Senior Director, Head of Automation & Innovation

Beijing Discovery Center, a Lab of the Future, is AstraZeneca’s build of a maximally automated, end-to-end wet lab in Beijing, run as one lab-in-a-loop with the Beijing AI Center’s dry-lab capabilities. The build pairs AI-driven design with physical automation to accelerate candidate drug (CD) delivery across multi-specific antibodies, peptides, and oligonucleotide-based therapeutics (e.g., siRNA), from hit identification through lead optimization — positioning AZ China R&D as an automation innovation hub, collaborating with the fastest-moving automation partners in China.

This role is the technical backbone of the Beijing Discovery Center’s automation strategy. You are the deep subject-matter expert on lab automation technology — bringing thought leadership on where new and emerging automation and robotics solutions can solve the build’s toughest scientific and operational pain points, and translating that expertise into an executable automation architecture and roadmap.

You will own the “what technology, and why,” set the automation architecture, and personally lead its hands-on execution — strategizing and executing, not one or the other — partnering closely with scientific, AI, IT, and other functional teams so technical decisions and program delivery move in lockstep.

You will lead by doing — engaging directly with equipment specifications, integration architecture, and vendor technical evaluations, not just setting direction from a distance. You will be most visible when the build faces a genuinely hard automation technology choice (build vs. buy, which integration architecture, which vendor’s robotics platform) and will personally drive that choice to a well-reasoned resolution. As the build matures beyond blueprint, you will represent AstraZeneca externally as a technical authority in automation, and identify the ecosystem partnerships that keep the center at the frontier of the field.

Automation Technology Strategy & Innovation

• Define the automation architecture and multi-year technology roadmap for the Beijing wet lab, spanning physical automation across multi-specific antibody, peptide, and oligonucleotide (e.g., siRNA) workflows from hit identification through lead optimization

• Scan and evaluate emerging automation, robotics, and lab-orchestration technologies — in China and globally — bringing thought leadership on where new and emerging solutions can solve the build’s existing and anticipated pain points

• Set technical standards and integration specifications so that physical automation, data automation, and engineering & facilities workstreams connect into a single coherent lab-in-a-loop system

• Represent AstraZeneca externally as a technical authority in automation, including at invited conferences and in technical partner discussions

Hands-On Technical Delivery & Execution

• Lead the technical design and specification of automated workflows from concept to blueprint to delivery, translating scientific requirements into vendor RFPs and equipment selection criteria

• Own the technical evaluation of automation vendors and integrators — assessing platform capability, scalability, and fit against the build’s modality roadmap

• Partner with the data automation (IT-led) and engineering & facilities workstreams to ensure the physical automation design integrates cleanly with data architecture and facility/shell requirements

• Build and lead the automation technical team as it scales, recruiting and developing specialist automation talent

• Troubleshoot technical and scientific bottlenecks in automation workflow design in real time, personally resolving issues rather than escalating by default

Ecosystem & Innovation Partnerships

• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships with leading academic institutions and automation/robotics innovators in China’s fast-moving ecosystem, in collaboration with China BD and Alliance Management

• Provide technical input and evaluation criteria for the external vendors supporting the initial build and following iterations

Leadership Communication

• Translate complex automation technology strategy and trade-offs into clear, senior-stakeholder-ready recommendations for governance forums and sponsors

• Partner with the scientific, AI, and data teams on integrated briefing materials — this role owns the technical narrative and recommendation from a physical automation perspective

• Prepare the business lead and sponsors for key technology decisions ahead of governance reviews, framing trigger-based milestones and their technical implications clearly

Experience

• PhD in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline or equivalent experience

• Strong track record implementing automation/robotics in drug discovery, supported by publications

• Demonstrable experience applying automation to biologics, peptide, and/or oligonucleotide discovery workflows

• Proven ability to both set automation technology strategy and personally lead its hands-on execution

• Track record leading technical/scientific teams across disciplines, ideally across geographies and cultures

• Experience initiating and delivering value from external technology partnerships and collaborations

Skills

• Deep technical fluency in lab automation technologies: robotics, liquid handling, high-throughput and in-silico methods, lab orchestration software, and dry-wet lab integration (“lab-in-a-loop”)

• Strategic thinking: able to define a multi-year technology roadmap and translate it into an executable, phased build plan

• Rigorous vendor and technology evaluation: able to assess platform capability and technical fit, not just commercial terms

• External thought leadership: confident representing AstraZeneca at conferences and in technical partner discussions

• Excellent communication: able to translate deep technical detail into clear recommendations for senior, non-technical stakeholders

China-Specific

• Ability to work in Beijing full-time (on-site)

• Mandarin fluency preferred; English business fluency required

• Familiarity with the Beijing/China automation, robotics, or biotech innovation ecosystem is an advantage

Mindset

• Comfortable with ambiguity: the build’s scope, timeline, and governance model are still being finalized

• Hands-on by nature: willing to be in the technical weeds — equipment specs, integration architecture — alongside high-visibility strategic work

• Genuinely curious about emerging automation technology and its application to drug discovery

• Discretion and judgment: visibility into sensitive vendor negotiations, technology trade-offs, and leadership dynamics across the build

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with peptide and/or oligonucleotide (e.g., siRNA) discovery workflow automation specifically

• Experience in a “lab of the future” or greenfield automated discovery lab build

• Experience leading change management initiatives and engaging organizations in new ways of working

• Confidence in representing AstraZeneca externally as an invited speaker at leading automation/robotics conferences

Date Posted

Closing Date

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.