Principal Platform and Data Architect

Crinetics is a pharmaceutical company based in San Diego, California, developing much-needed therapies for people with endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. We were founded by a dedicated team of scientists with the simple belief that better therapies developed from rigorous innovation can lead to better lives. Our work continues to make a real difference in the lives of patients. We have a prolific discovery engine and a robust preclinical and clinical development pipeline. We are driven by science with a patient-centric and team-oriented culture. Crinetics is known for its inclusive workplace culture. We are also a dog-friendly workplace. This is an exciting time to join Crinetics as we shape our organization into the world’s premier fully-integrated endocrine company from discovery to patients. Join our team as we transform the lives of others.

Position Summary:

We are seeking a visionary and highly technical Principal Platform and Data Architect to own the strategic design and hands-on development of our enterprise data and AI/ML infrastructure. This is a senior individual contributor role critical to our organization's success, acting as the primary driver behind the architecture that supports our AI and machine learning initiatives.

You are a deeply technical expert, passionate about hands-on, tactical execution and high-level strategy. You will be responsible for bridging the gap between complex business challenges and innovative technical solutions, not only by designing the architecture but also by actively building and implementing core components. You will be the organization's subject matter expert on Microsoft Azure data services, responsible for architecting and building solutions that ensure data integrity, accessibility, and security to support mission-critical, data-driven decision-making.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:

These may include but are not limited to:

• Define, own, and execute a comprehensive, forward-looking roadmap for the company’s data, analytics, and AI/ML platforms, with a strong emphasis on the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.
• Excel at understanding and interpreting complex business questions and insights. Map these business needs to the specific data required and architect and build the end-to-end data pipelines and solutions to deliver answers.
• Lead the hands-on design, development, and implementation of a scalable and secure infrastructure for our AI and machine learning models. Actively build, code, and configure foundational components of the data platform.
• Serve as the foremost expert on Microsoft Azure data platforms. Design, build, and manage solutions leveraging Azure Databricks, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Data Factory, and other related services.
• Lead the evaluation and profiling of various source data systems. Architect and implement robust, scalable solutions to consume, ingest, and prepare data for subsequent machine learning, AI, and advanced reporting use cases.
• Partner with data scientists, machine learning engineers, software developers, and business leaders to gather requirements, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure architectural alignment across projects.
• Work closely with managed service partners and technology vendors, providing clear architectural direction and oversight to ensure their work aligns with our technical standards, roadmap, and business objectives.
• Establish and enforce best practices for data management, data governance, and data security. Ensure all data solutions are designed and built with scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness in mind.
• Act as a senior individual contributor and technical authority. Influence the technical direction of projects by building proof-of-concepts, setting high standards for code and design, and providing technical guidance to peers across the technology team.

Education and Experience:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
• 15+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or platform engineering, with at least 5 years in a senior or principal architect role.
• Expert-level knowledge and hands-on experience building complex data pipelines and infrastructure within the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.
• Proven experience designing, building, and deploying production-level solutions with Azure Databricks, including a deep understanding of its architecture, security, and performance tuning.
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous business requirements into concrete technical designs and then personally build and deliver those data solutions.
• Extensive hands-on experience with data profiling, data modeling, ETL/ELT development, and data warehousing concepts.
• Strong, current understanding of the infrastructure and tooling required to support the full lifecycle of AI and machine learning models
• Experience architecting and personally contributing to the build of large-scale, high-performance data pipelines.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think strategically about business, product, and technical challenges.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred:

• Experience in the biopharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
• Familiarity with drug discovery, development and commercialization processes.
• Experience with life sciences data sources (e.g., genomic data, clinical trial data, real-world evidence, claims, specialty pharmacy/distributor).
• Knowledge of GxP regulations and experience working in a regulated environment.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

Physical Activities: On a continuous basis, sit at desk for a long period of time; intermittently answer telephone and write or use a keyboard to communicate through written means. Some walking and lifting up to 25 lbs. may be required. The noise level in the work environment is typically low to moderate. The physical demands described above are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions and responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions and responsibilities.

Laboratory Activities (if applicable): Biology and chemical laboratory environment experience needed. Environmental health and safety requirements also apply.

Travel:

You may be required to travel for up to 5% of your time.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Crinetics is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of sex, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and/or expression), pregnancy, race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, religion or similar philosophical beliefs, disability, marital and civil union status, age, genetic information, veteran status or any personal attribute or characteristic that is protected by applicable local, state or federal laws.

Salary Range

In addition to your base pay, our total rewards program consists of a discretionary annual target bonus, stock options, ESPP, and 401k match. We also provide top-notch health insurance plans for employees (and their families) to include medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance, 20 days of PTO, 10 paid holidays, and a winter company shutdown.