DIRECTOR - PLATFORM LEAD (PHARMACOVIGILANCE PATIENT SAFETY)

Introduction to role:

Are you prepared to guide the platforms that protect patients by transforming how a global science-led company detects, assesses, and prevents risk across the product lifecycThis role guides the strategy and delivery of safety monitoring and drug risk management platforms. These platforms support regulatory confidence, speed decisions, and improve how safety scientists worldwide view their work. ide.

You will set the multi-year direction, build and coach high-performing engineering pods, and bring together data, AI, and modern architecture to deliver resilient, compliant, and scalable capabilities. Do you thrive at the intersection of platform strategy, engineering excellence, and operational rigor, where every improvement can help medicines reach patients more safely and quickly?

Accountabilities:

Develop a 3–5 year platform vision and roadmap for Drug Safety and Vigilance. Ensure technology investments support measurable patient impact and regulatory readiness.

Lead global, product-aligned pods with suitable technical depth. Promote performance, skills growth, and a culture focused on ownership, reliability, and continual improvement.

Delivery Leadership: Prioritize and deliver scoped work with program and product leads; ensure on-time, high-quality outcomes tied to clear success measures and business value.

Architecture and Technical Guidance: Influence design and architecture, provide hands-on guidance, and make decisions that ensure platform cohesion, security, and scalability.

Roadmap and Planning: Partner with business leaders to define scope, roadmap, and planning horizons with relevant performance measures that guide investment and execution.

Supplier and COTS Engagements: Establish effective engagement models, manage suppliers against agreed measures, and maximize value from commercial platforms and services.

Cross-Enterprise Orchestration: Coordinate multiple technology teams to provide the right hosting, AI, and data solutions that integrate seamlessly and scale globally.

Service Ownership: Own service performance and operational health across the Patient Safety and Pharmacovigilance estate; improve maturity, stability, and reliability against defined metrics.

Incident, Problem, and Continuity Management: Prioritize critical service issues, manage interdependencies, strengthen recovery capability, and ensure consistent performance measurement.

DevOps and Documentation: Own DevOps processes, ensure accurate documentation, and streamline modification and operational activities to reduce risk and accelerate delivery.

People and Capability Development: Coach, recruit, and develop talent; manage budgets and performance; make thoughtful decisions on compensation, training, and staffing.

Innovation and AI Enablement: Define and implement an innovation approach that leverages AI and ML, automation, and analytics to boost productivity and quality.

User Experience Uplift: Enhance the experience of safety scientists by simplifying workflows, improving data accessibility, and enabling faster, higher-quality decisions.

Business Partnership: Translate complex business challenges into technology solutions that uplift systems and processes in close partnership with process and solution leads.

Lifecycle Stewardship: Oversee maintenance, incident/problem resolution, and smooth transition to BAU, ensuring application stability and compliance.

Measurement and Reporting: Establish and report innovation and platform maturity metrics, using data to steer continuous improvement and strategic decisions.

Essential Skills/Experience:

Functional / Technical/Management Expertise:

• Deep expertise and experience developing and managing Digital, data and AI solutions and systems – hands-on technical exposure preferred.

• Seasoned experience developing and managing technology platforms in a product aligned fashion driving platform engineering and optimization

• Experience with GxP documentation, data standards,data management solutions etc. to support regulatory requirements where applicable

• Worked with customers and leaders to help in validating technical concepts, product vision, and platform roadmaps.

• Experience in working with product aligned delivery models (SAFE aligned) focusing on change and run functions.

• Background in coordinating with global teams to deliver and support IT solutions

• Expertise in managing program objectives and service KPIs, success measurements or key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Driven delivery and continuous improvement by utilizing feedback and metrics (quality, delivery rate, etc.) to identify areas of opportunity.

• Experience working with AI/ML models, test automation and AI driven build tools (Claude or Kiro)

• Ability to communicate and present at the executive level: proficiency in partner buy in, strong multi-functional communication, organizational navigation, establishing rapport across functions and levels of management.

• Good people management and supplier management experience

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Science, or a related field is preferred.

• Proven leadership in pharmacovigilance or patient safety platforms, including safety databases, signal detection, and case management workflows.

• Experience with large-scale data platforms and cloud-native architectures (Azure/AWS), including event-driven and microservices patterns.

• Good background in SRE and DevOps practices, including CI/CD, observability, and reliability engineering in regulated environments.

• Hands-on familiarity with COTS solutions common in safety domains and integration patterns across R&D ecosystems.

• Track record of budget ownership, vendor governance, and commercial value realization.

• Demonstrated ability to uplift user experience for scientific and safety communities through simplification and automation.

Why AstraZeneca:

Here, technology and science meet to create tangible impact for patients. You will have the backing, investment, and multi-functional partnership to push boundaries—bringing AI, data, and modern engineering together to solve problems that matter. Expect a culture that pairs high standards with kindness, where unexpected teams gather around the same whiteboard to test ideas, learn fast, and scale what works. Your leadership will invent platforms that support colleagues in moving faster with confidence. Your curiosity is driven by access to new tools and a community that values experimentation alongside execution.

Call to Action:

If you’re ready to lead the platforms that safeguard patients while defining how advanced technology powers safety at global scale, we’d love to see how you’ll make that impact.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Date Posted

Closing Date

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.