Associate Director, Architecture & Strategy

** Job Description
** At Vertex, we are at the forefront of innovation in Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT), transforming lives through groundbreaking treatments. The Salesforce Technical Architecture & Strategy Lead plays a pivotal role in this mission, serving as a cornerstone for our Data, Technology, and Engineering (DTE) team. This role is instrumental in driving the success of the Vertex Connects Portal for CGT systems, which integrates critical capabilities across our Commercial and Supply Chain functions.

As a key leader, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams, design and implement cutting-edge solutions, and ensure the seamless operation of our Salesforce platform. Your expertise will directly impact our ability to deliver life-changing therapies to patients, while maintaining the highest standards of quality, compliance, and innovation. This is an opportunity to lead transformative projects, contribute to AI-driven initiatives, and shape the future of healthcare technology at Vertex.
** Key

Duties & Responsibilities
*** Lead platform architecture, strategy and technical initiatives for Vertex Connects Portal (Salesforce-based Cell and Gene technology) for the CASGEVY and Type 1 Diabetes therapeutic areas.
* Understand system architecture and technical needs, create, analyze, and validate detailed architectural, functional and technical specifications, facilitate architecture and design sessions with cross functional and development teams to define and align on the solution, systems architecture, design, and other SLC/GxP deliverables.
* Leverage strong communication and analytical skills, technical expertise to understand, document, assess, and drive technical architecture/design needs to accelerate process enhancement and operational efficiencies.
* Providing input to strategic direction, contributing to the development of roadmaps to achieve the long-term and short-term capability needs of the Commercial and Supply Chain business groups.
* Achieve high stakeholder satisfaction and engagement levels across various levels of leadership within the organization.
* Participate in reviewing, planning, testing, and implementing regularly scheduled both internal and vendor releases/upgrades.
* Partner with offshore team members, functions, QA stakeholders, and IT peers for platform support, as well as enhancements and projects.
* Develop collaborative relationships with peers in IT, Quality, Vendor partners, and other teams to help design, develop, enhance, and deliver solutions that meet business goals and objectives.
* Manage the end-to-end lifecycle for regulated CGT platforms supporting both Commercial and Supply Chain business areas.
* Facilitate release management and production release schedule in coordination with cross-functional partners and other platform teams
* Lead platform communications (e.g. status reporting, downtime, releases) to all stakeholder groups
* Serve as Operations SME for enhancements, software upgrades, implementations, and integration projects, providing product and GxP expertise
* Responsible for risk and mitigation management to ensure high quality, on-time delivery
* Proactively champion, educate, and enhance delivery practices to introduce process efficiencies
* Define, manage and optimize Dev Ops framework / delivery operating model
* Manage CI/CD pipeline and software development capacity across teams
* Provide input into budget/forecasting estimates and resource allocation
* Coach and lead Vertex colleagues and onshore/offshore managed service providers
** Required Education Level
*** Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, software engineering or other related technology degree
** Required Experience
*** 5+ years of relevant work experience
* Functional/Technical knowledge in Cell and Gene Therapy, Patient portal, Chain of Identity, Capacity Planning, and related supply chain systems
* Experience in Sales Force platforms
* Experience in Patient and/or Product Scheduling
* Experience with Salesforce Agentforce and other AI automation tools
* Biotech or Pharmaceutical Industry Experience
* Experience working with SaaS solutions and vendors
* Experience handling GxP systems and security requirements including Disaster Recovery, Backup & Restore, Data Retention and Archival
* Experience with Part 11 CFR 21 GxP Validation
* Experience with stakeholder engagement, vendor management, and directing platform teams
* Some experience in four architecture specialization areas (business, information, infrastructure, software)
* Experience working within and leading in an AGILE team framework, across multiple business units and functions
** Required Knowledge/Skills
*** Software vendor and MSP management expertise
* Executive-level communication skills; ability to explain complex topics in a digestible way
* Ability to drive continuous operational improvement
* Proven ability to stay abreast of industry and technology trends
* Expert knowledge in Agile SDLC, Dev Ops and GxP
* Functional and technical ability with…