Data Foundations Lead in R&D

Make your mark for patients

We are looking for an agile and innovative Data Foundations Lead In R&D to join the Patient Solutions Digital Strategy & Innovation team, based in Slough, UK (Windlesham, Surrey from 2027), Braine l’Alleud, Belgium or Boston, USA.

About the role:

In this role, you will establish the data foundations that enable Patient Solutions in R&D to scale trusted, reusable and AI-ready data across Research and Early Development.

You will define and govern metadata, ontologies, identifiers and data standards that improve data quality, interoperability and discoverability. Working across scientific, digital and enterprise teams, you will help shape how data is created, governed and consumed to accelerate research, innovation and AI-driven decision making.

Who you’ll work with:

Reporting to the Head of Digital Strategy & Innovation, you will collaborate closely with scientific leaders, domain experts and data owners across Research and Early Development.

You will also partner with Digital Technology, Enterprise Architecture, Data Governance and AI teams to ensure data foundations are aligned with enterprise standards while meeting evolving scientific needs.

What you’ll do

• Establish and govern enterprise ontologies, business vocabularies and global identifiers to ensure consistent representation and traceability of data across Patient Solutions.
• Design and implement scalable metadata management capabilities that improve data quality, lineage, interoperability and discoverability across structured and unstructured data.
• Drive the adoption of AI-enabled approaches to metadata generation, curation and knowledge management.
• Partner with data owners and scientific teams to embed data standards and governance at the point of data creation.
• Define scalable conceptual and logical data models that support research, scientific and business use cases.
• Design and deliver reusable domain data products supporting strategic programmes and AI initiatives.
• Promote FAIR data principles and modern data foundation practices across Patient Solutions.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture to ensure alignment between business capabilities, data standards and technology platforms.
• Influence stakeholders across scientific and digital communities to drive adoption of data governance and foundation capabilities.

Interested? For this role we’re looking for the following education, experience and skills:

Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Management, Bioinformatics or a related discipline.

Experience:

• +8 years of experience in Data Architecture, Data Foundations, Data Governance, Research Informatics, or a closely related field.
• Experience establishing enterprise data foundations, including metadata management, ontology management and data governance.
• Experience designing conceptual and logical data models in complex enterprise environments.
• Experience working with research, scientific or life sciences data is highly desirable.
• Experience implementing AI-enabled approaches for metadata management, knowledge management or information discovery.
• Experience defining data products, data standards and information models.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary stakeholders, including scientists, business teams and technology teams.

Skills:

• Strong understanding of metadata management, data lineage and data quality principles.
• Knowledge of ontology management, semantic technologies or knowledge graphs.
• Understanding of structured and unstructured data management.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation and communication skills.
• Ability to influence without direct authority in complex matrix organisations.
• DAMA, CDMP, TOGAF or similar certifications are considered an advantage.

The reasonably anticipated salary range for this position is $148,000-194,300 per year. The actual salary offered will take into account related knowledge, skills, experience and location among other factors and may fall outside the expected range.  

Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you! 

About us 
UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company, focusing on neurology and immunology. We are over 9.000 people in all four corners of the globe, inspired by patients and driven by science. 

Why work with us? 
At UCB, we don’t just complete tasks, we create value. We aren’t afraid to push forward, collaborate, and innovate to make our mark for patients. We have a caring, supportive culture where everyone feels included, respected, and has equal opportunities to do their best work. We ‘go beyond’ to create value for our patients, and always with a human focus, whether that’s on our patients, our employees, or our planet. Working for us, you will discover a place where you can grow, and have the freedom to carve your own career path to achieve your full potential. 

At UCB, we’ve embraced a hybrid-first approach to work, bringing teams together in local hubs to foster collaborative curiosity. Unless expressly stated in the description or precluded by the nature of the position, roles are hybrid with 40% of your time spent in the office.

UCB is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be made without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable laws. 

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on [email protected]. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments; we will not be able to support you through this channel.