Job Description
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
Department: Drug Discovery & Translational Sciences
Reports to: Chief Scientific Officer
About the Role
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.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
* 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.
Scientific & Technical Excellence
* Lead development of predictive models for:
* Target identification and validation
* Biomarker discovery
* Patient stratification
* Drug response modelling
* Implement state-of-the-art approaches including:
* Foundation models for biology
* Graph neural networks
* Multi-omics integration
* Generative models for target prioritisation
* Establish best-in-class data governance, reproducibility, and FAIR data practices.
Organizational Leadership
* Recruit, mentor, and scale a multidisciplinary team of:
* Computational biologists
* Bioinformaticians
* ML engineers
* Data scientists
* Create a high-performance, collaborative culture embedded within wet-lab discovery teams.
* Manage budgets, vendor relationships, and technology investments.
Required Qualifications
* 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
* Cloud computing (AWS/GCP/Azure)
* Strong understanding of translational science and clinical data integration.
Preferred Experience
* 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.
* Prior executive-level stakeholder engagement.
What We Offer
* 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