Director of External Research & Development
Amgen
June 30, 2026
Remote friendly (Thousand Oaks, CA)
United States
Clinical Research and Development
Director of External Research & Development
What You Will Do
- Lead a team responsible for identifying and evaluating innovative external rare disease therapeutics for potential in-licensing, M&A, or collaboration.
- Develop and maintain a network of key industry and academic contacts to enable robust information flow between the external rare disease ecosystem and internal Amgen groups.
- Proactively source opportunities via networking, conference coverage, company engagement, academic outreach, and systematic reviews of the external landscape.
- Assess and prioritize opportunities based on rare disease strategy, scientific rationale, medical need, competitive differentiation, development feasibility, and strategic fit.
- Lead technical evaluations using cross-functional review teams and provide clear recommendations grounded in scientific, clinical, development, and strategic judgment (including patient identification, endpoints, and feasibility).
- Ensure efficient reviews; support business negotiations and contractual execution; lead strategic discussions with senior management and internal stakeholders to define priorities for licensure, collaboration, M&A, or out-licensing.
Basic Qualifications
- Doctorate degree and 4+ years of drug development industry and/or biopharma business development
- OR Master’s degree and 7+ years
- OR Bachelor’s degree and 9+ years
Preferred Qualifications
- Doctorate in a scientific discipline; strong rare disease biology and drug development knowledge (immunology, ophthalmology, nephrology, neurology, hematology, metabolic/genetic diseases strongly preferred)
- 4+ years management/leadership; technical R&D plus business development, licensing, collaboration, or M&A evaluation experience
- Strong leadership, scientific, organizational, communication, and project management skills; ability to manage multiple projects
- Excellent presentation and decision-making; build relationships; work independently; manage large cross-functional teams and mentor
Application Instructions
- Apply via careers.amgen.com; no application deadline—applications accepted until sufficient or selection.
What You Will Do
- Lead a team responsible for identifying and evaluating innovative external rare disease therapeutics for potential in-licensing, M&A, or collaboration.
- Develop and maintain a network of key industry and academic contacts to enable robust information flow between the external rare disease ecosystem and internal Amgen groups.
- Proactively source opportunities via networking, conference coverage, company engagement, academic outreach, and systematic reviews of the external landscape.
- Assess and prioritize opportunities based on rare disease strategy, scientific rationale, medical need, competitive differentiation, development feasibility, and strategic fit.
- Lead technical evaluations using cross-functional review teams and provide clear recommendations grounded in scientific, clinical, development, and strategic judgment (including patient identification, endpoints, and feasibility).
- Ensure efficient reviews; support business negotiations and contractual execution; lead strategic discussions with senior management and internal stakeholders to define priorities for licensure, collaboration, M&A, or out-licensing.
Basic Qualifications
- Doctorate degree and 4+ years of drug development industry and/or biopharma business development
- OR Master’s degree and 7+ years
- OR Bachelor’s degree and 9+ years
Preferred Qualifications
- Doctorate in a scientific discipline; strong rare disease biology and drug development knowledge (immunology, ophthalmology, nephrology, neurology, hematology, metabolic/genetic diseases strongly preferred)
- 4+ years management/leadership; technical R&D plus business development, licensing, collaboration, or M&A evaluation experience
- Strong leadership, scientific, organizational, communication, and project management skills; ability to manage multiple projects
- Excellent presentation and decision-making; build relationships; work independently; manage large cross-functional teams and mentor
Application Instructions
- Apply via careers.amgen.com; no application deadline—applications accepted until sufficient or selection.