Digital Product Owner - Research Technology, Associate Director

$149,100 - $149,100/Yr

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company - Boston, MA

Full-time - Mid Level

Remote - Boston, MA

Chemical Manufacturing

About the position

As a Digital Product Owner - Research Technology (Associate Director) at Takeda, you will play a pivotal role in transforming the pharmaceutical industry through innovative research and development practices. This position is based in our Cambridge, MA office, where you will be empowered to take charge of your future and contribute to our mission of delivering better health and a brighter future to people around the world. You will provide thought and technical leadership in applying machine learning approaches to drug discovery and development processes, including target identification, lead identification, and lead optimization. Your collaboration with computational chemists and biologists will drive the application of machine learning models in various drug discovery projects, ensuring that our scientific endeavors are supported by cutting-edge technology. In this role, you will be responsible for identifying, designing, developing, and deploying solutions to complex scientific R&D problems within a product-focused organization. You will lead global strategic activities related to the design and configuration of all technical aspects within scientific data management, ensuring alignment with the product organization. Your expertise will be crucial in building predictive models that utilize heterogeneous multi-modal data to assist in scientific decision-making, and you will collaborate with computational scientists to provide technologies and models that support drug discovery across different therapeutic areas. You will also manage and influence technical product development approaches, utilizing modern scripted deployment techniques to deliver product enhancements rapidly and iteratively. Your leadership will extend to monitoring and managing the implementation of major plans and programs within R&D disciplines, identifying innovative solutions, and building strong relationships with both R&D and IT functions. This position requires a deep understanding of pharmaceutical R&D processes and the ability to navigate complex situations independently, providing leadership and influencing other disciplines as needed.

Responsibilities

• Provide thought and technical leadership in applying machine learning approaches in drug discovery and development processes.
• Collaborate with computational chemists and computational biologists to drive the application of machine learning models in drug discovery projects.
• Identify, design, develop, and deploy solutions to scientific R&D problems within the product-focused R&D organization.
• Lead global strategic activities for design and configuration of all technical aspects within scientific data management.
• Build predictive models that effectively use heterogeneous multi-modal data to assist scientific decision making.
• Drive integration of modeling pipelines into internal data mining platforms with end-users and IT support.
• Manage and influence technical product development approaches and modern scripted deployment techniques.
• Contribute to and take responsibility for the overall technical strategy and operational strategy of the function.
• Monitor and manage the implementation of major plans, products, and programs within a capability line across R&D disciplines.
• Build strong relationships with R&D and IT functions and employ effective negotiation skills.

Requirements

• A minimum of a Bachelor's or equivalent in Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science, Cheminformatics, Bioinformatics or a related quantitative field.
• Eight or more years of experience in applied analytics/machine learning/predictive modeling, or equivalent.
• Advanced Python and R programming skills.
• Experience with Deep Learning machine learning frameworks, like PyTorch, Keras, Tensorflow, etc.
• Deep understanding of pharmaceutical R&D scientific processes.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills, business acumen with problem solving and analytical skills.
• Professional in-depth knowledge of business processes in the pharmaceutical industry within the functional area.
• Experience in business analysis and project management.
• Experience in stakeholder relationship management.

Nice-to-haves

• Master or higher Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Cheminformatics, Bioinformatics or a related quantitative field.
• Experience of working with research chemists or biologists in an academic or industrial setting for learning pipeline development.
• Experience with the design and development of pharmaceutical life sciences software or solutions.
• Experience with cloud-based big data computing environment.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage.
• Basic life insurance.
• Tuition reimbursement program.
• Paid volunteer time off.
• Company holidays and well-being benefits.
• Up to 80 hours of sick time per calendar year.
• Accrual of up to 120 hours of paid vacation for new hires.