Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq ARWR) is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company that develops medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, Arrowhead therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep, and durable knockdown of target genes. RNA interference, or RNAi, is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein. Arrowhead’s RNAi-based therapeutics leverage this natural pathway of gene silencing.
Arrowhead is focused on developing innovative drugs for diseases with a genetic basis, typically characterized by the overproduction of one or more proteins that are involved with disease. The depth and versatility of our RNAi technologies enables us to potentially address conditions in virtually any therapeutic area and pursue disease targets that are not otherwise addressable by small molecules and biologics. Arrowhead is leading the field in bringing the promise of RNAi to address diseases outside of the liver, and our clinical pipeline includes disease targets in the liver and lung with a promising pipeline of preclinical candidates.
Arrowhead’s corporate headquarters is in Pasadena, CA with research and development teams in Madison, WI & San Diego, CA, and a state of the art manufacturing facility in Verona, WI. Our employees are nimble, science-driven innovators who are collaborating to bring new therapies to patients in need.
The Position
The Director of IT Infrastructure is a leadership role responsible for the strategy, design, implementation, and ongoing operations of the company’s enterprise IT infrastructure. This leader will oversee a geographically distributed environment spanning on-premises and public cloud platforms (Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services). The Director will lead a team of infrastructure staff to support business needs, drive modernization initiatives, and ensure the reliability and scalability of all infrastructure services in alignment with pharmaceutical industry standards.
This role is based onsite 5 days a week from one of Arrowhead's office locations.
Responsibilities
- Define and execute a multi-year IT infrastructure roadmap aligned with corporate growth objectives and digital transformation priorities.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing infrastructure team across multiple sites.
- Partner with the IS leadership and business stakeholders to align infrastructure investments with organizational priorities and compliance requirements.
- Establish and manage infrastructure budgets, vendor contracts, and technology refresh cycles.
- Develop and communicate infrastructure KPIs, SLAs, and operational metrics to IS leadership.
- Define and execute a multi-year IT infrastructure roadmap aligned with corporate growth objectives and digital transformation priorities.
- Oversee the design, deployment, and lifecycle management of virtualization infrastructure across all company locations.
- Manage a Microsoft Active Directory environment
- Drive hybrid cloud strategy and operations across Azure and AWS, optimizing workload placement, cost, and performance.
- Ensure high availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity capabilities for all critical infrastructure components.
- Oversee network infrastructure including LAN/WAN and SD-WAN connectivity across all company sites and cloud tenants.
- Oversee server patching and configuration management standards across the enterprise.
- Lead capacity planning and performance monitoring to ensure infrastructure scalability in support of business growth.
- Ensure all infrastructure platforms and processes comply with regulatory requirements as applicable.
- Support internal and external audits by providing documentation, evidence, and technical guidance related to infrastructure controls.
- Maintain and test disaster recovery and incident response plans in partnership with IS and business teams.
- Lead infrastructure-related projects from inception through delivery, including consolidations, cloud migrations, and site expansions.
- Manage relationships with key technology vendors and MSPs, negotiating contracts and ensuring service delivery accountability.
- Evaluate and recommend emerging technologies that drive operational efficiency and cost reduction.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related field.
- 10+ years of progressive IT infrastructure experience, with at least 4 years in a senior leadership or director-level role.
- Deep hands-on expertise with virtualization platforms (VMware, Nutanix, Hyper-V).
- Demonstrated experience managing Microsoft Active Directory.
- Strong working knowledge of AWS and Azure — architecture, operations, cost management, and security.
- Experience managing multi-site enterprise IT environments in a regulated industry.
- Proven track record of building, leading, and developing high-performing infrastructure teams.
- Strong understanding of network architecture, security principles, and ITIL-based service management frameworks.
- Experience with infrastructure compliance frameworks relevant to pharma/biotech (GxP, SOX, HIPAA).
Preferred
- Current or previous industry certifications such as VMware VCP/VCAP, Azure Administrator/Architect, AWS Solutions Architect, or ITIL v4.
- Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform, Ansible, or Bicep.
- Experience supporting laboratory and manufacturing IT environments (OT/IT convergence) within a pharmaceutical or life sciences setting.
- Strategic thinking and the ability to translate business needs into scalable infrastructure solutions.
- Strong communication skills - able to present complex technical topics clearly to non-technical audiences.
- Exceptional organizational and prioritization skills in a fast-paced, regulated environment.
- Collaborative leadership style with a strong emphasis on team development and cross-functional partnership.
- Data-driven decision-making and a continuous improvement mindset.
Arrowhead provides competitive salaries and an excellent benefit package.
Candidates must have current, valid authorization to work in the country where this role is located.
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Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related field.
- 10+ years of progressive IT infrastructure experience, with at least 4 years in a senior leadership or director-level role.
- Deep hands-on expertise with virtualization platforms (VMware, Nutanix, Hyper-V).
- Demonstrated experience managing Microsoft Active Directory.
- Strong working knowledge of AWS and Azure architecture, operations, cost management, and security.
- Experience managing multi-site enterprise IT environments in a regulated industry.
- Proven track record of building, leading, and developing high-performing infrastructure teams.
- Strong understanding of network architecture, security principles, and ITIL-based service management frameworks.
- Experience with infrastructure compliance frameworks relevant to pharma/biotech (GxP, SOX, HIPAA).
What We Do
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage, Nasdaq listed (ticker ARWR) company developing medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, our therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep and durable knockdown of target genes. RNA interference, or RNAi, is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein. Our RNAi-based therapeutics are at the leading edge of genetic-based therapy with the potential to bring life changing treatments for patients. Our Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiMTM) platform utilizes ligand-mediated delivery and is designed to enable tissue-specific targeting while being structurally simple. The TRiM platform builds on more than a decade of work on actively targeted drug delivery and offers several advantages including simplified manufacturing and reduced costs; multiple routes of administration; and potential for improved safety. Our employees are nimble, science-driven, and innovative professionals. A career at Arrowhead offers the opportunity to collaborate with top notch scientists to rapidly discover and develop RNAi-based therapeutics to add to our growing pipeline. Research and development activities are located in Madison, WI. Our R&D group includes fully-integrated capabilities for chemistry, biology, and toxicology. Madison is an exciting and sophisticated city that includes state government, the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin, and major research organizations. Our HQ, clinical and regulatory operations are located in Pasadena, CA. Just north of Los Angeles and resting in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Pasadena is known for its natural scenic beauty, vibrant cultural and academic environment and rich architectural setting.
