Senior Director, Discovery Sciences & Technologies

At Gilead, we're creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we've tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer - working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world's biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead's team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we're looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

At Gilead our pursuit of a healthier world for all people has yielded a cure for hepatitis C, revolutionary improvements in HIV treatment and prevention as well as advancements in therapies for viral and inflammatory diseases and certain cancers.

We set and achieve bold ambitions in our fight against the world's most devastating diseases, united in our commitment to confronting the largest public health challenges of our day and improving the lives of patients for generations to come. As a Senior Director, Discovery Sciences & Technologies, at Gilead you will provide strategic and scientific leadership in assay development, high-throughput screening, and advanced drug discovery technologies to enable target validation, lead generation, and progression of programs through development-candidate nomination.

The successful candidate will bring a proven track record of building and scaling best-in-class drug discovery technologies and infrastructure, and advancing a diverse portfolio spanning small molecules, biologics, and heterobifunctional modalities. This individual will be a key member of the DST senior leadership team and a critical partner to multidisciplinary research teams across all Gilead therapeutic areas.

DST scientists design and execute rigorous, quantitative, and physiologically relevant in vitro biochemical and cellular assays that underpin decision-making throughout discovery. In this highly matrixed environment, the Senior Director will be expected to work effectively across functions - including medicinal chemistry, protein therapeutics, structural biology, computational/data sciences and therapeutic biology teams - to advance transformational therapies into clinical development for patients.

• Lead and inspire a high-performing team responsible for developing biochemical, biophysical, and cellular pharmacology assays across all therapeutic areas and modalities.
• Establish and execute assay and screening strategies that enable target discovery, hit identification, and lead optimization, while proactively identifying rate-limiting steps and key decision points.
• Apply and integrate diverse biophysical and cellular approaches to drive deep mechanistic understanding of target engagement, pathway modulation, and inhibitor behavior.
• Drive the adoption and internal development of next-generation lead-generation technologies, including novel assay platforms, automation, data analytics, and innovative screening methodologies, to maintain state-of-the-art discovery capabilities
• Evaluate and influence external technologies, platforms, and innovations in support of in-licensing, partnerships, and strategic collaborations
• Provide clear scientific direction, critical data interpretation, and decision support at project teams and governance forums.
• Manage resources effectively across multiple concurrent programs to ensure efficient progression of programs across Gilead's research portfolio.
• Mentor, develop, and empower scientific leaders and emerging talent, fostering a culture of scientific excellence, innovation, accountability, and collaboration.

• PhD in biochemistry, enzymology, biophysics or a related discipline with a minimum of 15+ years of drug discovery experience in an industrial research environment.
• Deep expertise in protein-ligand interactions, supported by strong experience with biophysical and cell-based technologies.
• Demonstrated success in developing and deploying biochemical and cellular assays for target validation, lead generation, and SAR driven optimization.
• Proven track record of advancing discovery programs from HTS to development candidate nomination.
• Experience with mass spectrometry-based approaches, and expertise in covalent inhibitors and degrader modalities, is highly desirabl