Software Engineering Lead R&D IT

AstraZeneca is currently looking for an Engineering Lead to join our Research and Development IT Solution Delivery Team. This is a pivotal role in the modernization of our systems and processes supporting our Early Drug Development Program.



An outstanding opportunity for a lead engineer with a passion for modern software development practices (CI/CD/automated testing) to advance them in a science field where IT has not yet been fully realized to build a bespoke integrated software framework (client based/cloud/compute/COTS) to help scientists to study diseases in ground-breaking new ways.



At AstraZeneca, we put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide. To help with this goal we are looking for a strong individual to lead our engineers in a platform team within Solutions Delivery in early sciences. You must also enjoy influencing and engaging with global teams and doing the right thing but understanding other teams have different priorities.



This role requires someone that can and has coded daily, is self-motivated, and is passionate about software development. We'll rely on you to bring your technical acuity to assist the team continue to deliver extraordinary solutions but also to grow regards development and delivery methodologies. If you are swift to action, confident to lead, willing to collaborate, and curious about what science can do, then you're our kind of person.



We work alongside scientists at leading institutions to better understand disease, identify potential new drugs and accelerate drug development. We are also pioneers in creating a more open research environment.



What you'll do

This role will be helping streamline scientific workflows, data and applications while advancing the use of AI-based methods by scientists. The successful candidate will be a coder, having a desire to bring their technical abilities to the team, leading others in our mission to enable scientists to deliver outstanding therapeutic candidates.



In this role you are part of our global Solutions Development team which is migrating as close to as we can to a true DevOps model and to help lead the transition in a key R&D IT platform. Working alongside your Platform Lead, architects and other IT and science partners, you will be working to understand, devise technical solutions, estimate and deliver and run operationally sustainable platform components. You will use your acuity to resolve accurate balance between COTS and home-grown solutions according to the requirements and in either case own its lifecycle and roadmap.



Our delivery teams are distributed across multiple locations and as Lead Engineer you will need to coordinate activities of technical internal and contract employees. You must be capable of leading others, showing humility while striving to enable the development of platform technical team members in our DevOps journey. You will raise expectations within the whole team, solve complex technical problems and work alongside complementary delivery platforms while aligning solutions with scientific and data strategies and target architecture.



Skills & Capabilities

The role requires strong technical skills and we consider the below essential capabilities:

* Proficiency in traditional software programming languages like Java, .NET, C, and scripting languages like Python, VBA Script
* Experience with Rest API and general API/microservices design, integration and use
* Experience with cloud computing services (especially AWS)
* Experience with process tools (JIRA, Confluence and CI/CD tools e.g. Jenkins and Bamboo)
* Experience with Monitoring tools like Splunk and AppDynamics
* Experience with ITSM toolsets like ServiceNow or BMC Remedy
* Experience of vendor/technology selection to fulfill specific gaps in the solution stack
* Ability and willingness to learn new technologies
* Experience leading teams, delivering and supporting solutions


The below attributes are advantageous but not explicit requirements for the role;

* Understanding of/integration with commercial off the shelf systems like LIMS, eLN
* Understanding of analytics tools such as TIBCO Spotfire, D360
* Working with integration tools such as Mulesoft
* Working with fast paced research and informatics environments
* Experience in pharma or biotech is an advantage but not a prerequisite


Education Requirements:

Bachelor's degree in Bioinformatics, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Maths, Computer Science, Information Science, or equivalent degree is preferred. We will consider self-taught engineers without a formal education given that you have evidence of rich history of software engineering.



Experience Requirements:

* Minimum 7-8 years of hands on software development experience and solution delivery
* 3+ years with leadership responsibilities on software delivery projects, ideally involving teams in multiple locations


Why AstraZeneca?

At AstraZeneca when we see an opportunity for change, we seize it and make it happen, because any opportunity no matter how small, can be the start of something big. Delivering life-changing medicines is about being entrepreneurial - finding those moments and recognising their potential. Join us on our journey of building a new kind of organisation to reset expectations of what a bio-pharmaceutical company can be. This means we're opening new ways to work, pioneering cutting edge methods and bringing unexpected teams together. Interested? Come and join our journey.



So, what's next! Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can't wait to hear from you.