Science Strategy Leader

Tempus; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 178,000 - 264,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Incentive compensation

Restricted stock units

Medical benefits

Job summary

Tempus AI is seeking a visionary Science Strategy Leader to spearhead scientific strategy and executive engagement with our Pharma and Biotech partners. This Sr.

Director role bridges science, portfolio strategy, and cross-functional execution to accelerate innovations in clinical development and scale initiatives across accounts. You will lead joint steering committees, translate complex data insights into strategic plans, and partner with RWD, Translational Research, and Pharma R&D teams

Qualifications

• 10+ years in pharma/biotech with demonstrated experience in research, clinical development, and commercial strategy.
• Proven cross-functional leadership in a matrix environment, ideally with global and multi-asset portfolio oversight.
• Demonstrated expertise in data-driven clinical innovation and multimodal data integration.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Partner Engagement: Serve as the executive scientific lead for strategic Pharma/Biotech partnerships, shaping account-level and portfolio-wide strategies.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Create structured pathways for knowledge sharing across teams to ensure strategic continuity from pre- to post-contract.
• Innovation in Clinical Development: Partner with R&D to ensure translational science insights inform clinical programs and use cases for multimodal data in trial design.

Skills

Executive leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Scientific strategy

Communication & negotiation

Stakeholder management

Education

PhD/MD/PharmD or equivalent

Job description

Passionate about precision medicine and advancing the healthcare industry? Recent advancements in underlying technology have finally made it possible for AI to impact clinical care in a meaningful way. Tempus' proprietary platform connects an entire ecosystem of real-world evidence to deliver real-time, actionable insights to physicians, providing critical information about the right treatments for the right patients, at the right time. We are seeking a visionary Science Strategy Leader to spearhead scientific strategy and executive engagement with our key Pharma and Biotech partners. This senior role bridges cutting-edge science, portfolio strategy, and cross-functional execution—ensuring that our collaborations continuously deliver differentiated value, drive innovation in clinical development, and scale across our portfolio. Reporting to the Head of Life Science, Tim Hagerty, the Strategic Strategy Leader will partner closely with Pharma and Biotech companies and with internal stakeholders Account Vice Presidents, Key Account Directors (KADs), Translational Research, Pharma R&D, Real-World Data (RWD) teams, and Scientists on Site (SOS) to align strategic objectives, scientific insights, and operational execution across accounts. This is a Sr. Director role for an accomplished industry leader with deep expertise across the research, clinical development, and commercial spectrum, coupled with experience in leveraging multimodal data to transform drug development.

What You’ll Do:

• Strategic Leadership & Partner Engagement: Serve as the executive scientific lead for strategic Pharma/Biotech partnerships, shaping account-level and portfolio-wide strategies in alignment with corporate priorities. Lead Joint Steering Committees (JSCs), ensuring data-driven decision-making and alignment between partner needs and our capabilities. Champion the integration of novel scientific insights—including real-world, clinical, genomic, and multimodal data—into ongoing collaborations to accelerate innovation. Lead development and positioning of emerging offerings (e.g., LOOP)
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Create structured pathways for knowledge sharing between Account VPs, KADs, Translational Research, Pharma R&D, RWD, and SOS teams to ensure strategic continuity from pre- to post-contract. Guide teams in identifying strategic opportunities, anticipating partner needs, and translating scientific advances into new collaborations with our partner biotechs/pharma companies. Strengthen and scale programs like ‘Sparks’, enabling KADs/SSLs to communicate high-impact scientific narratives tailored to partner priorities.
• Innovation in Clinical Development: Partner with R&D leaders to ensure that insights from translational science inform ongoing and future clinical programs. Promote best practices in leveraging real-world and multimodal evidence to enhance development timelines and success rates. Develop and champion new data-driven use cases for multimodal data integration into trial design, patient stratification, and regulatory engagement.
• Scientific Growth & Value Creation: Identify expansion opportunities within accounts by linking emerging science to unmet partner needs. Ensure strategic alignment across multiple accounts to leverage cross-account insights for scalable growth. Drive measurable improvement in partner satisfaction, time to value realization, and account renewal/expansion rates.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years in pharma/biotech with demonstrated experience in research, clinical development, and commercial strategy.
• Proven cross-functional leadership in a matrix environment, ideally with global and multi-asset portfolio oversight.
• Demonstrated expertise in data-driven clinical innovation, including familiarity with core scientific modalities (e.g., genomics, proteomics, digital pathology, imaging) and their integration into multimodal strategies.
• Track record of success in executive partner engagement, including governance structures (e.g., JSCs) and joint portfolio planning.
• Ability to translate complex scientific and data insights into actionable strategies for diverse stakeholders, including C-suite and external partners.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and influencing skills, with experience managing high-value, high-impact relationships.
• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, PharmD, or equivalent) required; MBA or business leadership training a plus.

Key Success Metrics:

• Speed to value realization post-contract signing.
• Account expansion and renewals attributable to strategic oversight.
• Cross-account adoption of shared scientific insights and use cases.
• Partner satisfaction and engagement scores.
• Tangible impact on partner clinical development innovation.

Why Join Us:

At Tempus AI, we believe the future of drug development lies at the intersection of science, data, and strategic partnership. In this role, you will shape how breakthrough science translates into patient impact—working alongside some of the brightest minds in precision medicine, data science, and biopharma. $178,000 - $264,000 The expected salary range may vary for other locations. Actual salary may vary based on qualifications and experience. Tempus offers a full range of benefits, which may include incentive compensation, restricted stock units, medical and other benefits depending on the position. We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Tempus was founded in August of 2015 by Eric Lefkofsky, after his wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Shortly after he founded the company in an effort to bring the power of technology and artificial intelligence to cancer care, he convinced Ryan Fukushima to join as the company’s first employee. Ryan and Eric began assembling a world class team, focused on building the first version of a platform capable of ingesting real time healthcare data in an effort to personalize diagnostics. We built the platform for oncology and have expanded it to neuropsychiatry, cardiology, infectious disease (through COVID), and radiology. Despite our rapid growth, our mission remains the same—to help make sure patients are on the right drug at the right time, so they can live longer and healthier lives. We’re looking for people who can change the world. Who question the status quo and don’t shy away from tough problems. For the builders who are never done building and the learners who are never done learning. We’re looking for passionate people with undying curiosity. Those who want to attack one of the most challenging problems mankind has ever faced. Head on.