Group Senior Manager R&D

Position: Group Senior Manager R&D Applications
Location: Lachen

Become part of a vital chain and contribute to our common goal of making people’s lives better. Headquartered in Lachen, Switzerland, Octapharma is one of the largest human protein manufacturers in the world, developing and producing medicines sourced from human plasma and human cell lines. We are a privately‑owned company, where the warmth of family meets the scale of a global organisation.

Join us in shaping our vision to provide new health solutions advancing human life.

Your main tasks and responsibilities

• Act as the primary IT business partner for the R&D organization, aligning IT initiatives with R&D strategy, priorities, and the strategic demand management process.
• Build, lead, and develop a newly established R&D Applications team, including talent selection, coaching, and performance management.
• Define and own the application and digital innovation strategy for R&D, covering laboratory systems, scientific platforms, data solutions, and selective use of advanced analytics and automation where they add clear business value.
• Drive and govern end‑to‑end IT initiatives in close collaboration with R&D, from ideation and business case to implementation and lifecycle management, with a focus on robust, compliant, and scalable application solutions, cloud platforms, and process automation.
• Enable and support digital and data‑driven R&D use cases, such as improved protocol development workflows, scientific knowledge management, document handling, laboratory automation, and decision‑support tools, always balancing innovation with compliance.
• Ensure all R&D applications and AI solutions comply with GxP, data integrity, security, privacy, and regulatory requirements, including clear governance for on‑premise and cloud‑based solutions.
• Partner with R&D, Quality, Security, and Architecture teams to evaluate feasibility, compliance, cost, and vendor offerings for emerging technologies, including Generative AI and ML platforms.
• Establish strong governance, demand intake, prioritization, and KPI frameworks aligned with the Octapharma IT operating model.
• Proactively identify opportunities where digitalization, data, advanced analytics, and automation can accelerate R&D efficiency, productivity, and scientific insight generation.

Your expertise and ideal skill set

• University degree in Information Technology, Life Sciences, Engineering, or a related field.
• Several years of experience in IT leadership roles, ideally supporting R&D, laboratories, or scientific environments within the pharmaceutical or life sciences industry.
• Proven experience as an IT business partner, with the ability to engage senior R&D stakeholders and translate complex scientific and business requirements into scalable IT and digital solutions.
• Strong understanding of R&D processes and systems and their integration into a regulated environment.
• Experience in introducing digital and automation use cases in regulated environments, balancing innovation with data protection, security, and compliance.
• Structured, pragmatic, and solution‑oriented mindset with a high level of ownership and accountability.
• Excellent communication skills in English, spoken and written;
  German is a plus.

Your department - where you make an impact

• Group IT at Octapharma is a key enabler of business success and digital transformation. The R&D Applications team will be newly built as part of the global IT organization, with a clear mission to support and advance Octapharma’s R&D capabilities worldwide.
• In this role, you will work at the intersection of IT and R&D, translating scientific and business needs into robust, compliant, and future‑ready application solutions. You will play a key role in building and leading a new team, establishing strong partnerships with R&D stakeholders, and driving innovation across the R&D application landscape.

“
This role offers a unique opportunity to build something new, partner closely with our scientists, and shape the digital future of R&D at Octapharma.”
– Martin Metzger, Hiring Manager & Group Senior Director Business Applications Thrive with us

• You help save lives - Every day is meaningful as we produce life‑saving medicines
• Family values -…