Senior Director, AI & Bioinformatics
2 days ago
Oxford
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom Department: Drug Discovery & Translational Sciences Reports to: Chief Scientific Officer About the Role We are seeking an exceptional scientific leader to build and scale a world-class AI-driven bioinformatics function in the heart of the UK’s life sciences ecosystem in Oxford. As Senior Director, AI & Bioinformatics, you will define and execute the company’s computational strategy across target identification, multimodal data integration, and predictive modelling to accelerate our drug discovery pipeline. This is a high-impact executive leadership role with full ownership of strategy, people, platform, and cross-functional integration. You will partner closely with Biology, Chemistry, Translational Medicine, and Clinical Development to transform data into differentiated therapeutics. Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership • Define and deliver the AI & data strategy aligned with corporate R&D goals., • Build a scalable computational platform integrating genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, imaging, and clinical data., • Drive adoption of AI/ML across early discovery through translational stages., • Lead development of predictive models for:, • Target identification and validation, • Biomarker discovery, • Patient stratification, • Drug response modelling, • Implement state-of-the-art approaches including:, • Foundation models for biology, • Graph neural networks, • Multi-omics integration, • Generative models for target prioritisation, • Recruit, mentor, and scale a multidisciplinary team of:, • Computational biologists, • Bioinformaticians, • ML engineers, • Data scientists, • Create a high-performance, collaborative culture embedded within wet-lab discovery teams., • PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Machine Learning, Systems Biology, or related discipline., • 10+ years experience in biotech/pharma drug discovery., • Proven leadership experience building and managing high-performing computational teams., • Track record of deploying AI/ML models into real discovery pipelines (not just research prototypes)., • Deep expertise in:, • Multi-omics analysis, • Statistical genetics, • Python/R and modern ML frameworks, • Cloud computing (AWS/GCP/Azure), • Experience leading AI strategy in oncology, immunology, rare disease, or precision medicine., • Industry collaborations with UK/EU academic institutions., • Exposure to regulatory considerations for AI in drug development., • Executive-level compensation + equity participation, • Opportunity to shape a flagship AI-enabled biotech platform, • Access to Oxford’s leading academic and clinical ecosystem, • Flexible hybrid working model, • Generous pension, bonus, and long-term incentive plans