Target Validation Sr Director

About the role

In this vital role as Senior Director, Global Research Target Discovery, you will shape and lead Amgen’s Target Validation Unit within Research Biology. This research-based position is responsible for building, leading, and developing a multidisciplinary team that implements cutting-edge experimental and computational science and technologies to address complex biological problems related to target discovery for multiple therapeutic areas.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary organization of ~25 scientists within Research Biology.
• Integrate diverse experimental disciplines and workflows to ensure coordinated execution and efficient delivery of novel molecular insights.
• Establish platform priorities, resource allocation, and capacity planning in alignment with Research Biology and Therapeutic Area priorities.
• Define clear roles, responsibilities, and seamless handoffs across teams and partnering organizations.
• Drive adoption of automated experimental workflows and integration of AI/ML to enable efficient experimentation across programs.
• Serve as a senior scientific partner to Target Discovery and Therapeutic Areas.
• Set clear expectations and enable scientists with diverse skill sets to collaborate effectively and contribute to the early research pipeline.
• Serve as a core member of the Target Discovery Advisory Forum, playing a key role in target discovery, validation, and prioritization. Engage, influence, and align therapeutic area stakeholders.
• Guide team members in synthesizing and communicating complex scientific and data-driven insights to key stakeholders and the advisory forum.
• Contribute to fostering a highly collaborative, creative, dynamic, and cutting-edge research environment.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Doctorate degree (PhD) in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, computational biology, immunology, oncology, metabolism, or a relevant discipline and 7 years of scientific leadership experience in biotech, pharma, or equivalent research environments.
• Master’s degree in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, computational biology, immunology, oncology, metabolism, or a relevant discipline and 10 years of scientific leadership experience in biotech, pharma, or equivalent research environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, computational biology, immunology, oncology, metabolism, or a relevant discipline and 12 years of scientific leadership experience in biotech, pharma, or equivalent research environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading mechanistic discovery research programs and -omics platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate experimental science with enterprise data, analytics, or AI/ML capabilities.
• Appreciation for and experience with the application of genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, structural biology, and AI/ML approaches to biological research.
• Proven track record of scientific impact in molecular, biochemical, and cell biological characterization, evidenced by publications in top-tier journals, patents, and program advancement.
• Recognized scientific excellence, passion for discovery research, and productivity.
• Experience managing budgets and capital investments.
• Demonstrated success in identifying, attracting, and retaining scientific talent.
• Proven mentorship and team development experience.
• Strength in team building.
• Clear and compelling communicator.

Benefits

Amgen offers a comprehensive employee benefits package, including:

• A Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions.
• Group medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts.
• A discretionary annual bonus program (or sales-based incentive plan for field sales representatives).
• Stock-based long-term incentives.
• Award-winning time-off plans.
• Flexible work models where possible.

Pay

The annual base salary range for this opportunity in the U.S. is $265,405 - $312,459.