusted working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and uses them to get access, information, and cooperation.

About Pairwise

Pairwise is a mission driven AgriFoodTech company pioneering the application of CRISPR technology in food and agriculture. Founded in 2017 by leading scientists in the gene editing and biotechnology fields, Pairwise holds licenses from Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital to base editing and high-fidelity enzymes – in addition to our own proprietary, company-developed suite of novel tools.

Anchored by our Fulcrum® platform and deep technical and agronomic expertise in more than 60 crops, we’re accelerating innovation in plant genetics, food and agricultural products, supply chains, and production systems. Our expert team delivers commercially viable products that benefit the planet, consumers, growers, and our business partners.

After successfully delivering 27 novel traits to Bayer’s pipeline during our first collaboration for corn, soy, wheat, and canola, our second collaboration currently underway is focused on developing climate-friendly short-stature corn – with more partnerships on the horizon. Our consumer-facing pipeline includes seedless blackberries and pitless cherries.

Named one of America’s Top GreenTech Companies, Pairwise is based in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.

About This Role

Pairwise is moving gene-edited specialty crops into commercial production. Proprietary plants and berries now move through contract propagators, vendors, and growers in multiple countries, and on to retail shelves. This role makes sure that material is accounted for, verified, and produced to specification at every step, and that we can show the evidence.

The Associate Director, Product Protection & Quality leads Pairwise’s product protection program and its quality function. On the protection side, you own the stewardship program and grower training, vendor and grower audits, retail spot checks with third-party lab verification, and enforcement. On the quality side, you set direction for the quality management system and a plant supply quality program covering plants Pairwise produces and plants partners produce on our behalf. A QA & Safety Manager reports to this role and holds independent release authority for plant material.

This is a builder’s role for a proactive leader who sets priorities and drives programs without waiting for direction. You will run one supplier assurance program across propagators, vendors, and growers, report results to leadership on a regular cadence, and work closely with R&D, regulatory, legal, commercial, and plant production teams.

Essential Functions

• Build and lead the product protection and quality strategy as the commercial and production footprint grows across the US and Latin America.
• Run one audit calendar across contract propagators, vendors, and growers, with consistent protocols, findings tracking, and closure.
• Direct the retail spot-check program, including sampling plans, chain of custody, and verification testing at third-party labs.
• Lead the stewardship program, including grower and partner training and stewardship guides.
• Partner with legal and commercial teams on infringement assessment and enforcement.
• Manage product protection contractors, the third-party auditor network, and testing labs, including contracts, scopes of work, and capacity.
• Lead the QA & Safety Manager; set quality and safety program priorities and objectives, and protect QA’s independent authority on lot release and specification conformance.
• Own quarantine and biosecurity containment protocols and contamination response.
• Publish a quarterly scorecard on protection, audit, plant quality, and safety performance for executive leadership.

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in agricultural science, plant science, life science, or a related field.
• 8+ years in product stewardship, IP protection and enforcement, quality assurance, or supply compliance, including at least 3 years leading programs or people.
• Hands-on experience with quality management systems and supplier quality, including audits, CAPA, and supplier qualification.