Associate Director, Research Strategy and Operations, Hematology R&D
About The Position
AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines for serious diseases. Within Hematology R&D, the focus is on advancing science to deliver life-changing medicines for patients in need. The unit covers the value chain from discovery to late-stage development, accelerating promising early-stage assets and managing life-cycle programs. The Translational Medicine (TM) function within Hematology R&D is responsible for strategic biomarker studies for Hematology & Oncology project teams. It collaborates closely with pre-clinical BioScience and Discovery, Early Clinical Development, and Precision Diagnostics Development functions. The Hematology Translational Medicine team is accountable for delivering scientifically-driven biomarkers to all Hematology project teams, providing feasibility assessments, technical validation, centralized biomarker analysis for clinical samples, translational science research, and early clinical phase engagement. This role is a scientific leadership position requiring the ability to connect strategy, data, and execution across various teams and partners.
Requirements
- Master’s degree with 6+ years relevant experience or Ph.D. with 2+ years relevant experience.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Outstanding ability to work independently and with a team, including problem solving, brainstorming, integrating data and helping other team members.
- Experience in highly matrixed structures in the pharmaceutical industry, diagnostics industry, or similar industries.
- Excellent organizational and documentation skills.
- Excellent data presentation skills.
- Familiarity with genomic and molecular data and the systems used to manage and present it.
- Ability to critically evaluate scientific data, methods, and validation evidence from external partners.
- Experience in highly matrixed structures in the pharmaceutical industry, diagnostics industry, or similar industries.
Nice To Haves
- Experience supporting translational research especially in hematologic malignancies, biomarker strategy, genomics, or data science.
- Knowledge of precision biomarkers such as MRD, ctDNA, and tissue profiling.
- Experience working with external research partners such as diagnostic vendors, CROs, or academic collaborators.
Responsibilities
- Serves as a scientific integrator across Translational Medicine Leads, data scientists, translational research scientists, project teams, and internal and external stakeholders, connecting scientific objectives, data-generation plans, analytical approaches, and operational execution.
- Applies deep scientific knowledge of multi-omic and phenotypic markers to support translational efforts and biomarker strategies such as tissue profiling, liquid biopsy, and MRD on an indication basis.
- Drives evaluation of external partners, conducting scientific and technical due diligence to inform partnership decisions, including MRD strategy.
- Leads internal and external meetings to drive translational deliverables, identify needs and risks, and develop risk mitigation strategies.
- Presents and maintains relevant dashboards and associated data, leads coordination of science, and reports progress and projections across data science and the translational research portfolio.
- Coordinates compliance for samples and associated data moving into and out of internal and external laboratories, partnering with compliance, legal, quality, data science, and biosafety.
- Successfully navigates objectives within matrixed teams of non-direct reports and influences without direct authority.
- Other responsibilities as needed.
Benefits
- Annual base pay ranging from $159,180.80 - $238,771.20 USD.
- Overtime pay when working qualifying overtime hours (for hourly and salaried non-exempt employees).
- Short-term incentive bonus opportunity.
- Eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles).
- Eligibility to receive a retirement contribution (hourly roles).
- Commission payment eligibility (sales roles).
- Qualified retirement program (401(k) plan).
- Paid vacation and holidays.
- Paid leaves.
- Health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
