Director, Automation Infrastructure

Site Name: UK - Hertfordshire - Stevenage

Posted Date: Nov 19 2025

Seniority level: Not Applicable

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. Our R&D focuses on discovering and delivering vaccines and medicines, combining our understanding of the immune system with cutting‑edge technology to transform people’s lives. GSK fosters a culture ambitious for patients, accountable for impact, and committed to doing the right thing, making sure that we focus our efforts on accelerating significant assets that meet patients’ needs and have the highest probability of success.

GSK has kicked off 2025 with impressive growth in sales, profits, and earnings. We anticipate five major new FDA product approvals and 15 phase III/pivotal study readouts over the next two years. So far, we have secured two FDA approvals, with three more expected later this year. By uniting science, technology, and talent, we are committed to getting ahead of disease together.

GSK is seeking a visionary Director of Automation Infrastructure to architect and drive the Research Technologies Automation strategy. This senior leader will set the vision for automation investments, ensuring strategic prioritization and alignment with GSK’s long‑term scientific and digital transformation goals. The successful candidate will lead the creation of a centralized hub of automation excellence, delivering lab‑in‑a‑loop systems and fully integrated automation platforms that accelerate research productivity and enable data‑driven science.

This is a unique opportunity to lead the transformation of RTech’s automation landscape and position GSK at the forefront of technological advancement in pharmaceutical drug discovery.

• Team Leadership and Development:
  Lead and inspire global, cross‑functional teams to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration. Champion the centralization of automation expertise and support, breaking down silos and maximizing the impact of automation investments.
• Strategic Integration and
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Build strong partnerships and collaborate with leaders across the organization to deploy lab automation to enable key business priorities.
• Build and deliver the strategy for the industrialization of automation technologies, both integrated platforms and standalone devices and other advanced tools.
• Deliver reliable, scalable, and secure automation infrastructure to accelerate research, adhering to industry best practices and safety requirements.
• Build strategic partnerships with research leaders, scientists, IT, and engineering teams to establish requirements and develop comprehensive automation solutions in partnership with integration vendors.
• Oversee the design and deployment of lab‑in‑a‑loop systems and orchestrated automation platforms, ensuring seamless data flow and system interoperability.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends, incorporating new advancements into GSK's automation strategy.
• Build strategic partnerships, influence industry standards, and represent GSK externally.

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Extensive experience in automation infrastructure design and implementation, with significant leadership roles at a global level.
• Demonstrated success in delivering lab‑in‑a‑loop systems and orchestrated automation platforms in pharmaceutical or biotech research environments.
• Experience with laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and electronic lab notebooks (ELNs).
• Strong understanding of automation technologies, both integrated platforms and standalone devices, and data management systems.
• Experience with system integration, including commercial scheduling software (such as Momentum, Cellario, and Green Button Go ), APIs, middleware, and data exchange protocols.
• Exceptional project management skills,…