Search and Evaluation Strategy Lead

Roche • South San Francisco, CA

2d

About The Position

As a senior leader in business development Search & Evaluation, this role identifies, evaluates, and advances external innovation across Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, and Rare Diseases. The position collaborates with discovery research, clinical development, commercial, and business development teams to find and assess therapeutic opportunities with the potential to transform patient outcomes.

The role develops external scouting strategies, builds relationships throughout the life-sciences ecosystem, leads translational assessments of external innovations, and synthesizes cross-functional perspectives into recommendations. It also supports diligence and strategic deal workflows, represents Roche at external scientific and partnering events, maintains opportunity and landscape documentation, and helps evolve AI-enabled search, monitoring, and evaluation approaches.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, PharmD, or equivalent) in Life Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, or a closely related discipline.
• Scientific or clinical expertise in Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, Rare Diseases, or adjacent therapeutic areas, with the ability to master emerging scientific spaces.
• Typically 10 or more years of professional experience across pharmaceutical or biotech R&D, clinical development, Search & Evaluation, licensing, or venture investment.
• Ability to evaluate early-to-clinical-stage scientific data, identify key risks, and frame recommendations under ambiguity.
• Track record of building collaborative professional relationships across external life-science ecosystems and guiding cross-functional teams in a global matrix setting.
• Professional-level English communication skills and ability to convey complex scientific assessments clearly to technical and executive audiences.

Responsibilities

• Drive external scouting strategies to source therapeutic assets, platform technologies, and capabilities aligned with scientific priorities across Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, and Rare Diseases.
• Build and sustain relationships with biotechnology companies, academic institutions, venture investors, and life-science hubs to identify high-impact opportunities early.
• Lead translational assessments of external innovations, analyzing differentiation, mechanism of action, data quality, and strategic fit.
• Synthesize perspectives from cross-functional scientific and commercial experts into clear, actionable progression recommendations.
• Partner with Business Development colleagues to guide high-priority opportunities through diligence and strategic deal workflows.
• Represent the organization externally at global scientific, partnering, and medical conferences.
• Maintain opportunity documentation, landscape intelligence, and decision records, and help evolve AI-enabled approaches to search, monitoring, and evaluation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree