Senior Director, Program Lead - Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery (AIDD)

Company: emd serono
Location: Billerica
Posted on: January 2, 2026

Job Description:

Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. Thats why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us. Your Role: We are seeking a dynamic leader to drive the growth of a next-generation drug discovery lab, integrating chemistry and biology. This role will encompass business strategy, portfolio management, P&L oversight, partnerships, safety/compliance, and high-throughput closed-loop experimentation utilizing robotics, advanced analytics, and AI/ML. The leader will refine a multi-year vision and operating model for autonomous discovery labs, develop a business plan aligned with revenue projections, and establish KPIs for performance metrics. Responsibilities include optimizing closed-loop experimentation processes, driving standardization and interoperability, and building the digital infrastructure, including ELN/LIMS and data lake systems. Collaboration with data and AI teams to deploy advanced modeling techniques and lead cross-functional teams will be essential. The role also involves embedding environmental health and safety protocols, ensuring data integrity, and managing P&L while developing a talent strategy for a multi-disciplinary team. The ultimate goal is to establish a customer-oriented drug discovery offering for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, build AI-enabled capabilities, and drive market adoption through innovative product offerings. Who you are: • Experience: PhD in technical science or engineering, business experience required, MBA a plus • Proven track record leading new businesses or innovation areas from inception to scale, including process and resource development with scalable products • Ideally expertise in life science, healthcare or equivalent scientific industry • Strong understanding and background in drug discovery with industry knowledge of state of the art. • Excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills, with the ability to build strong relationships at all levels of the organization and with external partners. • Strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans and deliver measurable results. • Mindset to drive strong team dynamics and customer momentum in a highly evolving business • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distill complex scientific concepts into clear and engaging messages for diverse audiences. • P&L experience considered a strong plus Pay Range for this position: $210,000.00 - $329,300.00

Keywords: emd serono, Hartford , Senior Director, Program Lead - Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery (AIDD), Science, Research & Development , Billerica, Connecticut