Director, Lead IT Product Manager, Trial Operations
Bristol Myers Squibb
Summary
The Director, Lead IT Product Manager, Trial Operations owns the IT product portfolio spanning the trial lifecycle end-to-end — from study-start-up through trial close-out — including but not limited to the Veeva clinical stack (SSU, CTMS, eTMF) serving BMS, sites, and CROs globally. This is an AI-forward leadership role: the Director is expected to challenge conventional approaches and pursue unconventional, high-impact IT solutions that eliminate manual work and modernize how trial technology operates, while navigating the validation and compliance realities of a GxP-regulated environment.
Job description
Working in close partnership with Global Development Operations stakeholders and related adjacencies, the Director sets IT product strategy, roadmaps, and release plans. They lead a team of product managers, business analysts, and product team professionals — creating a culture where experimentation is safe, coaching is routine, and people excel and grow. They maintain a strong external perspective, engaging with vendors, industry peers, and emerging technology leaders to continuously elevate BMS's position at the forefront of clinical trial operations innovation.
Objectives
- Set and drive an AI-first vision for the trial operations technology portfolio, identifying and scaling IT solutions that eliminate manual work across the start-up-to-close-out lifecycle.
- Serve as primary strategist and Lead Product Manager, setting IT investment direction and priorities across BMS, sites, and CROs.
- Coach, develop, and inspire 6 direct reports and 10-15 matrixed/indirect contributors — with real accountability for career growth, succession, and a culture that rewards creative risk-taking.
- Drive disciplined execution — on time, in budget, fully compliant, and aligned to global stakeholder needs.
- Hold multimillion-dollar accountability across combined IT investment and run spend.
- Serve as a member of the GDO BI&T Leadership Team, reporting to the Executive Director, GDO BI&T.
- Translate trial management domain knowledge into IT investment priorities the team can execute.
- Maintain external perspective: Stay ahead of the field by engaging vendors, industry peers, and emerging technology leaders — bringing outside thinking into how BMS approaches trial technology.
Skills/Experience
- Industry Experience: 12+ years in pharma or biopharma, with meaningful exposure across R&D, drug development, and clinical operations.
- AI & Innovation Leadership: Track record deploying AI, ML, or Agentic automation as IT investments in an enterprise or clinical setting, with real, quantifiable impact.
- Creative Problem-Solving: Comfort operating in ambiguity, with a record of unconventional solutions to entrenched process bottlenecks.
- Trial Lifecycle & GxP Fluency: Working knowledge of the trial lifecycle from start-up through close-out (sponsors, sites, CROs, vendors) and how CSV/CSA and Part 11 shape AI/automation deployment in a regulated environment.
- Strategic IT Product Management: 10+ years in biopharma or life sciences, building IT strategies, product roadmaps, and Agile delivery models tied to measurable technology investment outcomes.
- Outcome Definition & Quantification: Skilled at defining success metrics up front and quantifying the business outcomes of IT investments — translating technical delivery into measurable value (cycle time, cost, quality, throughput) for clinical operations stakeholders.
- Talent Development & Culture: Proven ability to coach, mentor, and build high-performing teams — including a culture where people can experiment and fail productively.
- Change Leadership & Stakeholder Influence: Skilled at driving IT adoption across matrixed, compliance-sensitive stakeholder groups without relying on direct authority.
Requirements
- 12+ years in pharma or biopharma, with meaningful exposure across R&D, drug development, and clinical operations.
- Track record deploying AI, ML, or Agentic automation as IT investments in an enterprise or clinical setting, with real, quantifiable impact.
- Comfort operating in ambiguity, with a record of unconventional solutions to entrenched process bottlenecks.
- Working knowledge of the trial lifecycle from start-up through close-out (sponsors, sites, CROs, vendors) and how CSV/CSA and Part 11 shape AI/automation deployment in a regulated environment.
- 10+ years in biopharma or life sciences, building IT strategies, product roadmaps, and Agile delivery models tied to measurable technology investment outcomes.
- Skilled at defining success metrics up front and quantifying the business outcomes of IT investments — translating technical delivery into measurable value (cycle time, cost, quality, throughput) for clinical operations stakeholders.
- Proven ability to coach, mentor, and build high-performing teams — including a culture where people can experiment and fail productively.
- Skilled at driving IT adoption across matrixed, compliance-sensitive stakeholder groups without relying on direct authority.
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- Life & Disability Insurance
- Retirement Benefits
- Financial Protection Benefits
- Wellbeing Support
- Flexible Time Off
- 11 Paid Company Holidays
- Paid Sick Leave
- Volunteer Days
- Summer Hours Flexibility
- Global Shutdown
Company overview
Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. Founded in 1887 and headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, the company operates with a unique BioPharma strategy that combines the reach and resources of a major pharmaceutical company with the entrepreneurial spirit and agility of a biotech firm. BMS focuses on transformative therapies in key therapeutic areas including oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, and fibrosis. The company has built a sustainable pipeline of potential therapies and leverages translational medicine and data analytics to deliver the right medicine to the right patient at the right time. With over 10,000 employees worldwide, Bristol Myers Squibb maintains a strong commitment to scientific excellence, patient-centric innovation, and global health equity through its foundation. The company's portfolio includes groundbreaking treatments such as Opdivo (nivolumab) for cancer, Eliquis (apixaban) for cardiovascular conditions, and Orencia (abatacept) for autoimmune diseases, among others.