Director, AI and Process Automation

Location: Barcelona - Spain (3 days working from the office and 2 days working from home)

Introduction to the role

Cell Therapy Clinical Operations (CTCO) drives the delivery of cell therapy trials across Oncology, BioPharma, and Rare Diseases, partnering across R&D, Medical, and Commercial to bring breakthrough therapies to patients faster and more equitably. 

As Director, AI and Process Automation you will accelerate trial start-up and execution, and improve quality and compliance by integrating advanced analytics, ML, and intelligent process automation with GxP-ready standards. 

The Director of AI and Process Automation works closely with R&D IT (Information Technology), Global Clinical Solutions, Business Process Management Office (BPMO), internal and external customers and stakeholders to ensure customer needs are met and to enable optimal end-to-end delivery of clinical studies. The Director of AI and Process Automation is responsible for the identification, definition and delivery of improvements in end-to-end clinical study delivery in compliance with ICH-GxP and other regulations and aligns with industry direction, standards, and best practices.  

The Director of AI and Process Automation represents the business interests in strategy discussions and works with appropriate Governance teams to secure long-term business success of their assigned solutions. Reviews and approves identified risks and mitigations, controls and prioritizes business requests, such as those for feature enhancements, ensuring prioritization so resources are spent on value-add activities. Accountable for communication to key stakeholders and the business regarding the system (major incidents, new releases, etc.). The Director of AI and Process Automation will contribute to functional, regional and or global initiatives. 

Typical Accountabilities 

• Defines vision, roadmap, prioritize effective to drive growth opportunities for AI automation (VCV Platform, AI efficiencies supporting protocol & document review, feasibility, etc) 

• Design and implement AI/ML and workflow automation for clinical ops  

• Build and lead cross functional solutions; run pilots to scaled adoption; drive vendor selection and governance; measure ROI and operational impact. 

• Research and analyses business context, users, and roadmap for assigned solutions  

• Ensure customer requirements are understood, critically evaluated, prioritised and addressed within the given area. 

• Accountable for lifecycle management of all procedural or system documents within the allocated area, and for ensuring compliance with applicable industry regulations and AstraZeneca Global and Local Policies. 

• Partner with R&D IT (Information Technology), Global Clinical Solutions, Business Process Management Office (BPMO), to govern and productize clinical operations workflows and enable real-time decisioning and predictive analytics. 

• Understands the processes, technology and services the study team relies on, their needs and pain points. Uses this knowledge to supply advice and guidance, removes barriers, supplies solutions and finds opportunities for improvement.   

• Foster an innovative culture that values experimentation and lead training for broader team on use cases and AI process automation  

• Incubate and scale pilots into production ready solutions (e.g. Gen Ai use cases, agents), drive modernization of internal workflows across CTCO functions and track performance via KPIs, adoption metrics and ROI models.

Education, Qualifications, Skills and Experience 

Essential

• Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., Biomedical Engineering, Data Science, Computer Science, Pharmacy, or related) or equivalent experience. 

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in clinical research, with at least 2 years in study management or /and digital /AI transformation within biopharma 

• Comprehensive knowledge of the clinical and pharmaceutical drug development process. 

• Excellent knowledge of ICH-GCP principles 

• Experience and strength in working and leading matrix teams 

• Track record of building product- oriented teams (product managers, data scientists, engineers) in an agile environment 

• Experience working with AI models and solutions 

• Proven ability in solution focused problem solving and issue management. 

Desirable

• Higher degree e.g. MSc, PhD 

• Experience building AI solutions 

• Experience working with Artificial Intelligence implementation 

Date Posted

12-feb-2026

Closing Date

06-mar-2026

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.