Senior Director, AI & Bioinformatics

Department: Drug Discovery & Translational Sciences

Reports to: Chief Scientific Officer

We are seeking an exceptional scientific leader to build and scale a world-class AI-driven bioinformatics function in the heart of the UK’s life sciences ecosystem in Oxford.

As Senior Director, AI & Bioinformatics, you will define and execute the company’s computational strategy across target identification, multimodal data integration, and predictive modelling to accelerate our drug discovery pipeline. This is a high-impact executive leadership role with full ownership of strategy, people, platform, and cross-functional integration.

You will partner closely with Biology, Chemistry, Translational Medicine, and Clinical Development to transform data into differentiated therapeutics.

• Define and deliver the AI & data strategy aligned with corporate R&D goals.
• Build a scalable computational platform integrating genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, imaging, and clinical data.
• Drive adoption of AI/ML across early discovery through translational stages.
• Represent the company externally in partnerships, academic collaborations, and investor discussions.

• Lead development of predictive models for:
• Target identification and validation
• Implement state-of-the-art approaches including:
• Multi-omics integration
• Generative models for target prioritisation
• Establish best-in-class data governance, reproducibility, and FAIR data practices.

• Recruit, mentor, and scale a multidisciplinary team of:
• Computational biologists
• Data scientists
• Create a high-performance, collaborative culture embedded within wet-lab discovery teams.
• Manage budgets, vendor relationships, and technology investments.

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Machine Learning, Systems Biology, or related discipline.
• 10+ years experience in biotech/pharma drug discovery.
• Proven leadership experience building and managing high-performing computational teams.
• Track record of deploying AI/ML models into real discovery pipelines (not just research prototypes).
• Deep expertise in:
• Multi-omics analysis
• Statistical genetics
• Python/R and modern ML frameworks
• Strong understanding of translational science and clinical data integration.

• Experience leading AI strategy in oncology, immunology, rare disease, or precision medicine.
• Industry collaborations with UK/EU academic institutions.
• Exposure to regulatory considerations for AI in drug development.

• Executive-level compensation + equity participation
• Opportunity to shape a flagship AI-enabled biotech platform
• Access to Oxford’s leading academic and clinical ecosystem
• Flexible hybrid working model
• Generous pension, bonus, and long-term incentive plans