Associate Director, Laboratory Informatics and Platform Automation

Valo Health; Lexington (MA); On-site; USD 195,500 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Retirement benefits

Annual incentive program

Job summary

Valo Health is looking for an Associate Director to lead informatics and automation in drug discovery at our Lexington, MA location. This role demands a leader with a PhD and over 10 years of relevant experience, overseeing laboratory systems and integrations.

The Associate Director will work with various teams to streamline processes and ensure operational excellence, fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. A competitive salary and comprehensive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in laboratory informatics or automation in drug discovery.
• Experience leading technical teams in pharma or biotech R&D.
• Ability to manage software lifecycle from requirements gathering to implementation.

Responsibilities

• Own the strategy, implementation, and operations of laboratory informatics systems.
• Define roadmap priorities with stakeholders and translate needs into plans.
• Partner with teams to build data infrastructure and streamline operations.

Skills

Leadership in R&D

Laboratory informatics

Automation systems

Data integration

Communication skills

Education

PhD in relevant field

BS/MS with 15+ years

Tools

LIMS

ELN

SDMS

Automation systems

Job description

Valo Health is a human‑centric, AI‑enabled biotechnology company working to make new drugs for patients faster. The company’s Opal Computational Platform transforms drug discovery and development through a unique combination of real‑world data, AI, human translational models and predictive chemistry.

Our talented team of biologists, chemists and engineers, armed with advanced AI/ML tools, work together to break down traditional R&D silos and accelerate the speed and scale of drug discovery and development.

Valo is committed to hiring diverse talent, prioritizing growth and development, fostering an inclusive environment, and creating opportunities to bring together a group of different experiences, backgrounds, and voices to work together. We embrace new ways of learning, solve complex problems and welcome diverse perspectives that can help us advance patient‑centric innovation.

Valo is headquartered in Lexington, MA, with additional offices in New York, NY and Tel Aviv, Israel. To learn more, visit www.valohealth.com.

About The Role

Valo Health is seeking an Associate Director to lead laboratory informatics and platform automation across its drug discovery organization. The role owns strategy, implementation, and operational performance across both domains, builds the scientific data infrastructure connecting bench data to Valo’s Opal Computational Platform, and leads a technical team. The ideal candidate brings deep domain expertise and a proven track record of people leadership in a fast‑paced R&D environment.

What You’ll Do

Your primary areas of responsibility will be:

• Own strategy, implementation, and operations across laboratory informatics systems (LIMS, ELN, SDMS, data analysis tools) and hardware automation platforms (HTS, compound management, instrument integration).
• Define roadmap priorities with scientific and technical stakeholders; translate needs into actionable plans and deliver reliable solutions.
• Partner with the Data Platform team to build data infrastructure, including ontologies, pipelines, and LIMS integrations; design workflow integrations that streamline operations and enable downstream AI/ML use.
• Gather requirements from stakeholders to guide development across SDMS, ELN, and visualization tools; oversee user requirement specifications and UAT.
• Implement data security and IP protection standards in partnership with Data Governance teams.
• Oversee data ingestion pipelines and LIMS integrations, ensuring integrity, compliance, and harmonization of legacy and current experimental data.
• Partner with scientific power users and facilities to manage vendor relationships, including contract renewals, installations, application support, and user training; oversee resource prioritization, cost monitoring, and lifecycle planning with contracts, finance, and IT.
• Serve as the senior point of expertise for informatics and automation, building strong relationships across Biology, Chemistry, DMPK, and Data Sciences.
• Monitor operational performance and resolve technical issues across informatics and automation platforms.
• Lead automation platform operations including High‑Res Cellario, Biosero Green Button Go, and compound management; evaluate and drive acquisition of new hardware to meet evolving scientific needs.
• Lead and develop the technical team, including hiring, mentoring, and career development.
• Stay current with emerging trends in informatics and automation and apply new approaches to strengthen platform capabilities.

What You Bring

• PhD with 10+ years in laboratory informatics and/or automation in drug discovery, or BS/MS with 15+ years.
• Life sciences background in Screening, Biology, Chemistry, DMPK, multi‑omics, or NGS.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams and deliver high‑impact informatics and automation programs in pharma or biotech R&D.
• Experience developing roadmaps, translating scientific needs into technical plans, and managing competing priorities.
• Experience across the full informatics software lifecycle: requirements gathering, design, implementation, UAT, and lifecycle management.
• Deep knowledge of LIMS, ELN, SDMS, and automation systems; experience integrating HTS automation, mass spectrometry, and compound management with tools such as Dotmatics and Snowflake.
• Strong communication skills and ability to influence decisions at all levels.
• Proven track record managing complex software infrastructure and vendor interoperability.

You May Also Bring

• Experience with SaaS platforms, cloud services, and API integrations.
• Hands‑on experience with High‑Res Cellario work cells and Biosero Green Button Go workflows.

MA Salary Range

$195,500—$230,000 USD

Compensation

Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Valo Health currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Valo Health's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.

Please note: At this time, we are only able to consider candidates who currently have permanent US work authorization without the need for immediate or future sponsorship.