IT Director (R&D)
21 days ago
Cambridge
Director, IT Business Partner – Research & Development (R&D) The Director, IT Business Partner – R&D is a senior leadership role responsible for aligning information technology strategy with the needs of the scientific organisation. This role ensures R&D teams have the technology platforms, data infrastructure, and external partnerships required to accelerate drug discovery and innovation. Acting as a trusted advisor to senior R&D leadership, the role owns the R&D IT roadmap, manages business demand, oversees critical applications and vendors, and ensures strong alignment between technology capabilities, data strategy, and scientific priorities. A solid understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Large Language Model (LLM) technologies is essential, with close collaboration alongside computational and data science teams to enable next-generation research. Key Responsibilities Strategic Partnership & Roadmap Development • Serve as the senior IT partner to R&D leadership, translating scientific objectives into technology and data strategies, • Build strong relationships with scientific, technical, and business stakeholders, • Identify opportunities to leverage enterprise IT and data capabilities to support R&D objectives, • Act as the primary escalation point for R&D IT issues and drive continuous improvement, • Oversee core scientific systems (e.g. ELN, compound registration, analytics platforms, computational environments), • Partner with research and computational teams to evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, • Manage the full lifecycle of R&D applications, including upgrades, validation, and retirement, • Manage external software vendors and IT service providers supporting R&D, • Partner with cloud and data infrastructure providers to ensure adequate computational capacity (e.g. HPC, GPUs, AI platforms), • Ensure reliable operational support including incident management, change control, and user enablement, • Drive process improvements that streamline scientific workflows and optimise technology usage, • Ensure compliance with regulatory, quality, and data security requirements, • Maintain policies and procedures supporting consistent R&D IT operations Required Qualifications & Experience Education • 8+ years of IT experience within biopharma or biotech environments, • Significant exposure to the full R&D lifecycle, • Strong understanding of pharmaceutical R&D practices, regulations, and compliance, • Experience with R&D technologies such as LIMS, ELN, compound management, data analytics, visualisation tools, and scientific software platforms, • Demonstrated collaboration with AI, ML, computational chemistry, or data science teams, • Solid understanding of Linux, HPC environments, security, and containerisation, • Strategic and entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to influence senior leaders, • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across scientific and executive audiences, • Strong analytical, planning, and project management capabilities, • Lean and process-improvement mindset, • Awareness of technology trends within R&D and ability to build strategic technology partnerships, • Fluent in English; additional languages are advantageous Applications should include a CV and cover letter outlining interest and relevant experience for the role.