Senior Staff IT Product Lead - (Medical Affairs / Commercial)

Role Summary

The Senior Staff IT Product Lead - Digital Applications will lead a portfolio of digital products critical to Exelixis's success, driving strategy, development, and operational excellence of Medical Affairs Technology capabilities. This role focuses on aligning with business objectives, user experience, and value delivery, and leads agile product teams to deliver digital solutions that accelerate drug discovery, development, and commercialization.

Responsibilities

• Own two or more digital products with a clear vision and strategy within the Digital Applications family enabling Medical Affairs (MSL Field Reporting and Analytics, Medical Insights Management, Medical Communication & Publication, Grants Management, and Medical Information).
• Gather user needs with business owners and stakeholders to drive product requirements and user stories.
• Support market research and technology reviews to inform product planning and identify improvements.
• Evaluate product initiatives for business value, technical feasibility, and compliance considerations.
• Own architecture and design of one or two products, ensuring alignment with enterprise design and security standards.
• Lead product development across the lifecycle from concept to launch and post-launch support using Agile practices.
• Draft user stories and acceptance criteria across multiple products.
• Collaborate with engineering, architecture, and QA to deliver secure, scalable, high-quality applications.
• Coordinate with vendors and service providers to support delivery timelines and operations.
• Improve user experience by incorporating usability testing and end-user research feedback.
• Translate technical concepts into business-friendly language for IT and business stakeholders.
• Build relationships with stakeholders to align on goals and deliverables across functional areas.
• Participate in team meetings and cross-functional discussions to stay aligned on priorities and progress.
• Plan sessions and contribute input on product decisions for multiple digital products.
• Maintain stability, performance, and security of digital applications in collaboration with IT operations and infrastructure teams.
• Manage vendor interactions and third-party software solutions.
• Support compliance with regulatory and internal standards (e.g., GxP, HIPAA, GDPR).
• Contribute to quality assurance to meet product deliverables across multiple products.
• Implement and maintain robust data management and AI practices to protect information and ensure accuracy.
• Monitor product performance metrics and KPIs to drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related discipline with 9 years of related experience; or Master’s degree in mathematics, statistics, or engineering with 7 years of related experience; or PhD with 5 years of related experience; or equivalent combination.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience supporting Enterprise IT enabling business functions.
• Minimum of 7+ years of progressive IT experience focused on digital applications or product management in life sciences/pharma.
• Proven experience leading product development teams in an agile/product-centric model.
• Strong understanding of Medical Affairs or commercialization lifecycle in pharma/biotech.
• Track record delivering complex digital products that drive business value.
• Experience with relevant technologies or platforms (e.g., SaaS like Veeva/Salesforce, cloud solutions like AWS, CRM systems, medical insights and field reporting used in pharma).
• Experience shaping end-to-end field experience with simple solutions to complex problems.
• Experience implementing or upgrading to modern technology platforms with AI integration.

Knowledge / Skills

• Exceptional leadership and team-building skills.
• Strategic thinking and data-driven decision-making.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Deep understanding of product management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Kanban) and product lifecycle management.
• Technical acumen to understand complex IT architectures and development processes.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. Occasional travel may be required.

Education

• See Qualifications above.

Additional Requirements

• Occasional travel (5–10%) to other company sites, conferences, or vendor locations.
• On-call availability for critical escalations.