Why choose AstraZeneca Spain?
AstraZeneca Spain is a rising force in our global business. With headquarters in Madrid and our global hub in Barcelona, we’ve become an important international centre of excellence in the fight against critical disease. Boasting vibrant universities and business schools, the Barcelona ecosystem is a place where scientists can thrive. We attract a diverse workforce from across the globe, shining a beacon for innovation in a country that’s committed to clinical development.
We invite you to bring your talents to Barcelona where our respiratory medicine R&D and Global Marketing centre offers opportunities in R&D, IT, Commercial and HR. Or join us in Madrid and shape our growth in our BUs (Respiratory, Oncology & CVRM ), and a range of Corporate functions. Additionally, you can find sales roles throughout the country. Together, we’re contributing to a world-leading pipeline of therapeutics and delivering life-changing medicines to patients.
Who do we look for?
Calling all tech innovators, ownership takers, challenge seekers and proactive collaborators. At AstraZeneca Spain, breakthroughs born in the lab become transformative medicine for the world's most complex diseases. Alongside technical expertise, colleagues have the resilience, energy and collaborative mindset to change lanes, work with different teams and start projects from scratch.
Here, diverse minds and bold disruptors can meaningfully impact the future of healthcare using cutting-edge technology. Whether you join us in Madrid or Barcelona, you can make a tangible impact within a global biopharmaceutical company that invests in your future. Join a talented global team that's powering AstraZeneca to better serve patients every day.
Success Profile
Ready to make an impact in your career? If you're passionate, growth-orientated and a true team player, we'll help you succeed. Here are some of the skills and capabilities we look for.
Diverse collaborators
This is a speak-up culture that values collaboration. You’ll proactively bring your unique perspectives, experiences and skills to the table and seek the same from others. With our international team composition and the need for fast-paced collaboration, you’ll always be building new connections with colleagues.
Cutting-edge innovators
When you join us, you’ll be part of a team that embraces digital technology and data to transform the way we work and the work we do. Every day, you’ll help make history, empowered to ignite your creativity and build something enduring.
Resilient trailblazers
Here, the answers aren’t always available. So, you’ll need to bring a fearless, self-starter mindset to navigate uncharted territories. You’ll harness your ceaseless energy to discover and make the necessary connections with colleagues to shape the future and achieve maximum impact.
Agile movers
Seize ownership and excel with autonomy to enjoy the constant rush of ground-breaking discovery. Your ability to anticipate sudden shifts and adapt swiftly will prove critical as you make your mark in an environment that rewards initiative and resilience.
Responsibilities
Position:Director, Genomic Data Science
Location: Barcelona - Spain (3 days working from the office and 2 days working from home)
Make a more meaningful impact to patients’ lives around the globe
Here you’ll have the chance to create a meaningful difference to patients’ lives. With science at its heart, this is the place where breakthroughs born in the lab become transformative medicines – for the world’s most sophisticated diseases.
There’s no better time to join our global, growing enterprise as we lead the way for healthcare and society. Our inquisitive culture is uniquely open and collaborative. Here, you’ll be surrounded by forward-thinking minds from a diverse set of backgrounds who think differently about the world.
Diverse Minds. Go further with bold new opportunities.
A highly visible opportunity to lead the Centre for Genomics Research’s (CGR) Genomics Data Science team. CGR is an interdisciplinary organisation focused on leveraging population-scale human multi-modal genetics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and health data to inform better decision making across drug discovery R&D.
What You’ll do
We are seeking a dynamic leader to head our growing team of data scientists, machine learning specialists, and data visualization developers. In this role, you will collaborate with industry-leading experts in human genomics and leverage multi-omic data from over 1.5M genetically diverse individuals – one of the largest collections of human genetics data in the world. You will design and implement cutting-edge methods for analysing large-scale genomics data and lead a team that has been instrumental in driving innovative scientific insights into disease biology, validating new drug targets, elucidating early disease processes and enhancing opportunities for patient stratification.
As the Director of Genomic Data Science, you will oversee the Genomic Data Science team, executing existing data science and machine learning strategies while ensuring technical excellence. Your leadership will encompass line management, demand planning, and team resourcing, serving as a role model by staying abreast of the latest data science and machine learning methodologies.
You will be part of a dynamic team within CGR's multidisciplinary research environment, working closely with cross-functional experts in statistical genetics, multi-omics, translational science, functional genomics, drug discovery, pre-clinical modelling, and clinical development. This collaboration significantly contributes to the broader objectives of the company-wide Genomics Initiative, ensuring its success and alignment with corporate goals. Your role is pivotal in advancing our genomics capabilities and driving our mission to innovate in the field of genomics and AI, and you will work closely with CGR leadership in translating this vision into impactful data science-driven solutions.
