Search and Evaluation Strategy Lead

Roche; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 218,000 - 339,000; Full time

Job summary

Roche in Basel (primary location) seeks a senior leader in Business Development Search & Evaluation to identify and advance external innovation across Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, and Rare Diseases. You’ll collaborate with discovery research, clinical development, and commercial teams to assess opportunities with potential to transform patient outcomes.

You will build and sustain relationships with biotech companies, academia, and investors, lead rigorous translational assessments, and guide

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Life Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience across pharma/biotech R&D, clinical development, Search & Evaluation, licensing, or venture investment.
• Ability to evaluate early-to-clinical data, identify risks, and frame guidance under ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Drive external scouting strategies to source assets, platforms, and capabilities.
• Build relationships with biotech companies, academia, investors, and life-science hubs to capture opportunities.
• Lead translational assessments of external innovations, evaluating mechanism of action and data quality.
• Synthesize cross-functional input into clear progression recommendations.
• Partner with BD to guide opportunities through diligence and deal workflows.
• Represent Roche at global conferences, demonstrating curiosity and long-term partnership commitment.
• Maintain high-quality documentation and evolve AI-enabled search/monitoring approaches.

Skills

Scientific expertise

Clinical expertise

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional leadership

English fluency

Education

PhD/MD/PharmD or equivalent

Tools

AI-enabled analytics

Job description

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

As a senior leader in business development Search & Evaluation, you play a pivotal role in identifying, evaluating, and advancing groundbreaking external innovation across Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, and Rare Diseases. You collaborate across discovery research, clinical development, commercial, and business development to find and assess therapeutic opportunities that have the potential to transform patient outcomes.

Your opportunity

• Drive external scouting strategies to source therapeutic assets, platform technologies, and capabilities aligned with scientific priorities across Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, and Rare Diseases
• Build and sustain relationships across biotechnology companies, academic institutions, venture investors, and life-science hubs to capture high-impact opportunities early
• Lead rigorous translational assessments of external innovations, analyzing differentiation, mechanism of action, data quality, and strategic fit
• Synthesize diverse perspectives from cross-functional teams of scientific and commercial experts into clear, actionable progression recommendations
• Partner with Business Development colleagues to guide high-priority opportunities through diligence , and strategic deal workflows
• Represent the organization externally at global scientific, partnering, and medical conferences, demonstrating curiosity, respect, and long-term partnership commitment
• Maintain high-quality opportunity documentation, landscape intelligence and decision records, and help evolve AI-enabled approaches to search, monitoring and evaluation

Who You Are

• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, PharmD, or equivalent) in Life Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, or a closely related discipline
• Proven scientific or clinical expertisein Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, Rare Diseases, or adjacent therapeutic areas, with the agility to master emerging scientific spaces
• Substantial professional experience (typically 10+ years) across pharmaceutical/biotech R&D, clinical development, Search & Evaluation, licensing, or venture investment
• Demonstrated capability in evaluating early-to-clinical stage scientific data, identifying key risks, and framing recommendations under ambiguity
• Proven track record of building collaborative professional relationships across external life-science ecosystems and guiding cross-functional teams in a global matrix setting
• Professional-level English communication skills, with the ability to convey complex scientific assessments with clarity to technical and executive audiences

Where pay transparency applies, details are provided based on the primary posting location. For this role, the primary location is Basel. If you are interested in additional locations where the role may be available, we will provide the relevant compensation details later in the hiring process.

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Roche is an equal opportunity employer and strictly prohibits unlawful discrimination based upon an individual's race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, mental/physical disability, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.