Executive Director, Molecular Design Technology; BI&T

Role Overview

Bristol Myers Squibb is seeking a leader to serve as Executive Director, Molecular Design Technology—a pivotal role at the intersection of drug discovery science and advanced digital capabilities.

This global leader will define and deliver the technology strategy and capabilities that enable modality‑agnostic molecular design and optimization across the R&D pipeline, in deep partnership with Research leadership spanning small molecules, biologics, and emerging modalities. The scope is explicitly focused on modality‑agnostic design and optimization and excludes target identification and validation.

Reporting to the Vice President of Research Business Insights & Technology (BI&T), this individual will accelerate the shift from technology layered onto traditional workflows to computationally based, AI‑driven ways of working. In partnership with research scientists, Computational Sciences leaders, and BMS’s R&D Data organization, the role will advance a multi‑year vision for integrated AI, data, and systems—ensuring design data and knowledge flow seamlessly across Research and into Development.

As a member of the BI&T leadership team, this leader will serve as a trusted partner to Research leaders to align priorities, roadmaps, and adoption across the organization.

• Set a cohesive, modality‑agnostic technology and AI strategy for molecular design and optimization across Research.
• Deliver an integrated design ecosystem that reduces fragmentation and enables interoperable workflows, tools, and data.
• Enable scalable adoption of AI/ML, modeling & simulation, and generative design within scientists’ day‑to‑day work.
• Establish closed‑loop, data‑driven design capabilities that improve learning speed and decision quality across the candidate lifecycle.
• Translate Research strategy into a prioritized, measurable roadmap—aligning leaders across Chemistry, Biology, and Computational Sciences.
• Drive change management and operating‑model shifts so new capabilities are used consistently and deliver measurable impact.

• Own the end‑to‑end technology strategy and roadmap for molecular design and optimization across modalities (small molecule, biologics, and emerging).
• Align priorities and drive delivery in close partnership with Discovery Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, Computational Sciences, and lab leadership.
• Select and scale core platforms and tools for structure‑based design, modeling & simulation, AI/generative design, and design‑workflow visualization.
• Architect and deliver an integrated design ecosystem (interoperable tools, datasets, and workflows) to reduce fragmentation and improve usability.
• Deliver measurable outcomes (e.g., DMTA cycle‑time reduction; closed‑loop optimization) through AI/ML, generative, and agentic capabilities.
• Own compound and entity registration systems and workflows, partnering with the R&D Data organization on the registered‑entity data product.
• Ensure operational excellence (reliability, performance, support, and governance) for design platforms and integrated applications.
• Connect upstream Research with downstream Development (e.g., CMC and Manufacturing IT) so Development learnings flow back into design decisions.
• Build and lead a high‑performing organization (talent, culture, performance) and manage external partnerships (vendors, startups, academic collaborators).

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Computational Chemistry, Structural Biology, Bioinformatics, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in drug discovery, with a proven track record of leading technology‑enabled transformation in a pharmaceutical or biotech R&D environment.
• Demonstrated experience implementing or scaling solutions that support end‑to‑end drug discovery workflows, particularly within design and optimization phases.
• Experience deploying GenAI and agentic capabilities into scientist workflows, and driving DMTA cycle‑time reduction or comparable closed‑loop optimization.
• Experience operating at Director/Senior Director level or above, with readiness for Executive Director scope.

• Scientific Depth + Digital Fluency:
  Ability to engage…