Senior Director, IT Operations

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals•Conshohocken, PA

49d

About The Position

Madrigal is a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering novel therapeutics for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a serious liver disease that can progress to cirrhosis, liver failure, need for liver transplantation and premature mortality. Every member of our Madrigal team is connected by our shared purpose: leading the fight against MASH. Madrigal’s medication, Rezdiffra (resmetirom), is a once-daily, oral, liver-directed THR-β agonist designed to target key underlying causes of MASH. Rezdiffra is the first and only medication approved by both the FDA and European Commission for the treatment of MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis (F2 to F3). An ongoing Phase 3 outcomes trial is evaluating Rezdiffra for the treatment of compensated MASH cirrhosis (F4c). Our success is driven by our people. We are building a dynamic, inclusive, and high-performing culture that values scientific excellence, operational rigor, and collaboration. To support our continued growth, we are strengthening our workforce strategy to ensure we have the right talent, at the right time, in the right way. Job Summary: The Sr. Director, IT Operations reports to the CIO operating as their strategic extension, provide enterprise leadership for end-to-end IT Operations, spanning applications, cloud/infrastructure, data & analytics, AI/ML enablement, and end-user experience, while orchestrating IT governance, portfolio and financial management, vendor performance, ITIL-based service management, and executive communications; integrate domain roadmaps and service delivery to ensure secure, compliant (SOX/GxP), and scalable services for R&D, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Legal; establish the rhythm of business and transparent metrics to drive clear decisions, brief the ELT/Board on performance, risk, and investment trade-offs, and build strong cross-functional partnerships that deliver measurable outcomes.

Requirements

Deep knowledge of IT operations and service management frameworks (ITIL v4); experience with ITSM platforms (e.g., ServiceNow) and automation.
Strong portfolio/PMO, governance, and financial acumen (budgeting, forecasting, TCO, business cases).
Familiarity with life-sciences regulatory context: GxP/CSV (e.g., 21 CFR Part 11, Annex 11, GAMP 5), SOX ITGCs, data integrity, and audit readiness.
Excellent executive communication, storytelling, and slide writing; able to distill complexity into clear options and recommendations.
Influences without authority; drives alignment among executives and cross-functional stakeholders.
Analytical problem-solver with command of metrics, dashboards, and root-cause analysis; comfortable with ambiguity and rapid context-switching.
Vendor and contract management, SOW development, and performance governance.
Change leadership and organizational effectiveness skills; builds team capability and fosters continuous improvement.
Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field.
15+ years of progressive IT experience with significant time in IT operations/service management and/or IT PMO; 4+ years in a leadership role.
Demonstrated success operating as a chief-of-staff or equivalent strategic operator for a technology executive.
Experience in biotech/pharma or other regulated industries strongly preferred.
Track record leading cross-functional portfolios, improving SLAs/OLAs, and maturing ITIL processes.
Hands-on experience with IT financial management, vendor/SOW oversight, and contract negotiations.
Proven ability to prepare executive materials and drive decisions with data and clear tradeoffs.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA or related) preferred.
Relevant certifications preferred: ITIL v4, PMP/PRINCE2; COBIT and/or SAFe a plus.

Responsibilities

Own and run the IT operating cadence (LT meetings, quarterly business reviews, portfolio reviews, decision and action logs), ensuring crisp follow-through and accountability.
Lead IT service management (incident, problem, change, request, knowledge) and continuous improvement, serving as process owner and champion for ITIL practices.
Oversee the IT project/portfolio pipeline in partnership with PMs and functional leads; ensure intake, prioritization, resource/capacity planning, and benefits realization are transparent and data-driven.
Drive IT financial management in partnership with Finance: annual planning, forecast accuracy, OpEx/CapEx tracking, vendor/SOW oversight, and TCO optimization.
Coordinate enterprise compliance activities impacting IT (e.g., SOX ITGCs, GxP/CSV controls, data integrity, privacy), partnering with Quality, Internal Audit, and Security.
Monitor service reliability and risk (SLAs/OLAs, availability, DR/BCP readiness); lead post-incident reviews and drive corrective/preventive actions.
Establish and publish IT KPIs/OKRs and executive dashboards; translate technical performance into business outcomes for the ELT and key stakeholders.
Lead cross-functional initiatives; prepare briefs, board/ELT materials, and communications that enable timely decisions.
Manage vendor ecosystem (MSPs, SaaS/IaaS providers, professional services): performance reviews, renewals, RFPs, and commercial negotiations in partnership with Procurement/Legal.
Lead or supervise a small team (e.g., IT operations managers/analysts and/or PMs) and provide dotted-line leadership to managed service partners.
Champion change management and adoption for new services and standards; ensure clear stakeholder engagement across R&D, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Legal.
Identify and standardize critical IT processes; simplify and document procedures to support scalability and audit readiness.
Advance a culture of safety, security, compliance, and customer service within IT; model inclusive leadership and coach team members.