Executive Director, Data, AI & Collaboration Services

Job Overview

The Executive Director, Data Strategy, AI & Collaboration is a pivotal role that will define and drive Kardigan's approach to harnessing data, artificial intelligence, and modern collaboration technologies as strategic assets across the enterprise. This leader will own the end‑to‑end roadmap for these interconnected domains — with a deliberate emphasis on Data and AI — while ensuring that collaboration platforms amplify the effectiveness of scientific, clinical, and business teams.

• Operating within IT alongside peers in IT Operations and Solution Delivery, this individual will serve as the company’s foremost internal expert and thought leader on data‑driven decision‑making and AI‑enabled innovation.
• They will work at the intersection of technology, science, and business strategy — translating ambition into concrete, measurable capabilities.
• The role demands both visionary leadership and a willingness to roll up one’s sleeves: building programs from the ground up, influencing without large teams, and delivering lasting impact in a resource‑efficient model.
• This is a rare opportunity for a technically deep, strategically minded leader to shape the data and AI foundation of a company where every decision ultimately serves patients.

• Develop and own the enterprise data strategy, roadmap, and governance framework, ensuring data is treated as a first‑class strategic asset across all corporate functions (e.g. R&D, G&A, Commercial & Medical).
• Architect and implement a scalable, cloud‑native data platform — including data lake, data warehouse, and data mesh components — that enables self‑service analytics and supports both structured and unstructured scientific data.
• Establish enterprise‑wide data standards, ontologies, master data management (MDM) practices, and metadata management to drive data quality, lineage, and discoverability.
• Define and enforce data governance policies, access controls, and stewardship programs in compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 11, ICH E6(R2), GDPR, HIPAA, and other applicable regulatory frameworks.
• Partner with Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Quality to ensure data integrity requirements are embedded by design into all data platforms and pipelines.
• Build the organizational capabilities — processes, roles, tools, and culture — needed to sustain data excellence as the company grows.
• Artificial Intelligence Strategy & Implementation
  • Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive AI strategy that identifies, prioritizes, and delivers measurable value across the organization.
  • Establish the company’s AI/ML platform, including infrastructure for model development, validation, deployment, monitoring, and retraining, leveraging cloud‑native services.
  • Drive the responsible adoption of Generative AI — including large language models (LLMs) and multimodal models — for use cases such as scientific literature synthesis, regulatory document drafting, clinical data exploration, and internal knowledge management.
  • Build and maintain an AI governance framework encompassing model validation, explainability, bias detection, human oversight requirements, and alignment with FDA AI/ML guidance and the EU AI Act.
  • Identify and manage strategic partnerships with AI vendors and technology providers to accelerate capability development.
  • Champion a culture of data literacy and AI fluency across business and scientific functions; develop internal training programs and communities of practice.
  • Stay ahead of the rapidly evolving AI landscape — evaluating emerging technologies and providing executive‑level counsel on when and how to adopt.
• Own the strategy, architecture, and roadmap for enterprise collaboration platforms — including Microsoft 365 / Teams, SharePoint Online — with a focus on enabling seamless, compliant collaboration across internal teams and external partners.
• Drive platform consolidation, rationalization, and integration to reduce fragmentation and improve the employee experience.
• Lead change management and adoption programs, working closely with functional leaders to maximize the value of collaboration investments.
• Executive Leadership & Organizational…