Lead Technical Systems Analyst

Foundation Medicine; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 169,000 - 199,000; Full time

Job summary

Foundation Medicine in Boston, MA is seeking a Lead Technical Systems Analyst to drive the product vision across multiple delivery streams and enterprise platforms. You translate complex business needs into scalable technical specs and user stories, guiding architecture decisions with autonomy.

You will mentor teams, manage dependencies, and align technical exploration with regulatory and security considerations, as Foundation Medicine emphasizes integrity and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in life science, business, technology, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience as a Technical Systems Analyst or related roles in software/technical environments.
• Experience translating complex business needs into technical specifications and user stories.

Responsibilities

• Leads initiative-level decomposition and analysis across multiple streams.
• Evaluates architectural approaches with engineering leadership.
• Manages cross-initiative dependencies and risk workshops.
• Implements analysis standards and best practices.
• Tracks delivery health indicators and reduces rework.
• Communicates with technical, non-technical, and leadership audiences.
• Produces executive-ready decision materials with options and trade-offs.
• Identifies security, privacy, and regulatory considerations early in delivery.
• Shapes multi-quarter planning with risk-based insights.
• Mentors analysts and engineers; builds communities of practice.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Requirements translation

Cross-team collaboration

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree in life science, business, technology, or related discipline

Tools

Jira/Confluence tooling

Job description

About the Job

The Lead Technical Systems Analyst drives the execution of the product vision across multiple delivery streams and enterprise platforms. This role serves as a senior interface and requirements authority, translating complex business needs within scaled product areas into scalable technical specifications and functional user stories. Operating with significant autonomy, this position guides architectural decision‑making from a long‑term technical perspective, establishes cross‑team analysis standards, and proactively manages dependencies and risks to ensure seamless end‑to‑end software delivery. The Lead Analyst bridges the gap between executive business goals and technical engineering execution while fostering a culture of technical rigor and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Leads initiative‑level decomposition and analysis spanning multiple delivery streams and enterprise platforms, transforming complex business needs into clear, high‑quality functional specifications and user stories
• Partners with engineering leadership and technical leads to evaluate architectural approaches, identify potential design risks, and ensure solutions are testable, highly operable, and aligned with enterprise integration standards
• Leads cross‑initiative dependency management; develops sequencing proposals, tracks timelines, and proactively facilitates pre‑mortems and risk workshops to prevent late‑stage scope discoveries
• Establishes, enforces, and continuously improves analysis standards and best practices across teams (e.g., INVEST/SMART criteria)
• Defines and drives the adoption of leading delivery health indicators such as reduced rework rates and optimized refinement health
• Adapts communication style to align technical, non‑technical, and leadership audiences
• Produces executive‑ready decision materials that explicitly outline options, trade‑offs (value, risk, time, and cost), and clear recommendations to ensure transparency
• Proactively identifies and escalates technical, security, privacy, and regulatory compliance considerations early in the delivery lifecycle, translating findings into actionable recommendations
• Partners closely with Product Managers and engineering leaders to track the product vision, prioritize the multi‑team engineering backlog, and shape multi‑quarter planning through risk‑based insights
• Mentors senior and junior analysts and engineers, scales onboarding through structured peer reviews, and leads communities of practice to build organizational technical capability
• Fosters a culture of learning, technical rigor, and psychological safety where healthy debate and "disagree and commit" norms are practiced
• Other duties as assigned
• Comply with FMI's attendance policies

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in a life science, business, technology, or a related discipline
• 8+ years of experience as a Technical Systems Analyst, Product Owner, Product Analyst, Business Analyst, or Associate Product Manager in a software, scientific, or technical business environment (or 5+ years of experience paired with a demonstrated history of leading multi-stream enterprise initiatives)

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years working in a life sciences environment and/or with software products developed for Quality, Clinical Laboratory processes, or molecular biology/genomics workflows
• Experience working in a regulated software development environment that complies with IEC 62304, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, and GDPR
• Advanced proficiency with Jira, Confluence, LucidChart, Visio, Retina, or equivalent system mapping and documentation tools
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or equivalent Agile analysis certification
• Proven history of building durable stakeholder coalitions and driving alignment across organizational boundaries without direct authority
• Demonstrated capability to self‑organize, anticipate constraints, and drive complex, multi‑quarter initiatives under deadline pressure without significant day‑to‑day oversight
• Exceptional listening, writing, and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to synthesize highly complex technical architectures into crisp executive summaries
• Understanding of HIPAA and the importance of patient data privacy
• Commitment to reflect FMI's values: Integrity, Courage, and Passion

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of Boston, MA is $169,150- $199,000 per year. The salary range is commensurate with Foundation Medicine's compensation practice and considers factors including, but not limited to, education, training, experience, external market conditions, criticality of role, and internal equity. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for Foundation Medicine's benefits.

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