Executive Director, Translational & Computational Biology Team

Job description

Lead at the Intersection of Biology, AI, and Drug Development At Pfizer, breakthroughs in biology, data science, and artificial intelligence are changing how medicines are discovered and developed. As the Executive Director, Translational & Computational Biology, you will serve as a senior scientific leader connecting Pfizer's AI Core with therapeutic-area, translational, and clinical teams across Research & Development. This is not primarily a role for building algorithms or performing downstream analyses. It is a role for identifying high-value biological and clinical questions, translating them into computational and AI-enabled strategies, and ensuring that the resulting evidence informs better scientific, development, and portfolio decisions. You'll work alongside AI scientists, engineers, computational biologists, translational researchers, clinicians, and therapeutic-area leaders to bring deep biological judgment to some of the most consequential questions in drug discovery and development. Why This Role Is Different Lead High-Impact Science Across R&D This role is designed for an experienced scientific leader ready to take ownership of important biological and translational problems and mobilize the right data, computational approaches, and AI capabilities to address them. You'll operate with a high degree of autonomy, working across organizational boundaries to frame questions, guide scientific strategy, challenge assumptions, and translate complex evidence into decisions. Shape How Science Drives Decisions You'll lead and influence work across areas such as: ·  Target identification and validation ·  Biomarker discovery and patient stratification ·  Mechanisms of response and resistance ·  Disease biology and translational research ·  Clinical development and trial strategy ·  Real-world evidence and lifecycle or post-marketing science ·  Business development and external innovation assessments Most importantly, you'll connect biology, data, and AI to decisions throughout the drug development lifecycle - focusing effort where better evidence can materially change what Pfizer does next. Move Beyond Downstream Analysis This is not a downstream analytics role waiting for completed models or narrowly defined requests. You will help shape the scientific questions themselves, determine what evidence is required, challenge analytical and model assumptions, and translate results into biological and clinical understanding that can influence programs and portfolios. Operate as a Senior Scientific Partner You'll partner directly with therapeutic-area, translational, clinical, and AI leaders to identify high-value opportunities, align scientific and analytical strategy, and help teams act on the resulting evidence. Bridge AI, Data, and Biology to Drive R&D Impact This role sits at the intersection of the AI Core and Pfizer's scientific and therapeutic-area organizations. You may come from a computational or translational biology background; what matters most is deep biological and scientific judgment combined with the ability to use data, computational approaches, and emerging AI capabilities to answer important questions. You will identify high-value problems, connect them with the right AI and analytical capabilities, guide study and validation strategy, interpret results in biological and clinical context, and help translate new approaches into scientific practice. You will be an early adopter of AI-enabled ways of working and a trusted partner who helps R&D teams use these capabilities effectively. The Opportunity As the Executive Director, Translational & Computational Biology, you will apply deep biological and translational expertise, computational fluency, and scientific judgment to lead AI-enabled work that informs high-value decisions across Research & Development. Success in this role is measured not by the volume of analyses delivered, but by the quality of the questions selected, the rigor of the evidence generated, the decisions influenced, and the scientific capabilities that become reusable across R&D. You will: ·  Lead a portfolio of high-value biological, translational, and clinical questions across R&D ·  Serve as a senior scientific bridge between therapeutic-area teams and the AI Core ·  Shape analytical and AI strategies, including study design, validation, and evidence standards ·  Interpret complex multimodal evidence and translate it into clear scientific recommendations ·  Influence scientific, development, and portfolio decisions through data and biological judgment ·  Drive adoption and reuse of successful AI-enabled scientific approaches across programs and teams This role is ideal for an experienced scientist who combines biological depth, computational fluency, strategic judgment, and the ability to influence across a complex, matrixed R&D organization. What You'll Do Lead High-Impact Translational and Computational Programs ·  Identify and prioritize questions where integrated biological, clinical, and computational evidence can materially change a scientific or development decision ·  Lead scientific strategy from problem formulation through analysis, validation, interpretation, and recommendation ·  Generate and test hypotheses that connect molecular mechanisms to patient biology, treatment response, and development strategy ·  Ensure work is tied to measurable scientific, development, or portfolio outcomes Translate Scientific Questions into AI and Analytical Strategies ·  Partner with AI scientists, engineers, computational biologists, statisticians, and domain experts to define fit-for-purpose approaches ·  Define cohorts, endpoints, labels, biological annotations, evaluation criteria, and validation plans that reflect biological and clinical reality ·  Guide selection and application of computational methods and AI capabilities, including where new methods or models are required ·  Challenge outputs for biological plausibility, robustness, generalizability, uncertainty, and decision relevance Partner Across Therapeutic Areas and Development ·  Serve as a trusted advisor to scientific and clinical leaders across discovery, translational medicine, and clinical development ·  Bring emerging AI capabilities into therapeutic-area workflows and help teams identify where they can create meaningful scientific advantage ·  Build durable partnerships across R&D functions, connecting scientific needs, technical capabilities, and evidence ·  Represent translational and computational perspectives in cross-functional program and portfolio discussions Integrate Diverse Scientific Data Lead or guide analyses involving: ·  Multi-omics data ·  Single-cell and spatial biology ·  Genetics and genomics ·  Perturbational and functional biology ·  Imaging and digital pathology ·  Clinical trial datasets ·  Real-world data and evidence ·  Scientific literature, internal knowledge, and other multimodal data sources You will not need to be the deepest technical expert in every modality; you will know how to assemble the right expertise and evidence to answer the question. Set Standards for Scientific and Analytical Judgment ·  Interpret results in biological, clinical, and development context ·  Assess uncertainty, confounding, bias, alternative explanations, and failure modes ·  Establish fit-for-purpose standards for rigor, reproducibility, validation, and evidence ·  Distinguish statistically interesting findings from evidence that is actionable for R&D Scale Impact Through Partnership and Adoption ·  Communicate complex evidence clearly to scientific, clinical, technical, and senior leadership audiences ·  Influence decisions in matrixed teams through scientific credibility, judgment, and execution ·  Mentor and guide scientists and cross-functional colleagues; elevate translational and computational fluency across teams ·  Serve as an early adopter of AI-enabled ways of working and help embed successful approaches