Principal, Collaboration & Productivity Platforms

Vertex Pharmaceuticals • Boston, MA

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal, Enterprise Microsoft 365 & Work Management Platforms role will serve as the technical lead for Vertex for Office 365 and Work Management Platforms. This role helps drive the administration, governance and stability of all M365 collaboration services and project/task management tools. This position must partner closely with business and IT stakeholders to drive the strategic roadmap and day-to-day operational excellence. Another key element of this role is an understanding of emerging technologies in the collaboration space, including AI. This role is expected to develop strategies for AI-driven enhancements that improve productivity and teamwork across the organization. The ideal candidate will combine deep operational expertise in managing enterprise collaboration tools with strategic vision for how to leverage new capabilities including AI and automation to transform how Vertex employees work together.

Requirements

• Expert Platform Administration: Demonstrated senior expertise administering and governing enterprise-scale SaaS platforms, ideally including core Microsoft 365 services (Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Entra ID) as well as project/work management tools such as Smartsheet, Asana, Microsoft Planner, and Microsoft Project Online.
• Strong command of platform governance principles (security, access control, information lifecycle, standardization, and scalable operating models).
• Ability to translate business needs into practical, user friendly solutions and to influence stakeholders toward standard approaches.
• Proven experience driving operational excellence (incident/change management, release readiness, documentation, and service KPIs).
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain complex concepts clearly and collaborate across technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills, with a continuous improvement mindset and comfort managing shifting priorities in a fastmoving environment.
• Vendor and partner management skills, including coordinating support, escalations, and roadmap alignment.
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent degree) in a relevant discipline (e.g., Information Systems, Computer Science, Business, or related field) or equivalent professional experience.
• Extensive experience in enterprise platform administration, digital productivity tooling, and/or work management ecosystem leadership, including ownership of governance and operating processes.

Responsibilities

• Provide Technical Leadership for the M365 Platform: Serve as the technical lead for Vertex's core Microsoft 365 services — Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Entra ID and Copilot — overseeing their architecture, integration, and continuous improvement.
• Define and execute the platform strategy and roadmap for these services, ensuring they meet evolving business and security requirements.
• Own the end-to-end platform lifecycle for Smartsheet, Asana, Microsoft Planner, and Microsoft Project Online: strategy, roadmap, administration, and continuous improvement.
• Establish and operate governance (workspace/project provisioning standards, templates, naming conventions, access models, retention/archiving, and audit readiness).
• Manage platform security and compliance controls in alignment with enterprise requirements (permissions, data handling, lifecycle management, and operational assurance).
• Design and maintain standardized templates and solutions (intake workflows, project plans, portfolio dashboards, reporting frameworks, and reusable structures).
• Deliver reliable platform operations: monitoring, incident/problem management, change management, release coordination, and vendor engagement.
• Partner with stakeholders across functions to capture requirements and translate them into scalable configurations and platform capabilities that improve productivity and visibility.
• Define and track service performance metrics (adoption, usage health, support trends, stability, and business outcomes) and use insights to drive improvements.
• Lead and/or coordinate integrations and automation opportunities (as appropriate) to streamline work intake, status reporting, notifications, and data movement across the ecosystem.
• Develop and execute enablement and adoption plans: documentation, training, office hours, champion networks, and communications for new capabilities.
• Provide senior level consultation to teams on portfolio, program, and project management practices enabled by the platforms, ensuring fit for purpose usage and sustainable scale.

Benefits

• This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards.
• Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements.
• At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations.
• From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees