Innovation & Business Transformation, Associate Director
About The Position
The Associate Director, Innovation and Business Transformation leads complex technology-enabled transformation initiatives across Medical Writing Science (MWS), translating prioritized business needs into well-defined, executable solutions. The role leads workflow analysis and redesign, defines business requirements and success measures, evaluates solution approaches, and partners with MWS leaders and enterprise technology teams to advance initiatives from concept and experimentation through implementation, adoption, and optimization. The Associate Director navigates ambiguity and complex dependencies, facilitates business decisions, and ensures solutions address defined business needs and deliver measurable outcomes. The role applies governance, responsible AI, risk, compliance, and human-oversight requirements to initiative work. It also integrates organizational readiness, change, training, and adoption into initiative strategy and evaluates performance against success measures to guide optimization. The position requires 8 years of progressive experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, technology-enabled transformation, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. A bachelor's degree in life sciences, computer science, engineering, or an equivalent discipline is required; an advanced degree is preferred. The role is hybrid-eligible or on-site eligible. Hybrid employees may work remotely up to two days per week; on-site employees work five days per week on-site, with ad hoc flexibility. The pay range is $153,900–$230,900. The role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards. Vertex benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage; paid time off, including a week-long company shutdown in summer and winter; educational assistance programs, including student loan repayment; a commuting subsidy; matching charitable donations; and a 401(k).
Requirements
- At least 8 years of progressive experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, technology-enabled transformation, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Bachelor's degree in life sciences, computer science, engineering, or an equivalent discipline.
- Strong experience in business transformation, digital innovation, AI enablement, process improvement, advanced analytics, automation, or technology-enabled workflow transformation in a complex or regulated environment.
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex business needs into future-state processes, business cases, solution recommendations, implementation approaches, and measurable success criteria.
- Understanding of the life sciences environment and the application of AI, data, digital platforms, analytics, automation, and emerging technologies to scientific and operational workflows.
- Experience leading current-state and future-state process analysis, business requirements development, solution evaluation, prototypes, pilots, user acceptance testing, and implementation.
- Ability to assess technology capabilities and limitations from a business and user perspective and partner effectively with technical teams without serving as the technical solution owner.
- Experience applying governance, responsible AI, risk management, privacy, security, compliance, and human-oversight principles to technology-enabled initiatives.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including navigating ambiguity, evaluating alternatives, managing dependencies and risks, and facilitating effective decisions.
- Strong communication, collaboration, and influence skills, including leading cross-functional initiative teams and aligning stakeholders without direct authority.
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree preferred.
Responsibilities
- Lead complex transformation initiatives from prioritized business need through solution definition, implementation, adoption, and optimization.
- Assess current workflows and redesign future-state workflows, identifying pain points, user needs, controls, dependencies, and opportunities to simplify or transform work.
- Develop business cases, business requirements, implementation approaches, decision criteria, and success measures for assigned initiatives.
- Partner with MWS leaders and enterprise technology teams to validate workflows, assess technical and business considerations, and advance fit-for-purpose solutions.
- Evaluate solution options and recommend approaches based on workflow fit, usability, feasibility, risk, sustainability, and expected business value.
- Lead prototypes, pilots, user acceptance testing, workflow validation, and implementation activities, keeping business requirements and intended outcomes central throughout execution.
- Facilitate decisions and alignment among business, scientific, technology, change, and governance stakeholders; manage initiative-level risks, dependencies, and trade-offs.
- Apply established governance, responsible AI, risk, compliance, and human-oversight requirements throughout solution evaluation and implementation.
- Integrate organizational readiness, change, training, and adoption into initiative strategy.
- Evaluate performance against success measures and lead optimization based on outcomes and lessons learned.
Benefits
- Annual bonus
- Annual equity awards
- Medical benefits
- Dental benefits
- Vision benefits
- Generous paid time off, including a week-long company shutdown in summer and winter
- Educational assistance programs, including student loan repayment
- Commuting subsidy
- Matching charitable donations
- 401(k)
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
