Senior Director, Digital Clinical Creation Center Trial Design & Study Start-Up

Pfizer•Groton, CT

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Pfizer, technology impacts everything we do. Our digital and ‘data first’ strategy is dedicated to implementing innovative and impactful technology solutions across all functions, from research to manufacturing. By digitizing drug discovery and development, identifying solutions, and making our work easier and faster, you will be contributing to countless lives. Whether you are streamlining processes or enhancing efficiency, your role is crucial in making a significant difference. ROLE SUMMARY The Senior Director, Digital Clinical Creation Center Trial Design & Study Start-Up leads the digital clinical team responsible for technologies that enable clinical trial design and study start-up—the critical beginning phase of the clinical trial process. As part of the R&D Creation Center’s Clinical Development Solutions Team, this role sets strategic direction, oversees product management, and drives AI-powered innovation for Pfizer’s clinical operations platforms and systems. You will guide a global team delivering scalable, intelligent, and patient-centric solutions that accelerate trial initiation and execution across Pfizer and its biotech partners. As a senior leader, you will shape the strategy for clinical platforms and systems, integrating advanced technologies such as generative AI, real-time data pipelines, and predictive analytics to improve trial efficiency and decision-making. In collaboration with Digital peers and Pfizer R&D Clinical Development & Operations teams, you will deliver technical services—including architecture, quality, analytics, and data management—to design, build, and implement innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions. This leader is accountable for project and enhancement delivery for over 30 systems, including Veeva Study-Start-up, ClinSpark, Planisware, and AI technologies. The ideal candidate brings experience at the intersection of clinical development and digital technologies, a passion for impact at scale, extensive experience scaling and creating delivery model efficiencies, a commitment to developing talent, and the curiosity and courage to innovate AI in an evolving digital and healthcare landscape.

Requirements

12+ years life sciences experience preferred or equivalent experience leading platforms and large-scale systems
10+ years of experience in a leadership capacity with increasing scope of responsibility
Demonstrated ability to create and implement high impact strategic plans in a large, matrixed global organization
Demonstrated ability and experience in technology solutions delivery in a pharmaceutical or regulated environment with demonstrated capabilities managing large scale, enterprise software requirements definition, designs and implementations in global 24-by-7 environments
Must have proven experience in being an excellent, engaging leader and manager, with proven capabilities in using talent and succession planning processes to establish plans for managing talent inside and outside the organization and for improving diverse leadership bench strength.
Proven ability to mentor technical leaders; recruit and retain top talent and develop colleagues
Proven success as a data-centric, innovative, business-minded technology leader, ideally with: Experience managing large-scale clinical scientific and operational data Familiarity with data collection, aggregation, transformation, and creation of analytics and submission-ready datasets
Proven experience leading product management teams or functions, with accountability for strategy, execution, and cross-functional alignment
Demonstrated track record of leading large, global technical teams in developing enterprise-scale technology and solution strategies
Must have proven ability to manage communication as a vehicle to ensure alignment of strategies and day-to-day operations to team members and business unit partners in support of commercial digital products, services and experiences
Ability to gain credibility with senior leadership and effectively influence and collaborate
This position requires permanent work authorization in the United States.

Nice To Haves

13+ years of experience with advanced degree with progressive leadership growth.
Experience building and scaling the product management discipline within an organization, including defining frameworks, processes, and talent development strategies.
Experience specifically in pharmaceutical clinical development
Candidate demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact.

Responsibilities

Vision and Strategy Defines and owns the vision and strategy for digital clinical capabilities that enable clinical trial design and study start-up , emphasizing a product-centric model that supports Pfizer’s development strategy through cutting-edge digital technologies. Anticipates technology trends, prioritizing investments in AI and automation that enable scalable, efficient delivery and accelerate clinical planning and study startup. Collaborates across Digital and business areas to architect and scale innovations that strengthen Pfizer’s clinical development strategy and deliver measurable business outcomes.
Strategic Leadership Establishes, matures, and governs a strategic product and digital operating model, ensuring clear ownership, accountability, and continuous evolution to meet business needs. Operationalizes emerging technologies through robust governance frameworks, aligning with regulatory, compliance, and clinical objectives. Designs and leads a strategic vendor framework to manage partnerships with critical vendors (e.g., Veeva, Planisware), ensuring quality delivery and scalability. Leads AI delivery to embed machine learning and automation into the clinical planning and study startup workflows, while building process mining capabilities to identify inefficiencies and drive continuous improvement in the digital delivery model.
Program Delivery Leadership Owns global digital program delivery, ensuring efficient scaling of solutions and streamlined delivery processes across clinical platforms. Drives delivery of global, enterprise, and SaaS solutions with a focus on accelerating study startup and optimizing clinical planning. Oversees delivery management and engineering leadership for clinical planning and study startup projects, a solutions portfolio (30+ applications), and financials ($20M), ensuring predictable, high-quality outcomes. Demonstrates command of modern delivery methodologies (Agile, DevSecOps) and enforces practices that reduce cycle times and improve delivery efficiency. Accountable for financial stewardship, including accurate forecasting, cost optimization, and strategic sourcing to scale delivery without compromising quality.
Team Leadership Creates an environment that champions a product mindset, continuous improvement, and AI innovation while delivering complex solutions at scale. Mentors and coaches team members to build technical capabilities and a product mindset, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and agility. Cultivates expertise in solutions engineering, digital product management, program/project management driving reskilling and talent growth across Digital and Pfizer. Develops solutions to highly complex problems, ensuring decisions align with enterprise priorities and clinical development objectives.
Strategic Relationships Builds strong partnerships with clinical development leaders, acting as a trusted advisor for digital strategies that accelerate study startup and planning. Aligns digital product roadmaps with evolving patient and trial needs, translating complex capabilities into specific, actionable business value. Fosters collaboration between clinical operations and digital innovation teams to embed clinical priorities into technology roadmaps, ensuring shared ownership and scalable delivery.

Benefits

participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 22.5% of the base salary and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program
401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage

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