VP, AI Accelerator — Drug Discovery Leader

Evotec WD; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Evotec is seeking a VP Head of AI to lead the AI Accelerator, unifying ML, DL and foundation-model capabilities across the In Silico & AI function. The role shapes the AI strategy, governs model development, and drives the creation of reusable IP from discovery data and frontier models.

The candidate will set the vision, manage external partnerships, and recruit top AI talent to build a world-class, production-focused AI capability for drug discovery.

Qualifications

• Proven senior leadership in AI for life sciences or drug discovery.
• Experience turning discovery data into predictive models and IP.

Responsibilities

• Lead the AI Accelerator as the consolidated ML, DL and foundation-model capability.
• Set multi-year AI vision and roadmaps for AI-powered drug discovery.
• Deliver predictive models for molecular properties, ADMET and safety at scale.
• Deliver AI-generated hypotheses feeding Disease-to-Target and Therapeutics Design pipelines.
• Own foundation-model orchestration and agentic workflows with external providers.
• Consolidate fragmented capabilities into a single shared function.
• Oversee build, buy and partner decisions for AI capabilities and data partnerships.
• Establish model governance with IT/Data, Legal and QA.
• Represent Evotec externally on AI in drug discovery via partnerships and conferences.
• Build and develop the AI Accelerator team and define standards.

Skills

Machine Learning

Deep Learning

Foundation Models

Drug Discovery

Multi-omics Data

Model Governance

Executive Communication

Leadership

Strategic Roadmapping

Education

MSc or PhD in relevant field

Tools

AI platforms

Job description

Evotec is seeking a VP Head of AI to lead the AI Accelerator, unifying ML, DL and foundation-model capabilities across the In Silico & AI function. The role shapes the AI strategy, governs model development, and drives the creation of reusable IP from discovery data and frontier models.

The candidate will set the vision, manage external partnerships, and recruit top AI talent to build a world-class, production-focused AI capability for drug discovery.