Director of Clinical Operations

About Vero Bioscience

Vero is a predictive health company on a mission to end age-related chronic disease. Built on groundbreaking Stanford University research, Vero uses advanced proteomics and machine learning to measure the biological aging of eleven organ systems from a simple blood test. Vero’s OrganAge™ test is the entry point to Vero Compass™ – a system that translates complex biological signals into clear, actionable insights that help clinicians and individuals intervene earlier and track meaningful improvement over time. Backed by leading scientific and clinical advisors, Vero is building the next era of predictive health to empower people to prevent disease and extend healthspan.

Vero is currently accessible through exclusive clinical research partnerships, with limited early access launching ahead of broad consumer availability in 2027. The company was founded by Paul Coletta, Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD, and Markus Okumus, backed by Khosla Ventures, and works with leading scientists, clinicians, research institutions, and health organizations to translate frontier aging science into useful products for predictive health.

The opportunity

At Vero, we are translating frontier aging science into a new generation of predictive health products. We are seeking an experienced Director of Clinical Operations to build and launch the end-to-end testing operation that will bring these products to consumers at scale.

This person will establish the infrastructure, partnerships, and workflows connecting sample collection, laboratory processing, and results delivery. Working closely with external laboratories, collection and logistics providers, clinical leadership, and regulatory advisors, the Director will resolve launch barriers and improve turnaround times, costs, and service reliability.

This is a hands-on, zero-to-one individual contributor role requiring both strategic operational judgment and a willingness to do the work directly. In collaboration with Vero’s scientific, product, engineering, and commercial leaders, the Director will turn early clinical programs into a repeatable, scalable consumer testing experience.

The Director of Clinical Operations reports to Co-Founder and CEO Paul Coletta, and works with the founders, Medical Director, scientific leadership, product, engineering, marketing, laboratory and clinical partners, and external legal, regulatory, and compliance advisors.

Role mandate

Build Vero’s clinical testing operation from zero to one and accelerate the path from laboratory readiness to commercial launch. Take direct ownership of resolving the operational barriers to launch and establishing reliable, cost-effective delivery—from sample collection through results—with the regulatory infrastructure and partner network needed for consumer scale.

Core responsibilities

1. End-to-end clinical testing operations

• Consumer testing infrastructure: Build the end-to-end consumer testing operation, spanning kits and supplies, collection, sample logistics, laboratory testing, and results delivery, with reliable order-to-result tracking and data handoffs.
• External laboratory and partner management: Establish responsibilities, workflows, service levels, and escalation processes across delivery partners, including resolution of failed collections, delayed results, and other service issues.
• Collection and sample quality: Work with laboratory and collection partners to implement collection and handling requirements, sample acceptance criteria, and processes for rejected samples and recollection.
• Turnaround time, cost, and scale: Lead initiatives to shorten the time from sample collection to results delivery and reduce per-test delivery costs through workflow improvements, partner negotiations, automation, and capacity planning.
• Clinical integration: Partner with the Medical Director and clinical team to translate clinical requirements into workable delivery processes, with clear responsibilities and handoffs.

2. Zero-to-one commercial launch execution

• Integrated launch planning: Translate company priorities into coordinated launch plans with clear milestones, dependencies, owners, and resource requirements.
• Hands-on launch execution: Personally drive the transition from development and validation into commercial testing, working directly with external laboratories and delivery partners to resolve launch barriers and ensure procedures, systems, responsibilities, and readiness criteria are in place.
• Product and workflow integration: Work with product and engineering to ensure operational requirements inform platform development and that new capabilities can be deployed effectively.
• Consumer scale: Establish repeatable workflows, partner capacity, and systems to support growth from early cohorts to broader consumer availability.

3. Regulatory, CLIA, and quality readiness

• Pathway development and execution: Work with leadership, laboratory partners, and regulatory advisors to define and refine Vero’s clinical testing and commercialization pathway, including CLIA/LDT-related workstreams.
• Implementation planning: Translate specialist advice into defined deliverables, responsibilities, budgets, and timelines, and drive follow-through.
• Validation coordination: Coordinate operational dependencies for analytical, software, and workflow validation, working with the scientific, laboratory, technical, and regulatory owners.
• Quality and change management: Establish operational procedures and issue-resolution processes, and coordinate changes to collection, laboratory, vendor, and reporting workflows with relevant specialists.
• Clinical program operations: Support the Medical Director and research partners in implementing study workflows, coordinating external sites and providers, and operationalizing approved protocols and amendments.

4. Privacy, security, and compliance operations

• Program implementation: Ensure privacy and security policies, processes, documentation, and training are implemented and maintained with legal and technical specialists.
• Vendor and data governance: Coordinate vendor assessments, business associate agreements, data-handling requirements, and reviews of operational data flows.
• Ongoing oversight: Establish a review cadence for risks, remediation plans, policy updates, and incident readiness, with clear accountability across functions.

