Director of R&D, Artificial Intelligence

Work Schedule

Environmental Conditions

Job Description

About Thermo Fisher Scientific:
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science with annual revenue of approximately $50 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research solving complex analytical challenges increasing productivity in their laboratories improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of lifechanging therapies we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands including Thermo Scientific Applied Biosystems Invitrogen Fisher Scientific Unity Lab Services Patheon and PPD.

How will you make an impact

We are seeking a strategic influential technically fluent and hands-on Director R&D AI Strategy and Transformation within the Chief Scientific Office (CSO) to shape how artificial intelligence is adopted across Thermo Fisher Scientifics R&D organization.

The Director will help to develop the R&D AI roadmap define the strategy for an AI-accessible knowledge layer establish practical governance and align leaders across a complex global matrix. The role will partner with scientific product business data technology legal cybersecurity and other stakeholders to identify where AI can improve scientific work knowledge access portfolio decisions and product development.

The role will also personally lead the design and prototyping of agentic AI solutions for the CSO office. The Director may develop prototypes directly or lead architecture workflow design orchestration and evaluation in partnership with engineering teams.

What will you do

AI strategy and transformation

• Shape and advance the enterprise R&D AI roadmap aligning priorities with scientific product portfolio and business objectives.

• Establish a consistent approach for identifying evaluating and prioritizing AI opportunities across R&D and adjacent functions.

• Translate scientific and organizational needs into strategic initiatives capability requirements implementation pathways and adoption objectives.

• Define a federated operating model that clarifies roles decision rights reusable capabilities and collaboration across businesses and functions.

• Lead enterprise initiatives through influence building alignment and commitment across a complex matrix.

• Partner with R&D Digital IT Data Science Legal and other teams as needed to drive AI adoption.

Knowledge layer and agentic AI

• Define the roadmap for an R&D knowledge layer that enables trusted AI access to disparate internal and external information.

• Establish principles for provenance permissions intellectual property data quality semantic consistency traceability and responsible access.

• Partner with scientific data technology and governance teams to determine how knowledge can be accessed and used responsibly by AI systems.

• Personally lead the design prototyping and evaluation of agentic AI solutions for the CSO office.

• Lead agent architecture workflows tool orchestration and evaluation through direct development or in partnership with engineers.

• Identify opportunities to extend successful CSO office prototypes across broader R&D portfolio and product-development workflows

Governance and organizational adoption

• Establish an R&D AI governance framework covering prioritization data and knowledge access evaluation human oversight security privacy intellectual property responsible AI and lifecycle management.

• Define the workflow capability and operating-model changes required to embed AI into R&D.

• Establish measures of adoption trust reuse maturity and sustained use.

• Ensure AI initiatives comply with regulatory privacy security and ethical standards.

Technology partnerships and influence

• Evaluate AI platforms foundation models scientific information services data providers technology vendors and external collaborators.

• Advise leaders on build-buy-partner decisions and lead selected pilots and technical evaluations.

• Cultivate working contacts and relationships with software development and engineering teams across R&D to stay abreast of current digital investments

• Translate emerging AI developments into clear strategic implications and recommendations for senior functional leaders.

• Communicate complex scientific and technical concepts clearly to executive scientific product and technology audiences.

• Help define the future talent model and organizational capability required to scale AI across R&D.

• Build relationships with technology vendors academic institutions and strategic partners.

• Represent the organization at industry conferences and AI forums.

• Conduct competitive assessments of AI capabilities within the life sciences industry.

What will success look like

During the first 1218 months success will include:

• An aligned enterprise R&D AI roadmap and operating model.

• An actionable knowledge-layer roadmap spanning internal and external information.

• Valuable agentic AI prototypes for the CSO office.

• An adopted governance framework and measurable progress in stakeholder engagement trust and sustained AI use.

How will you get here

Education

• Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in a scientific engineering computational informatics or related discipline relevant to life-sciences R&D.

• The successful candidate will combine scientific depth with demonstrated leadership in AI strategy transformation and organizational adoption.

Experience

• 10 years of relevant experience in AI strategy technology transformation scientific informatics R&D strategy or related roles.

• Substantial experience shaping enterprise AI strategy transformation or capability-building initiatives in complex organizations.

• Experience in life sciences or scientific and product domains relevant to Thermo Fisher Scientifics products customers or R&D workflows is strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated success influencing senior functional leaders and leading cross-functional initiatives in a matrix without direct authority.

• Proven ability to translate scientific and organizational needs into roadmaps operating models governance partnerships and practical AI solutions.

• Strong technical fluency in generative AI foundation models agentic systems enterprise data and knowledge environments and cloud technology ecosystems.

• Experience evaluating technology platforms vendors external data sources and strategic partnerships.

• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to convert complex AI concepts into clear strategic choices and recommendations.

• Ability to balance long-term strategy with hands-on prototyping and near-term delivery.

• Ability to travel up to 20%.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with knowledge graphs ontologies semantic data models enterprise search retrieval-augmented generation or related knowledge technologies.

• Experience designing or prototyping agentic AI systems directly or through hands-on technical leadership.

• Experience evaluating AI platforms scientific data providers vendors and external partnerships.

• Experience establishing federated operating models or governance frameworks for enterprise AI adoption.

We Offer:
Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package
Career development opportunities within a global organization
Collaborative and innovative work environment
Opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge scientific advances that impact human health
Flexible work arrangements

Thermo Fisher Scientific is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability or protected veteran status.

Compensation and Benefits

This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company team and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on which includes:

• A choice of national medical and dental plans and a national vision plan including health incentive programs

• Employee assistance and family support programs including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement

• At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO) 10 paid holidays annually paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave) accident and life insurance and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy

• Retirement and savings programs such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan

• Employees Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount

For more information on our benefits please visit: Experience:

Director