Location

Cambridge, MA
United States

Head of IT

COMPANY OVERVIEW

AIRNA is a biotechnology company with a mission to be the leading RNA editing company delivering precision therapies to patients with rare and common diseases.

AIRNA is harnessing advances in genetics to develop transformative RNA-editing medicines that improve human health. Our proprietary platform is based on groundbreaking research by pioneers of the field and company co-founders Thorsten Stafforst (University of Tübingen) and Jin Billy Li (Stanford University) and enables optimal potency, safety, and delivery. AIRNA is advancing a robust pipeline of therapeutic candidates that are designed to provide functional cures for severe or chronic diseases by repairing harmful genetic variants or introducing beneficial variants promote optimal health.

AIRNA has raised $245 million in financing from a world-class syndicate of investors including Arch Venture Partners, Forbion, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, RTW Investments, Nextech Invest, and ND Capital. We value teamwork, resilience, excellence, human, and health, and have a diverse team at both our headquarters in Cambridge, MA and our research operations in Tübingen, Germany.

JOB OVERVIEW

The Head of IT will serve as the overall IT Leader for AIRNA, responsible for IT strategy, vision, reference architecture, governance, technology due diligence and selection, project delivery and management.

Initially reporting into the VP of Finance & Operations, this role will be responsible for leading the evolution of company’s infrastructure from research to clinical development to commercialization across the two sites, i.e. Tubingen (GER) and Cambridge (US).

The successful candidate will have diversified background in a wide variety of information systems and practices such as network infrastructure, data governance, cloud architecture design and systems implementation, scientific data acquisition and automation, information security, and GxP systems.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Responsible for day-to-day operations of global cloud, network, storage, security, and telecommunications infrastructure.
  • Own the development of the company’s target state digital architectures and IT roadmap, working closely with the business and solution delivery teams (internal and external) to align and integrate their respective strategies.
  • Develop infrastructure to support computational sciences including AI and machine learning.
  • Define and implement a company- wide cybersecurity program that safeguards company information, while not diminishing organizational agility. Identify threats and vulnerabilities, implement preventive measures, and identify, report, and control incidents.
  • Implement and maintain IT policies, procedures and associated plans based on industry-standard best practices and SOX and health agency, (e.g. FDA) regulations and validated systems.
  • Be conversant with GDPR regulations and requirements and ensure that AIRNA meets those requirements.
  • Manage the integration of GxP compliant IT systems within the company’s research, manufacturing and clinical activities. Establish enterprise data architecture strategy and manage enterprise-wide storage, backup, integration, and accessibility of data, including disaster recovery and business continuity plans.
  • Establish enterprise data governance strategy and policies in conjunction with various functional teams.
  • Engage the business and process owners and lead the collaborative planning effort to leverage emerging technologies for addressing strategic enterprise goals.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or management.
  • Minimum of 10 years in IT and 7 years in a leadership capacity preferably in biotechnology pharma.
  • Experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology in both a public and private company setting.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills with the proven ability to present and translate technical material to non-technical audience and to executive leadership.
  • Experience in scaling an organization from small to mid-size.
  • The ability to maintain a deep understanding of key technology changes in industry as it applies to the cloud and biopharmaceuticals.
  • Ability to manage all aspects of vendor relationships, including managed service providers.
  • Experience in working internationally and ability to develop and maintain a comprehensive IT framework for the company while taking into consideration local requirements and laws.
  • Demonstrated project management and leadership experience.
  • Demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate with scientific/business/functional leaders.

LOCATION:

AIRNA has a hybrid work model, and the role will be based in AIRNA’s corporate headquarters in Cambridge, MA ~3 days per week.  

To apply for for this position, please send your cover letter and CV to careers@airna.com.

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