Senior Director, Oncology Innovation Data Science Strategy

Do you have a passion for furthering research and treatment possibilities in Oncology in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines? Then AstraZeneca might be the one for you!

At AstraZeneca, we lead our industry in our development of a strong and varied pipeline. This means our people are here to win. We give you a breadth of opportunities to be curious and do groundbreaking, unique work that has big impact on science and medicine.

We are seeking an experienced data science strategy leader who is passionate about innovation in Oncology to join AstraZeneca’s Oncology R&D Strategy group. AstraZeneca has grown to be a leader in Oncology by building a world-class Oncology R&D unit with strong foundations across multiple scientific platforms and clinical domains. We aim to expand our leadership by leveraging external innovation and building strong scientific networks across emerging technologies that will impact Oncology.

The Senior Director, Oncology Innovation Data Science Strategy will be instrumental in mapping and managing a strategic path for AZ to understand the world of oncology innovation through the latest data science techniques and approaches. We strive to create a dynamic, digital representation of the landscape of oncology innovation, including information about drug discovery, diagnostic technologies, digital tools, algorithmic products, and beyond. Your role will be to work with cross-functional partners to create a data solution that reveals and monitors this innovation landscape, while also generating hypotheses and insights for how AZ can engage strategically with the external community of oncology innovators. You will work closely with a team of data scientists and data engineers within AZ’s broader Oncology Data Science organization to deliver a product encompassing a fit-for-purpose platform, suite of algorithms, and data assets. Beyond the delivery of this product, you will play a key leadership role alongside other Oncology Strategy Team members to identify business needs that can be solved through data science and deliver insights on the evolving innovation strategy.

What will you work on

• Creating and managing a sustainable data science product that maps and dynamically analyzes the landscape of Oncology innovation in order to generate useful insights for R&D
• Partner with oncology strategy leads to identify key business problems, communicate insights generated from data analysis, and develop tangible action plans
• Develop effective relationships with business and clinical units to ensure utilization and value of the information resources developed by the data science team in multiple projects.
• Work closely with data scientists and engineers to develop all aspects of the sustainable data science product, including data assets/pipelines, AI/ML algorithms, platform, maintenance, etc. Communicate effectively and with demonstrable expertise across a range of data science techniques and approaches such as classification, regression, clustering, NLP, image analysis, knowledge graphs and new technologies.
• Identification of data sources to solve the business problems and generate internal data assets where applicable
• Oversee the research, development, and validation predictive models and computational methods to guide and influence relevant decision-making outcomes
• Collaborates across the AstraZeneca Data and AI community to develop best practices and cross functional opportunities that drive value
• Oversight of partnerships with multiple third parties, academic or outsourced partners to shape and drive project outcomes and knowledge building across the organization
• Share knowledge with others on the team; continue to adapt or develop new methods and learn new software packages as available in the literature and recent publications.

Education and experience:

• Advanced degree with at least 5 years of experience in an analytical role, OR
• Bachelor’s degree and 7-12 years related experience.

Additional Qualifications:

• Advanced quantitative degree (Computational biology, Informatics, Business analytics, Statistics, Operations Research, Computer Science or related field) preferred.
• Strong data science or advanced analytics reputation with ability to manage complex problems requiring advanced quantitative solutions
• A strong background of building successful internal/external partnership and collaborative relationships, demonstrating cultural sensitivity and awareness.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence experienced professionals.
• Ability to think critically, creatively and to anticipate and solve problems.
• Ability to navigate and be successful in a fast-paced, highly-matrixed work environment.

Why AstraZeneca?

At AstraZeneca when we see an opportunity for change, we seize it and make it happen, because any opportunity no matter how small, can be the start of something big. Delivering life-changing medicines is about being entrepreneurial - finding those moments and recognizing their potential.

Join us on our journey of building a new kind of organization to reset expectations of what a bio-pharmaceutical company can be. This means we’re opening new ways to work, pioneering cutting edge methods and bringing unexpected teams together. Interested? Come and join our journey.

About AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg, MD:

Our Gaithersburg, Maryland facility creates life-changing medicines for people around the world. This campus employs more than 3,500 experts in our field and is only a short drive from Washington, DC. This modern and vibrant scientific campus is the home of R&D and Oncology in the US. Here, we play host to some of the most cutting-edge technology and lab spaces, all designed to inspire collaboration and cross-functional science. We believe employees benefit from being challenged and inspired at work. We are dedicated to creating a culture of inclusion and collaboration.

The Gaithersburg site offers a variety of amenities to help boost productivity and help keep our employees stay happy and healthy. This includes a fitness center, employee healthcare clinic, electric vehicle charging stations, dry cleaning, full-service cafeteria and copy center. This is where you’ll find newly-designed, activity-based work spaces to suit a variety of working styles while increasing collaboration between teams.