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Entrepreneur in Residence at Portal
DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative
Reporting: CEO, Portal Biotechnologies
Location: Watertown, MA or San Francisco, CA
Engagement Type: Full-Time or Structured Contract
Program: DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative (EEI)
Company Overview
Portal Biotechnologies, headquartered in Watertown, MA, is a cell engineering platform company building the infrastructure layer for programmable cell medicine. Portal’s proprietary mechanoporation technology enables efficient, scalable delivery of diverse cargos into virtually any cell type, including RNA, proteins, small molecules, and gene-editing tools, without compromising cell function. The approach works across scales and settings, from high-throughput drug screening to clinical manufacturing, and is designed to integrate as a stand-alone system or within third-party platforms.
Since launching its first product in 2024, Portal has built a network of 100+ active customers including the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies and leading academic hospitals and cancer centers worldwide. The company operates across three business lines: biopharma R&D screening, next-generation cell therapy manufacturing, and AI training data generation, addressing markets totaling $100B+. Portal is backed by leading venture investors and has received an $8M contract from DARPA, reflecting both commercial traction and recognition of the platform’s potential to reshape how cell therapies are manufactured and deployed.
The Opportunity
Portal has been awarded an additional contract under the DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative (EEI), a competitive program that embeds experienced entrepreneurial operators inside deep-tech companies to drive structured go-to-market execution.
The DARPA-funded program has advanced Portal’s platform into a new frontier: compact, portable devices capable of engineering cells at the point of care, opening deployment pathways in hospitals, infusion centers, and distributed settings that current cell therapy manufacturing cannot reach. The remaining challenges are commercial and regulatory, not scientific, which is exactly what this role is designed to address.
The Embedded Entrepreneur will help drive broad adoption of Portal’s platform, with particular focus on leveraging these advances to establish hospital and biopharma partnerships and accelerate the path to point-of-care cell therapy. This is an externally focused leadership role with full ownership of execution over 12 months, reporting directly to the CEO. The EE will work closely with Portal’s CEO and COO and have access to Portal’s clinical collaborators, scientific advisors, and investor network. After the initial funding period, there will be open opportunities to build on the progress in the form of a potential therapeutic spinout or Portal leadership role.
What You Will Do
Hospital and Institutional Engagement Build and advance partnerships with U.S. and international academic medical centers, integrated health systems, VA medical centers, and outpatient infusion centers. Identify principal investigators and clinical programs where Portal’s platform addresses real needs in oncology, autoimmune disease, sepsis, and enzyme replacement. Move relationships from initial outreach to signed collaboration frameworks, pilot agreements, commercial sales, and defined integration plans that embed Portal’s device and consumables into translational and early clinical workflows.
Market and Competitive Intelligence Conduct structured interviews and demand mapping across target institutions to produce a Customer Demand Report documenting key findings, customer segments, and pilot opportunities. Assess the RBC modification and intracellular delivery landscape, define Portal’s key differentiators across throughput, cell viability, infrastructure requirements, and point-of-care deployability, and identify gaps the platform is positioned to address.
Value Proposition and Regulatory Positioning Translate demand findings into a value proposition framework across customer segments, including academic medical centers, integrated health systems, VA medical centers, and outpatient infusion centers. Coordinate with regulatory and compliance stakeholders at priority clinical sites.
Commercialization Strategy and Financing Plan Develop a hospital adoption framework covering device and consumables integration into clinical workflows, pricing structure for capital equipment and consumables, pilot collaboration agreements, and an institutional expansion plan. Surface biopharma-facing partnership pathways where hospital trial activity creates licensing and collaboration opportunities. Build supporting materials for investor and strategic partner engagement, including an investor-ready pitch deck, case study materials, and a structured outreach plan. Engage key opinion leaders in oncology, immunology, critical care, and transfusion medicine to support broader institutional and investor awareness.
Who You Are
Strong candidates will come from one of three directions:
Commercial Operator Experience in a clinical-stage biotech, medtech, or life sciences company in a role touching go-to-market strategy, business development, commercial launch, or pharma partnering. You understand how devices and biologics are evaluated, procured, and adopted by hospitals and research programs.
Cell Therapy or Translational Science Leader A scientist or translational leader, from a biotech, pharma, or academic setting, who has helped push a program into the clinic. You understand the development arc from bench to IND to early clinical, and have worked across the institutional relationships that make that happen.
Clinically Trained Translational Leader An MD or MD/PhD with direct experience inside hospital systems, blood banks, infusion centers, or point-of-care settings, with a track record of translating novel technologies into clinical evaluation, investigator-sponsored research, or medical affairs strategy.
Across all three profiles, we are looking for:
- A track record of building partnerships, whether with academic medical centers, hospital systems, or pharma and biotech companies; this is the core of the role
- Experience in or strong instincts around cell therapy, engineered cell platforms, or adjacent modalities
- Commercial judgment on instrument and consumables-based business models
- Ability to engage hospital stakeholders across investigators, procurement, and clinical research administration
- Working knowledge of regulatory pathways for cell-based products and device-biologic combinations
- Strong written and verbal communication; structured deliverables are a core output of this role
- High autonomy and entrepreneurial orientation; comfort operating in an early-stage company environment
Why This Role
- DARPA backing. The EEI designation signals that a serious technical program office has vetted the technology and is funding its transition. That context opens doors.
- Direct ownership. This is not a support or advisory role. You will define and execute the commercial strategy with full visibility into Portal’s technical program and investor relationships.
- Real deliverables. A funded, time-bound commercialization mandate with defined milestones means you will produce a concrete body of work, not a deck that sits in a drawer.
- Strong foundation. Portal’s mechanoporation technology is already in the hands of the top 10 global pharma companies and leading academic medical centers.
- Team access. You will work directly with Portal’s CEO and COO and have access to a network of clinical collaborators, scientific advisors, and investors.
Logistics
- Full-time preferred, structured part-time considered for the right candidate
- Primary location: Watertown, MA (Portal HQ) or San Francisco area (Portal office); hybrid and other arrangements considered
- Travel to academic medical centers and research institutions as needed; international travel possible
- Compensation commensurate with experience and engagement structure
