Senior Principal Product Leader

Genentech; South San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 316,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Genentech benefits program

Job summary

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, seeks a Senior Principal Product Leader for AI and Lab Automation to shape the digital infrastructure of research labs worldwide. You will own the AI‑orchestrated workflow strategy and drive automation initiatives across gRED and pRED research divisions.

You will lead multidisciplinary teams, define OKRs, and advance autonomous lab capabilities while balancing safety and oversight. California‑based, hybrid work arrangement with on‑campus collaboration.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience leading complex scientific platforms.
• Proven ability to deploy and scale AI/ML‑driven products in lab environments.
• Deep domain knowledge of wet lab workflows, instrument robotics, and data architectures.

Responsibilities

• Own the multi-year product vision, strategy, and roadmap for AI‑orchestrated lab workflows globally.
• Identify high‑value opportunities to improve experiment planning, throughput, and data quality with automation.
• Partner with scientists to map workflows and remove bottlenecks through automation and AI.
• Guide capabilities from prototype to production in autonomous lab scenarios.
• Lead cross‑functional teams including software, AI, data, UX, operations, and external vendors.

Skills

Product leadership

AI/ML product deployment

Executive communication

Laboratory automation

Scientific technology

Education

Master's or Ph.D. in Life Sciences/Bioengineering/Robotics/CS/AI/ML

Tools

Robotics systems

AI/ML platforms

Job description

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group and founder of the biotechnology industry, discovers and develops medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases. Its transformational work includes the first targeted antibody for cancer and the first medicine for primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The company invested $14.7 billion in R&D in 2023 and has more than 40 FDA-approved medicines in its portfolio.

The role

This position sits within the Data and Digital Catalysts (DDC) department of the Computational Sciences Center of Excellence (CS CoE). As Senior Principal Product Leader for AI and Lab Automation, you would drive global product strategy that connects artificial intelligence, intelligent robotics, and scientific workflows across gRED and pRED research divisions. The role is focused on shaping the digital infrastructure of research laboratories today while building toward autonomous, closed-loop labs in the future.

What you would do

• Own the multi-year product vision, strategy, and roadmap for AI-orchestrated laboratory workflows and automation globally.
• Identify high‑value opportunities where AI, intelligent automation, optimization, and agentic capabilities can improve experiment planning, laboratory execution, scientific throughput, and researcher experience.
• Partner with scientists and laboratory teams to understand existing workflows and determine where automation, AI, or workflow redesign can remove bottlenecks and improve experimental outcomes.
• Guide emerging capabilities, including experiment planning, intelligent scheduling, agentic execution, and anomaly detection, from prototype to production‑scale scientific adoption.
• Lead multidisciplinary global teams spanning product, scientific subject‑matter experts, AI/ML, software and data engineering, automation engineering, UX, laboratory operations, security, quality, and external vendors.
• Establish quantifiable OKRs and product telemetry to track improvements in experimental cycle times, scientific throughput, reproducibility, and data quality.
• Drive human‑in‑the‑loop operational frameworks and safety guardrails, balancing autonomous execution with scientific oversight and validated laboratory protocols.

What they are looking for

• 12 or more years of experience in product leadership, scientific technology, laboratory automation, or research informatics, with deep accountability for complex scientific platforms.
• Proven track record of conceptualizing, deploying, and scaling AI/ML‑driven products, optimization engines, or autonomous systems in physical or laboratory execution environments.
• Deep domain understanding of wet lab workflows, instrument robotics, integrated work cells, scheduling systems, and scientific data architectures (metadata, provenance, ontologies, and FAIR data principles).
• Proven experience leading cross‑functional matrixed initiatives and aligning multidisciplinary teams including software engineers, wet lab scientists, AI specialists, and operations staff.
• Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to translate complex AI and physical automation concepts into actionable strategy for diverse scientific and technical audiences.
• Preferred: advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Life Sciences, Bioengineering, Robotics, Computer Science, AI/ML, or an adjacent quantitative discipline.
• Preferred: hands‑on familiarity with high‑throughput laboratory automation ecosystems such as automated liquid handlers, plate readers, robotic arms, and scheduling software.
• Preferred: prior exposure to automated experimentation in high‑throughput screening, genomics, protein sciences, bioanalytics, or synthetic chemistry.

Working arrangements

This role is based in South San Francisco and follows a hybrid schedule with three days per week on campus. No relocation benefits are available for this posting.

Pay and benefits

The expected salary range for this position, based on a California primary location, is $170,200 to $316,000. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job‑related factors. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and company performance. Additional benefits are available through Genentech's standard benefits program.