5. Vendors, contracts, and operating economics

• Delivery partner strategy: Evaluate, select, onboard, and manage external laboratories, collection providers, kit suppliers, logistics partners, and other critical clinical delivery vendors.
• Commercial negotiation: Lead negotiations on pricing, scope, service levels, and operational terms, coordinating legal review and approval.
• Budget and cost management: Own operational budgets and forecasts, assess delivery economics, and identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining quality.
• Performance and continuity: Monitor partner performance and concentration risks, and develop contingency plans for critical services.

6. Clinical operations planning and performance

• Operating cadence: Establish clinical operations KPIs, reporting, and review processes that provide visibility into launch progress, delivery performance, costs, and risks.
• Capacity and resource planning: Translate anticipated consumer demand into laboratory capacity, collection coverage, kit and supply requirements, and systems needs.
• Partner execution: Drive delivery through external laboratories, collection providers, and other operational partners, with clear responsibilities, milestones, and escalation processes.

First-year outcomes

• Successful commercial launch, with critical laboratory, regulatory, clinical, product, and technology dependencies resolved.
• A functioning end-to-end consumer testing operation, with clear ownership across collection, sample logistics, laboratory processing, and results delivery.
• Clearly defined regulatory and validation pathways, with accountable owners and execution progressing against agreed milestones.
• Measurable improvements in turnaround times, delivery costs, and service reliability, supported by performance baselines and ongoing improvement initiatives.
• Implemented privacy, security, and quality processes across the testing workflow, with appropriate specialist support and regular review.
• A partner network, capacity plan, and delivery processes equipped to support increasing consumer testing volume.

Ideal background

• Clinical launch and consumer scale. Proven track record of launching and scaling clinical testing services delivered directly to consumers or through clinician-mediated consumer channels, with direct responsibility for operational delivery.
• Laboratory launch and implementation experience. Experience translating development and validation requirements into routine commercial testing workflows, working directly with laboratory, quality, technical, and collection partners.
• Hands-on, early-stage execution. Demonstrated willingness and ability to perform the work directly, resolve unfamiliar operational problems, and build practical systems in a resource-constrained environment.
• Diagnostics and healthcare expertise. Strong understanding of clinical testing workflows and the operational implications of laboratory, regulatory, quality, and data-protection requirements. Direct CLIA/LDT experience is strongly preferred.
• Financial and commercial judgment. Demonstrated success negotiating critical vendor agreements, managing budgets, and improving service economics.
• Scientific and technical fluency. Ability to work effectively with clinicians, scientists, engineers, and advisors, translating specialist requirements into practical execution.

Required qualifications

• Eight or more years of relevant experience in diagnostics, healthtech, clinical services, life sciences, or another regulated healthcare environment, including substantial operational leadership responsibility.
• Demonstrated responsibility for launching a clinical testing product and scaling its delivery to consumers.
• Experience managing end-to-end testing workflows, including collection, sample logistics, laboratory processing, and results delivery.
• Demonstrated success improving turnaround times, service reliability, and delivery costs.
• Experience managing operational budgets, negotiating vendor agreements, and building and managing external delivery capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to lead execution across external laboratories, clinical teams, and service providers, establishing clear responsibilities and holding partners accountable for delivery.

Leadership profile

• Accountable operator: Takes responsibility for outcomes, establishes clear ownership, and follows through on commitments.
• Systems thinker: Understands how laboratory, clinical, regulatory, technical, and commercial requirements connect.
• Hands-on executor: Personally advances critical work, resolves operational problems, and builds repeatable processes for scale.
• Sound judgment: Makes timely decisions, recognizes when specialist input is needed, and surfaces material risks early.
• Collaborative leader: Works effectively across disciplines and organizations, resolving competing priorities with clarity and respect.
• Quality-minded and commercially disciplined: Builds reliable services while managing costs, resources, and growth requirements.

What success looks like

Vero can launch and grow with confidence in its operating infrastructure. Teams and partners understand their responsibilities, critical workstreams progress against clear plans, and testing and service delivery become increasingly reliable and efficient. Leadership has visibility into performance, costs, risks, and readiness, supported by reliable processes and accountable delivery partners.

Why join Vero Bioscience

This is an opportunity to help define a new category of predictive health. Vero sits at the intersection of frontier aging biology, proteomics, machine learning, clinical translation, and consumer product design.

• Build the foundation: Build and launch the clinical testing operation that brings advanced aging science into clinical and consumer use.
• Lead a critical transition: Help take Vero from early programs through commercial launch and scale.
• Collaborative culture: Work alongside leading scientists, clinicians, engineers, and product leaders.
• Compensation: Competitive compensation and meaningful early-stage equity ownership.