In this role, you will be:
Leading teams to translate disease biology problems into appropriate machine learning frameworks across drug discovery project portfolio.
Identifying new opportunities to maximise the discovery potential from the growing data, tools, and expertise resources in the wider organisation.
Building strong relationships with senior and executive stakeholders to ensure the utilisation of genomics information and insights.
Promoting ongoing knowledge and awareness of trends, best practices, and new developments in genomics, data science, and AI, influencing functional practices and strategy.
Overseeing a portfolio of Data Science, ML, and AI projects with defined scopes across multiple geographical locations.
Driving and contributing to scientific publications, publishing data and code internally and externally.
Defining training standards for junior colleagues, focusing on genomics and machine learning best practices and principles.
Leading within the AstraZeneca data science community to develop genomics best practices and cross-functional opportunities that drive value.
Driving the technical implementation of existing strategies to deliver innovative solutions that address scientific challenges.
Maintaining a well-developed knowledge of genomic data science and staying abreast of technical advances in the international community.
Ensuring own work, and work of team, is compliant with Good Laboratory Practice, Safety, Health and Environment standards and all other internal AstraZeneca standards and external regulations
Essential Criteria
PhD degree (or equivalent experience) in Machine Learning, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, or a related quantitative discipline
Established scientific reputation through a track record of peer-reviewed publications in high-impact scientific journals, patents, technical white-papers or equivalent
Strong programming experience and technical expertise demonstrated by previously published data science software projects
Over 8 years of experience in large-scale data analysis, applied statistics, or machine learning building and leading successful teams
Proven prior experience in developing innovative machine learning and deep learning systems using established frameworks (e.g. scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras)
Ability to communicate effectively with team members and non-experts, both verbally and through documentation
Ability to carry out duties under minimal supervision
Excellent interpersonal skills and willingness to work within a team in a quickly evolving environment
Understanding or curiosity about the potential of genomics to impact drug discovery
Desirable Criteria
Previous experience in a similar role
Familiarity working on genomics studies involving one of AstraZeneca’s core therapeutic areas (e.g. Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic; Respiratory & Immunology; Rare Diseases; Oncology).
Integration of multiple -omics data types
Familiarity with Generative AI models (e.g. LLMs)
Experience in high performance and/or cloud computing
Experience directing or project-leading external collaborations
Ability to provide leadership and guidance to deliver project goals through others
Why AstraZeneca?
At AstraZeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration. Always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development.
So, what’s next?
Complete your application before the below closing date.
Where can I find out more?
Follow AstraZeneca on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/1603/
Follow AstraZeneca on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/astrazenecacareers/
Follow AstraZeneca on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/astrazeneca_careers/?hl=en
AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.
Reasons to Join
Thomas Mathisen
There are many things I enjoy when working at AstraZeneca, mainly the Speak up culture, the great colleagues that are in my teams, the great products that AstraZeneca provides to our patients and the challenging conversations I have around our medicines.
Christine Recchio
Working at AstraZeneca has impacted my life in such a positive way. I now have an improved work-life balance through creating my own schedule and time management, I feel a balance that I didn’t have before.
Stephanie Ling
There are a lot of reasons why I enjoy working in AstraZeneca, my colleagues being one of them. My team members and the managers have provided a great deal of guidance in helping me to be more confident in my daily work.
What we offer
We're driven by our shared values of serving people, society and the planet. Our people make this possible, which is why we prioritise diversity, inclusivity, balance and sustainability. Discover what a career at AstraZeneca could mean for you.
An award-winning company
We're passionate about being a great place to work, and 84% of our employees would recommend us as an employer. We've been recognised as a Top Employer in Spain, an EFR Family Responsible Business, and we achieved third place in Forbes Spain's Top 50 Best Places to Work list.
Inclusive environment
Diversity and inclusion are embedded in everything we do, and our different views, experiences and strengths enrich our culture. There's no salary gap at AstraZeneca, and the number of female employees has increased by four per cent over the last three years. We've also made all positions fully accessible.
Work-life balance
Your wellbeing means a lot to us, and we're here to support you through all of life's ups and downs. That's why we offer an unpaid leave policy, annual leave, reduced-hours timetables and a host of benefits, including a retirement plan, long service award, and health and travel insurance.
Sustainability initiatives
We're committed to harnessing the power of science to become a more sustainable business. We've reduced our carbon footprint by over 9,000 kg of CO2 over the last two years, and we lead the European GoGreen Project, which aims to introduce environmentally friendly options in our fleet of corporate vehicles.
We’ll keep you up to date
