R&D Data Governance Director: Build & Accelerate Pharma

Smith Hanley Associates; Massachusetts; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Our client, a mid-size Pharma manufacturer, seeks a Director of R&D Data Governance to build and lead a new enterprise data governance function. You will define how R&D data is governed, connected, and accessed to accelerate scientific innovation.

You will own the strategy across Discovery to Clinical data, establish standards, and drive adoption among scientists, IT, and data engineers. This leadership role offers visibility and impact in a growing data organization.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in R&D Data Governance or related leadership in Pharma/Life Sciences.
• Strong understanding of governance, quality, metadata, stewardship, lineage, standards, and access management.
• Experience with complex R&D data environments across Discovery, Translational, Preclinical, Clinical, Omics.

Responsibilities

• Build the R&D Data Governance strategy and multi-year roadmap.
• Establish the governance operating model including stewardship and standards.
• Drive data quality across metadata, ontologies, lineage, and validation.
• Champion FAIR and AI-ready data principles for analytics and AI/ML.
• Enable data self-service with practical policies and access models.
• Partner with R&D, IT, Data & AI, and Engineering to implement capabilities.
• Influence stakeholders and drive adoption through training and communication.

Skills

R&D Data Governance

Data Strategy

Stakeholder management

Executive presence

AI/ML readiness

Data quality

Tools

Data catalogs

Data lakes

Access-control solutions

Job description

Our client, a mid-size Pharma manufacturer, seeks a Director of R&D Data Governance to build and lead a new enterprise data governance function. You will define how R&D data is governed, connected, and accessed to accelerate scientific innovation.

You will own the strategy across Discovery to Clinical data, establish standards, and drive adoption among scientists, IT, and data engineers. This leadership role offers visibility and impact in a growing data organization.