Principal Systems Engineer, Enterprise Backup & Disaster Recovery Solutions

Neurocrine Biosciences; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 133,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement plan

Paid vacation

Equity incentives

Health benefits

Job summary

Neurocrine Biosciences is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the design, implementation, operation, and continuous improvement of data protection and disaster recovery across complex enterprise infrastructure. You will collaborate with Cybersecurity, Cloud, and Lab teams to ensure critical systems can be restored within approved objectives.

The role requires hands-on leadership in DR architecture, SOP development, testing, and compliance with GxP/SOX, with a focus on scalable coverage

Qualifications

• Experience leading enterprise backup/recovery programs across cloud, on‑prem, and hybrid environments.
• Proven ability to design DR architecture and run regular testing, with evidence artifacts.
• Familiarity with GxP, SOX, and regulatory requirements in a data-protection context.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise data backup and recovery coverage across cloud, on‑prem, and lab infrastructure.
• Own DR strategy, planning, testing, and governance for Tier 1 systems and services.
• Define RTO/RPO targets with stakeholders and drive cross‑functional DR exercises.
• Develop SOPs for backup testing, integrity validation and restore evidence.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to enterprise architecture reviews for resiliency.

Skills

Data backup & recovery

DR engineering

RTO/RPO governance

GxP compliance

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

AWS

Azure

Job description

Who We Are

Neurocrine Biosciences is a leading biopharmaceutical company with a simple purpose: to relieve suffering for people with great needs. We are dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, psychiatric, endocrine and immunological disorders. The company's diverse portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia, chorea associated with Huntington's disease, classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome, endometriosis* and uterine fibroids*, as well as a robust pipeline including multiple compounds in mid- to late-phase clinical development across our core therapeutic areas. For more than three decades, we have applied our unique insight into neuroscience and the interconnections between brain and body systems to treat complex conditions. We relentlessly pursue medicines to ease the burden of debilitating diseases and disorders, because you deserve brave science. For more information, visit neurocrine.com, and follow the company on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and YouTube. (*in collaboration with AbbVie)

About the Role

This is a hands-on, Principal Systems Engineering role responsible for leading the design, implementation, operation and continuous improvement of enterprise data protection and disaster recovery (DR) solutions across cloud, on-prem, hybrid, and scientific systems infrastructure. The Principal Systems Engineer scales backup and recovery coverage across enterprise and lab systems, establishes and operates SOPs to regularly test backups and validate recoverability. The individual in this role defines and implements DR solutions for core infrastructure systems and services. This includes building the foundational DR capability from the ground up, planning and executing DR exercises on a recurring cadence, and maintaining backup, recovery, and DR testing artifacts as objective evidence supporting the enterprise resiliency objectives owned by the Cybersecurity team. This role provides technical leadership and oversight to GxP and compliance processes governing backup, recovery, and disaster recovery (DR), ensuring applicable regulatory requirements are identified and met. Serve as the primary technical resource for RTO/RPO governance, recovery testing, and restore evidence across enterprise IT and lab technology infrastructure. Partner closely with Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Cloud, Network, and Scientific Systems teams to ensure critical systems and data can be reliably restored within business-approved recovery objectives.

Your Contributions

• Data Backup and Recovery Coverage Lead and scale the enterprise data backup and recovery program across cloud, on-prem, hybrid, and lab infrastructure, increasing coverage of critical systems, servers, instruments, and data stores over time
• Serve as the primary technical owner and go-to resource for backup and recovery coverage across both enterprise IT infrastructure and lab/scientific systems, ensuring lab systems, instruments, and associated data stores are identified, scoped, and included in backup and DR planning alongside enterprise systems in AWS and Azure
• Design and implement backup architecture across compute, storage, and database platforms, ensuring backup strategies align with data classification, retention, and recovery requirements
• Partners with Infrastructure, Cloud, Network, and Scientific Systems teams to identify systems and user/instrument generated data lacking adequate backup coverage and drive remediation to close gaps
• Establish and maintain SOPs to regularly test backups (restore testing, integrity validation, sampling strategies) to ensure ongoing reliability and resiliency of the backup solution
• Define and track KPIs for backup health (e.g., backup success rate, coverage percentage, restore test pass rate, time to restore) and report progress to leadership and governance forums
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex backup and recovery failures, driving root cause analysis and long-term corrective actions
• Disaster Recovery Engineering and Execution Define and implement disaster recovery solutions and architecture for business critical (Tier 1) technology infrastructure, systems and services, spanning cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments Lead the design and implementation of foundational DR capability where none currently exists, including DR architecture, tooling, runbooks, and recovery procedures for Tier 1 systems and platforms
• Establish critical service tiers in partnership with Cyber, business and technology owners, and recommend and establish corresponding RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) targets for each tier
• Plan and execute DR exercises on a regular, recurring cadence, coordinating cross functional participation across Infrastructure, Network, Cloud, and application teams
• Identify and remediate gaps uncovered during DR testing (architecture, dependencies, documentation, automation) to continuously improve recovery readiness
• Build automation to streamline DR failover/failback processes and reduce manual effort and recovery time during actual DR events
• Resiliency Evidence, Reporting, and Cyber Partnership Maintain a long-term repository of backup, recovery, and DR testing artifacts (test plans, results, restore evidence, remediation records) as objective evidence supporting enterprise resiliency objectives owned by the Cybersecurity team
• Lead technical execution of GxP and compliance requirements governing backup, recovery, and DR practices, partnering with Cybersecurity on enterprise resiliency policy, risk tolerance, and audit/compliance requirements (e.g., GxP, SOX, business continuity standards)
• Publish recurring recoverability results and metrics (e.g., percentage of Tier 1 services tested, percentage of successful restorations within approved recovery objectives) to leadership and governance reviews
• Support internal and external audits related to data protection, backup, and disaster recovery, ensuring evidence is complete, current, and readily retrievable
• Serve as the enterprise technical escalation point for backup and DR related incidents, driving recovery execution and post incident review
• Mentor engineers on backup, recovery, and DR engineering practices, and contribute to enterprise architecture reviews to ensure resiliency is designed in early rather than retrofitted
• Other duties as assigned

#LI-CL1

Neurocrine Biosciences is an EEO/Disability/Vets employer. We are committed to building a workplace of belonging, respect, and empowerment, and we recognize there are a variety of ways to meet our requirements. We are looking for the best candidate for the job and encourage you to apply even if your experience or qualifications don’t line up to exactly what we have outlined in the job description.

The annual base salary we reasonably expect to pay is $132,700.00-$182,000.00. Individual pay decisions depend on various factors, such as primary work location, complexity and responsibility of role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills.

In addition, this position offers an annual bonus with a target of 30% of the earned base salary and eligibility to participate in our equity based long term incentive program.

Benefits offered include a retirement savings plan (with company match), paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

We are a top place to work. Neurocrine Biosciences was named one of the FORTUNE Best Workplaces in Biopharma™ 2025. We were also named a Great Place to Work® Certified company. ©2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.

OUR VALUES

• PASSION: We are driven and love what we do. We are committed to our goals and to making a difference.
• INTEGRITY: We do the right thing for patients and our community. We take accountability. We speak up.
• COLLABORATION: We trust one another. We are inclusive. We are respectful. We are transparent. Together we succeed.
• INNOVATION: We seek and create optimal solutions.
• TENACITY: We do not quit. We adapt. We accomplish what others cannot.

Come join our team during this exciting time of growth and opportunities!