Director, R&D AI, Insights & Analytics
Acadia Pharmaceuticals
August 18, 2026
Remote friendly (San Diego, CA)
United States
IT
Position Summary:
- Lead the strategy and execution of data, analytics, AI, and insights capabilities across the R&D organization to transform how data is leveraged throughout the drug development lifecycle.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Define and execute the R&D insights, analytics, AI, and data capability roadmap.
- Lead R&D data governance (ownership, stewardship, ontology, metadata, lineage, business glossary, data quality, FAIR, semantic consistency).
- Establish consistent definitions, metrics, semantic standards, and data quality expectations.
- Partner with Enterprise IT/data engineering on modern R&D data platforms (data lake, lakehouse, cloud).
- Provide expertise for architecture/platform/technology/vendor evaluations (scalability, security, interoperability).
- Build and operationalize clinical development benchmarking (study start-up, enrollment, site performance, cycle times, data quality).
- Develop dashboards, predictive analytics, and decision-support for enrollment, site selection, trial execution, and portfolio oversight.
- Identify and implement AI/ML/predictive analytics/intelligent automation opportunities to accelerate trials.
- Translate R&D use cases into scalable products with Enterprise AI/IT.
- Lead assessments, process/capability mapping, gap analysis, and future-state roadmaps.
- Collaborate across R&D functions to identify high-value data/analytics opportunities.
- Manage vendors/partners for analytics and transformation initiatives.
- Present strategies and progress to senior leadership.
Qualifications/Skills:
- Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, CS, Engineering, Life Sciences, or related (advanced degree preferred). 10+ years in R&D analytics/data strategy/clinical development analytics/AI or digital transformation.
- Pharmaceutical/biotech/life sciences experience; strong drug development lifecycle knowledge.
- Data governance leadership; experience with data lake/lakehouse/cloud strategies.
- Working knowledge: Databricks, Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, AWS, Azure; semantic layer and metadata/catalog tools.
- Experience with clinical performance metrics/benchmarking and dashboards.
- AI/ML and predictive analytics; process mapping/capability assessments/gap analyses.
- Regulated R&D and clinical data standards: GxP, CDISC, SDTM, ADaM, FHIR.
- Ability/willingness to travel domestically/internationally.
Benefits (US-based Employees):
- Competitive base, bonus, equity; medical/dental/vision; employer-paid life/disability/business travel/EAP; 401(k) match 1:1 up to 5%; ESPP (2-year lock-in); 15+ vacation days; 13–15 paid holidays; 10 days paid sick time; paid parental leave; tuition assistance.
- Lead the strategy and execution of data, analytics, AI, and insights capabilities across the R&D organization to transform how data is leveraged throughout the drug development lifecycle.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Define and execute the R&D insights, analytics, AI, and data capability roadmap.
- Lead R&D data governance (ownership, stewardship, ontology, metadata, lineage, business glossary, data quality, FAIR, semantic consistency).
- Establish consistent definitions, metrics, semantic standards, and data quality expectations.
- Partner with Enterprise IT/data engineering on modern R&D data platforms (data lake, lakehouse, cloud).
- Provide expertise for architecture/platform/technology/vendor evaluations (scalability, security, interoperability).
- Build and operationalize clinical development benchmarking (study start-up, enrollment, site performance, cycle times, data quality).
- Develop dashboards, predictive analytics, and decision-support for enrollment, site selection, trial execution, and portfolio oversight.
- Identify and implement AI/ML/predictive analytics/intelligent automation opportunities to accelerate trials.
- Translate R&D use cases into scalable products with Enterprise AI/IT.
- Lead assessments, process/capability mapping, gap analysis, and future-state roadmaps.
- Collaborate across R&D functions to identify high-value data/analytics opportunities.
- Manage vendors/partners for analytics and transformation initiatives.
- Present strategies and progress to senior leadership.
Qualifications/Skills:
- Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, CS, Engineering, Life Sciences, or related (advanced degree preferred). 10+ years in R&D analytics/data strategy/clinical development analytics/AI or digital transformation.
- Pharmaceutical/biotech/life sciences experience; strong drug development lifecycle knowledge.
- Data governance leadership; experience with data lake/lakehouse/cloud strategies.
- Working knowledge: Databricks, Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, AWS, Azure; semantic layer and metadata/catalog tools.
- Experience with clinical performance metrics/benchmarking and dashboards.
- AI/ML and predictive analytics; process mapping/capability assessments/gap analyses.
- Regulated R&D and clinical data standards: GxP, CDISC, SDTM, ADaM, FHIR.
- Ability/willingness to travel domestically/internationally.
Benefits (US-based Employees):
- Competitive base, bonus, equity; medical/dental/vision; employer-paid life/disability/business travel/EAP; 401(k) match 1:1 up to 5%; ESPP (2-year lock-in); 15+ vacation days; 13–15 paid holidays; 10 days paid sick time; paid parental leave; tuition assistance.