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The Senior Director, Development AI Program Management leads the delivery of Development’s highest-priority AI and operational transformation initiatives, turning enterprise AI capability into realized business value. Partnering closely with IT, the Development organization, and the AI Steering Committee, this leader prioritizes the portfolio, orchestrates cross-functional teams, and drives initiatives from concept through adoption on time, on scope, and to intended outcomes. They own end-to-end delivery accountability and provide ongoing quality, performance, and compliance oversight of deployed AI use cases across the Development lifecycle. This is a senior leadership role that builds the delivery engine and program discipline needed to scale responsible AI across Development
Work Model:Remote: Officially documented as working full-time from home, with travel to Ultragenyx's offices or other locations on occasion as needed.
Responsibilities:- Portfolio prioritization. Partner with Development leaders and the AI Steering Committee to identify, evaluate, and prioritize AI and transformation initiatives against business value, feasibility, risk, and strategic fit, maintaining a clear, sequenced roadmap.
- Program & project leadership. Lead the end-to-end delivery of high-priority AI and operational transformation initiatives, coordinating across Development, IT, and other stakeholder from initiation through deployment and hand-off.
- Delivery accountability. Own scope, timeline, budget, resourcing, dependencies, and risk management; keep initiatives on track and resolve blockers to ensure predictable, on-time execution.
- Value realization. Define success metrics and business cases up front, then track, measure, and report realized value-efficiency, quality, and impact-against commitments after go-live.
- Business-to-technology partnership. Serve as the primary delivery interface to IT, translating business priorities into clear requirements and ensuring solutions are built on IT's platforms, standards, and scalable delivery model.
- Performance & compliance oversight. Provide ongoing quality oversight of deployed use-case performance; monitor outputs, drift, and adoption, and ensure solutions remain compliant with GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, and data governance requirements.
- Organizational change management. Lead adoption, training, and change management for delivered solutions so new AI-enabled workflows are embedded, sustained, and generating value across teams.
- Governance & reporting. Establish and run program governance-status reporting, stage gates, steering updates, and decision forums-providing executives and the AISC with clear visibility into progress, risk, and outcomes.
- Stakeholder & executive engagement. Build trusted relationships across Development, IT, the AI Steering Committee, CMC, PPM, and other partner functions; align stakeholders and communicate progress and impact to senior leadership.
- Capability building. Develop and mentor project delivery talent and establish repeatable program-management standards, tools, and playbooks that scale responsible AI delivery across Development.
- Education. Bachelor's degree in a scientific, engineering, technology, or business discipline required; advanced degree (MS, MBA, or PhD) preferred.
- Experience. 12+ years of experience in biopharma/life sciences drug development, R&D operations, or technology-enabled transformation, including 5+ years leading large, cross-functional programs and teams.
- Delivery track record. Demonstrated success leading complex, enterprise-scale initiatives end-to-end and delivering measurable business outcomes and value realization.
- AI & digital fluency. Working knowledge of AI/automation solutions and how they apply to Development workflows; able to bridge business needs and technical delivery in partnership with IT.
- Regulatory & compliance. Strong understanding of GxP-regulated environments, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, and validation expectations for computerized/AI systems.
- Leadership & influence. Proven ability to lead without direct authority, influence senior stakeholders, and drive alignment and decisions across functions.
- Certifications (preferred). PMP, PgMP, Agile/Scrum, or equivalent program/project management certification; change-management certification (e.g., Prosci) a plus.
- Skills. Executive communication, portfolio prioritization, stakeholder management, risk management, metrics/value tracking, and change leadership.
- Travel. Ability to travel up to ~10-15% for team, partner, and stakeholder collaboration as needed.
#LI-CS1 #LI-Remote
The typical annual salary range for this full-time position is listed below. This range reflects the characteristics of the job, such as required skills and qualifications and is based on the office location noted in this job posting. The range may also be adjusted based on applicant's geographic location.
This position is eligible for annual bonus and equity incentives. Actual individual pay is determined by demonstrated experience and internal equity alignment.
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital and veteran status, and any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for all protected statuses or classifications protected by applicable law, including individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, and based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants can request an accommodation prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, you may contact Talent Acquisition by emailing us at [email protected].
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, engineering, technology, or business discipline
- 12+ years of experience in biopharma/life sciences drug development, R&D operations, or technology-enabled transformation
- 5+ years leading large, cross-functional programs and teams
- Demonstrated success leading complex, enterprise-scale initiatives end-to-end and delivering measurable business outcomes
- Working knowledge of AI and automation solutions applied to Development workflows
- Strong understanding of GxP-regulated environments, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, and computerized/AI system validation
- Ability to lead without direct authority and influence senior stakeholders across functions
- Executive communication, portfolio prioritization, stakeholder management, risk management, metrics/value tracking, and change leadership skills
- Advanced degree such as MS, MBA, or PhD
- PMP, PgMP, Agile/Scrum, or equivalent program/project management certification
- Change-management certification such as Prosci
- Ability to travel approximately 10–15%
Ultragenyx Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Ultragenyx and has not been reviewed or approved by Ultragenyx.
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Healthcare Strength — Benefits begin on the first day with multiple medical plan options alongside dental and vision coverage. Employer-funded HSA contributions and employer-paid mental health support via Spring Health add notable depth to healthcare support.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off is broadened by two fully paid company shutdown weeks in August and December in addition to holidays and baseline vacation. Paid sick time, paid volunteer time, and a substantial paid leave program further expand time-off support.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support includes a 401(k) program with a match on employee contributions and immediate vesting. An employee stock purchase plan discount also strengthens the overall financial rewards package.
Ultragenyx Insights
What We Do
At Ultragenyx, we fundamentally believe that taking real impactful action to care for the needs of patients and our people is always the right thing to do. To achieve this goal, our vision is to lead the future of rare disease medicine. For us, this means going where other biopharma companies won’t go – challenging the status quo and creating a new model that advances our field so more patients and caregivers can benefit from life-changing treatments. We do this by following the science, applying a novel rapid development approach, making innovative medicines at fair and reasonable prices, and creating a collaborative ecosystem to reach patients in ways that are most meaningful for them.
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