Executive Director, Information Technology

Salk Institute Office of Technology Development•San Diego, CA

9d•$240,000 - $285,000

About The Position

Reporting to the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, the Executive Director of Information Systems, Technology & Security Services provides strategic and operational leadership for the Institute’s enterprise technology organization. The Executive Director oversees information technology infrastructure, enterprise applications, cybersecurity, scientific computing, cloud services, data management, and technology planning in support of Salk’s scientific, administrative, and operational mission. The Executive Director leads a department of approximately 17 staff. This position partners closely with Salk administration and faculty to develop technology strategies that strengthen research capabilities, improve institutional operations, mitigate risk, and align technology investments with Salk’s strategic priorities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
Minimum of twelve (12) years of progressive leadership experience in Information Technology.
Minimum of seven (7) years leading enterprise technology organizations with responsibility for multiple technology disciplines.
Demonstrated experience leading: Enterprise Information Technology Operations
Information Systems and Enterprise Applications
Cybersecurity and Risk Management
Scientific Computing or Research Computing
Cloud Computing Services
Infrastructure Operations
IT Governance
Enterprise Architecture
Vendor and Contract Management
Budget Development and Financial Management
Organizational Change Management
Strategic Planning

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in related discipline or Business Administration
Experience working within one or more of the following environments: Research Institutions, Higher Education, Biomedical Research, Healthcare Systems, Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Nonprofit Organizations
Computer and technical skills: Enterprise resource planning and financial information systems
Human Resource Information Systems or Human Capital Management (HRIS/HCM)
IT service management and workflow platforms
Cloud platforms, with AWS experience preferred
Business intelligence, reporting, and analytics tools
Identity and access management technologies
Cybersecurity and risk-management platforms
Microsoft Office and project or portfolio management tools
Experience leading enterprise or administrative adoption of artificial intelligence, with demonstrated knowledge of AI governance and organizational change management.
Working knowledge of the ServiceNow AI platform and its AI capabilities is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the Institute's enterprise technology strategy in alignment with Salk's Strategic Plan.
Provide visionary leadership for Information Technology, Information Systems, Scientific Computing, and Cybersecurity Services.
Establish enterprise technology governance, ensuring technology priorities align with institutional goals and operational needs.
Evaluate emerging technologies, including enterprise and administrative uses of artificial intelligence and cloud computing, to improve research capabilities and administrative operations.
Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer service throughout the technology organization.
Partners with stakeholders to develop and execute Salk’s artificial intelligence strategy for administrative operations, ensuring AI investments align with institutional priorities, improve organizational effectiveness, and are implemented with appropriate governance, security, and accountability.
Direct all enterprise technology operations, including infrastructure, networking, cloud services, storage, virtualization, endpoint computing, identity management, enterprise applications, and service management.
Ensure the availability, reliability, scalability, and security of enterprise technology systems supporting research and administrative operations.
Lead institutional cybersecurity strategy, incident response, business continuity, disaster recovery, and enterprise risk management.
Oversee enterprise application platforms supporting Finance, Human Resources, Research Administration, identity management, reporting, analytics, and institutional operations.
Ensure technology architecture, integrations, and data governance support long-term institutional objectives.
Provide strategic oversight of research cloud services, high-performance computing resources, scientific data storage, research networking, and shared computational infrastructure.
Partner with faculty and research leadership to advance scientific computing capabilities that support computational biology, genomics, imaging, AI, machine learning, and data-intensive research.
Support technology initiatives that accelerate scientific discovery while balancing performance, cost, security, and sustainability.
Develop and manage the department's operating and capital budgets.
Oversee technology procurement, vendor relationships, software licensing, consulting engagements, and contract negotiations.
Develop long-term technology roadmaps and investment strategies based on institutional priorities, lifecycle planning, and risk management.
Monitor technology performance metrics and service delivery to ensure operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Lead, mentor, develop, and evaluate a high-performing technology organization.
Build collaborative partnerships with faculty, executive leadership, administrative departments, and external partners.
Present technology strategies, investment recommendations, project updates, and institutional risks to executive leadership and governance committees.
Promote a service-oriented culture that values transparency, accountability, innovation, and operational excellence.
Performs other related duties as assigned by management.
Directly and indirectly supervises approximately 17 employees across Information Technology, Information Systems, Scientific Computing, and related technology functions.
Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with Institute policies and applicable laws.
Responsibilities include organizational planning, hiring, developing and evaluating staff, assigning and directing work, addressing performance concerns, resolving issues, and building succession and workforce plans.