Director, Research Systems

Job Description

(Director‑level Technical Leader | Principal‑Engineer Profile | 30–50% Hands‑On Coding)

Gilead's mission is to discover, develop, and deliver therapies that will improve the lives of patients with life‑threatening illnesses worldwide. The Director, Research Systems provides strategic, operational, and hands‑on technical leadership for Research Informatics systems that support drug discovery s role is accountable for both people leadership and direct technical contribution
, and is expected to remain deeply engaged in the design, development, and delivery of production software
.

This position is intentionally scoped for a principal‑engineer‑style leader
—someone who leads through technical ownership, code authorship, and scientific understanding
, not solely through delegation or architectural oversight.

• Accountable for the impact of Research Informatics systems on the end‑to‑end drug discovery lifecycle, including scientific insight, data quality, and research productivity.

• Applies deep understanding of drug discovery workflows and scientific decision‑making to define informatics strategies and solutions.

• Establishes priorities based on scientific value, patient impact, and enterprise benefit, with clear accountability for outcomes.

• Devotes approximately 30–50% of time to hands‑on software development
  , including writing, reviewing, and maintaining production code.

• Regularly authors core services, shared libraries, and foundational components that are critical to Research Informatics platforms.

• Actively reviews pull requests and technical designs
  , providing detailed, code‑level feedback and architectural guidance.

• Maintains direct ownership of technical quality, system reliability, and long‑term maintainability.

• Serves as the senior technical escalation point for complex scientific and engineering challenges.

• Independently designs and implements software solutions from concept through deployment and adoption.

• Writes production‑quality code in C#, MVC, ASP.NET, and SQL
  , and integrates in‑house systems with vendor‑based biological‑and chemical‑informatics scientific tools
  .

• Produces and maintains architecture documentation and technical standards that guide team development.

• Makes pragmatic engineering decisions appropriate for a regulated pharmaceutical environment.

• Leads and develops a high‑performing team through technical mentorship, code reviews, and hands‑on guidance
  , alongside traditional people leadership.

• Sets clear expectations for engineering rigor, scientific understanding, and accountability.

• Develops talent by modeling best practices in both software engineering and applied scientific informatics.

• Oversees and participates directly in the full software lifecycle: requirements definition, design, development, testing, deployment, and change management.

• Drives Agile delivery of high‑impact tools while remaining personally engaged in implementation.

• Identifies gaps in informatics capabilities and translates scientific needs into actionable technical solutions.

• Contributes to continuous improvement of Research Informatics processes and operational maturity.

• Partners with peers across Research, IT, and other functions to shape informatics strategy across multiple programs and therapeutic areas.

• Influences department‑level decisions related to infrastructure, digital innovation, and emerging technologies through demonstrated technical credibility.

• Represents Gilead externally through scientific or technical presentations, publications, and professional engagement.

• Demonstrated success as a senior technical leader who remains actively hands‑on in production code
  .

• Proven ability to lead through direct technical contribution, architectural ownership, and engineering judgment
  .

• Strong proficiency in C#, MVC, ASP.NET, SQL
  , and integration with scientific informatics platforms and vendor solutions.

• Deep understanding of drug discovery…