R&D Modernization Project Leader

Overview

Job title: R&D Modernization Project Leader

Location: Cambridge, MA

Join the engine of Sanofi's mission where deep immunoscience meets bold, AI-powered research. In R&D, you’ll drive breakthroughs that could turn the impossible into possible for millions. Sanofi’s R&D is undergoing a transformation to accelerate innovation, increase productivity, and deliver breakthrough medicines to patients faster. Sanofi is establishing an R&D Transformation, a new organization with a strategic modernization team within R&D Operations, designed to drive enterprise-level change through disciplined execution, operational excellence, and sustainable value realization.

R&D Transformation acts as a catalyst for change across the R&D organization, bridging strategic priorities with operational execution to ensure rapid adoption and lasting impact. Led by the Global Head of R&D Transformation, the organization is structured around three core pillars:

• Execution of strategic modernization initiatives: translate R&D strategic priorities into actionable, end-to-end execution plans, ensuring speed, coherence, and integration into business as usual.
• Process excellence: design, simplify, and continuously improve high-impact R&D processes to maximize productivity and enable organizational agility.
• Post-merger integration: lead R&D-wide integration to unlock value from M&A transactions.

Within the R&D Modernization team, the Project Leader will independently lead enterprise-visible transformation initiatives, acting as a catalyst for change and trusted advisor to senior R&D leadership on execution strategy, rollout planning, and sustainable value realization. The role will lead strategic planning, execution, rollout, and monitoring of 1 to 3 high-impact R&D Modernization initiatives, with direct visibility to the R&D Leadership Team.

About Sanofi

We are an R&D-driven, AI-powered biopharma company committed to improving people’s lives and delivering compelling growth. Our deep understanding of the immune system and innovative pipeline enables us to invent medicines and vaccines that treat and protect millions of people. We pursue scientific miracles to improve lives.

• Strategic Execution Leadership
  • Independently lead complex, high-impact modernization initiatives with direct RDLT visibility, translating strategic intent into actionable implementation frameworks.
  • Structure ambiguous execution challenges and develop rollout strategies that ensure sustainable adoption and measurable enterprise-level impact.
  • Prepare and moderate executive-level discussions, including RDLT forums and cross-functional governance bodies.
  • Challenge execution assumptions through data-driven analysis, scenario planning, and competitive benchmarking.
• Initiative Design & Delivery
  • Lead 24 high-impact modernization work streams annually, from strategic framing through business-as-usual integration.
  • Design and manage end-to-end execution frameworks, including governance, timelines, cross-functional resourcing, RACI, and decision-making processes.
  • Translate strategic priorities into clear implementation plans for individual R&D functions (e.g., Research, CMC) with defined scope, objectives, success metrics, and accountability.
  • Structure scenario analyses and strategic trade-offs to optimize speed, adoption, and long-term value realization.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence
  • Mobilize and engage senior leadership across R&D and cross-functional areas to drive alignment, sustain momentum, and deliver measurable impact.
  • Demonstrate executive presence and facilitation skills, influencing senior stakeholders on execution strategy and change roadmaps.
  • Build trusted relationships across R&D and cross-functional teams, engaging with scientific and technical experts as needed.
  • Act as an integrator and connector to drive coherent execution.
• Performance Monitoring & Value Realization
  • Define and track KPIs to assess workstream effectiveness, ROI, and alignment with strategic objectives.
  • Monitor performance against milestones, identify risks and dependencies, and implement mitigation actions.
  • Ensure measurable outcomes transition into sustained business-as-usual operations.
  • Report progress to the Head of R&D Modernization and communicate interdependencies across work streams.
• Change Integration & Adoption
  • Ensure successful implementation of transformation impacts at local and site levels, including processes, IT, governance, change management, and communications.
  • Drive seamless integration into business-as-usual operations and sustainable adoption with local roadmaps.

The role requires strong analytical capabilities, execution rigor, strategic thinking, and executive maturity, with the ability to operate autonomously. The ability to switch between strategic and detailed perspectives is essential.

Note:

key responsibilities may evolve over time to meet business needs.

You will gain exposure to enterprise-level transformation topics and contribute to shaping the execution and…