Director, Enterprise Architecture - Research and Development

Gilead Sciences • Foster City, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Enterprise Architecture, Research & Development is an individual contributor and strategic architecture leader responsible for shaping technology direction for Gilead R&D. Operating within a centralized, federated model, the role partners with scientific and business leaders, architects, data and digital teams, security, infrastructure, quality, compliance, product and delivery organizations. The Director serves as a trusted advisor and architecture lead for R&D initiatives of varying size and complexity, translating current and anticipated scientific and business needs into capability models, target-state architectures, transition plans, investment recommendations and multi-year roadmaps. The role guides architecture decisions through established governance to ensure solutions are secure, scalable, interoperable, compliant, financially sound and fit for scientific purpose.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Enterprise Architecture Lead, this position is part of the centralized Enterprise Architecture team and is a key leader for the Architecture Community of Practice. The position is based at Gilead’s global headquarters in Foster City, California.

Requirements

• Master’s degree and 10 or more years of relevant experience; or bachelor’s degree and 12 or more years; or associate degree and 14 or more years; or high school diploma/GED and 16 or more years.
• Extensive IT experience in a corporate or other relevant business environment, with significant architecture experience across end-to-end solution design, including use-case analysis, prototyping, blueprinting, integration, testing, validation and deployment.
• Significant experience leading architecture for projects of varying size and complexity across one or more business functions, including contributing expert input to longer-range business and technology strategies and roadmaps.
• Experience developing capability models, current-state and target-state architectures, reference and transition architectures, integration patterns and multi-year roadmaps.
• Experience advising senior business and IT leaders, communicating complex architecture decisions and trade-offs, and influencing cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority.
• Experience overseeing, coaching or guiding architects, engineers or other technical professionals.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, life sciences, chemistry, bioinformatics, business or a related discipline.
• Deep understanding of pharmaceutical R&D workflows and technology ecosystems, including research informatics, laboratory systems, scientific computing, data platforms, knowledge management and AI/ML-enabled capabilities.
• Thorough knowledge of enterprise and solution architecture principles, practices, standards, frameworks, methods and tools across end-to-end solution design; TOGAF, IT4IT or comparable certification is preferred.
• Advanced business and financial acumen, including experience evaluating total cost of ownership, ROI, investment trade-offs, platform sustainability and resource requirements.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, APIs, event-driven and integration architectures, modern application architectures, high-performance computing, data and analytics platforms, and secure AI architectures.
• Experience operating in a regulated life sciences environment and partnering with quality, validation, security, privacy and compliance functions across the R&D lifecycle.
• Experience leading significant change efforts and incorporating change management into large-scale technology initiatives.
• Experience with vendor evaluation, technology due diligence, strategic sourcing support and architecture input to investment governance.
• Ability to represent complex and high-profile initiatives to senior leaders and executives and distill complex matters into clear business cases and executable roadmaps.
• Awareness of emerging technology and industry trends, with experience bringing relevant external insights into architecture strategy and practice.

Responsibilities

• Shape and evolve R&D technology strategy and multi-year roadmaps, aligning scientific priorities and future capability needs with enterprise architecture standards and technology strategy.
• Lead architecture for initiatives of varying size and complexity that enable larger R&D functions or multiple functions, connecting business, information, application, integration, data, platform, security and technology domains.
• Develop capability models, current-state and target-state architectures, reference architectures, transition architectures, reusable patterns and implementation guardrails.
• Define architecture strategy for scientific AI and knowledge capabilities, including foundation and domain-specific models, model adaptation, retrieval architectures, knowledge graphs, ontologies, semantic layers, scientific agents and AI-enabled workflows.
• Evaluate build, buy, reuse, integrate, modernize, consolidate and retire options; recommend approaches balancing business value, total cost of ownership, risk, technical debt, interoperability, resource needs and long-term maintainability.
• Lead architecture reviews through established governance forums and document and communicate options, trade-offs, decisions, risks, exceptions, dependencies and remediation actions in business and technical terms.
• Provide architecture guidance across the solution lifecycle, including use-case analysis, prototyping, blueprinting, design, integration, testing, validation, deployment, operational readiness and lifecycle management.
• Advise R&D and IT leaders on short- and long-range technology strategies, emerging industry and domain trends, modernization opportunities, investment priorities and architecture risks.
• Partner with Quality, Security, Privacy, Responsible AI and Compliance stakeholders to embed appropriate controls, data integrity, validation, resilience and regulatory requirements into architecture decisions.
• Recommend investments and resources needed to execute architectural work and support business cases and portfolio decisions by evaluating financial, technical and operational trade-offs and anticipated value.
• Identify cross-project synergies and opportunities for reuse, simplification and standardization; help reduce duplication and technical debt while improving adoption of approved platforms, patterns and standards.
• Guide product, engineering and delivery teams, mentor architects and technical leaders, and strengthen architecture practices, methods, tools and the federated architecture community.
• Lead or advise significant change and adoption efforts associated with new architecture standards, platforms and ways of working; represent Gilead in relevant external professional or industry forums as appropriate.

Benefits

• Discretionary annual bonus eligibility.
• Discretionary stock-based long-term incentives; eligibility may vary based on role.
• Paid time off.
• Company-sponsored medical insurance.
• Company-sponsored dental insurance.
• Company-sponsored vision insurance.
• Company-sponsored life insurance.
• Benefits package, subject to applicable plan terms and conditions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: High school or GED