At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, “Who are you working for?”—a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.
Summary:
The Director, Lead IT Product Manager, Trial Operations owns the IT product portfolio spanning the trial lifecycle end-to-end — from study-start-up through trial close-out — including but not limited to the Veeva clinical stack (SSU, CTMS, eTMF) serving BMS, sites, and CROs globally. This is an AI-forward leadership role: the Director is expected to challenge conventional approaches and pursue unconventional, high-impact IT solutions that eliminate manual work and modernize how trial technology operates, while navigating the validation and compliance realities of a GxP-regulated environment.
Working in close partnership with Global Development Operations stakeholders and related adjacencies, the Director sets IT product strategy, roadmaps, and release plans. They lead a team of product managers, business analysts, and product team professionals — creating a culture where experimentation is safe, coaching is routine, and people excel and grow. They maintain a strong external perspective, engaging with vendors, industry peers, and emerging technology leaders to continuously elevate BMS's position at the forefront of clinical trial operations innovation.
Objectives:
•Set and drive an AI-first vision for the trial operations technology portfolio, identifying and scaling IT solutions that eliminate manual work across the start-up-to-close-out lifecycle.
•Serve as primary strategist and Lead Product Manager, setting IT investment direction and priorities across BMS, sites, and CROs.
•Coach, develop, and inspire 6 direct reports and 10-15 matrixed/indirect contributors — with real accountability for career growth, succession, and a culture that rewards creative risk-taking.
•Drive disciplined execution — on time, in budget, fully compliant, and aligned to global stakeholder needs.
•Hold multimillion-dollar accountability across combined IT investment and run spend.
•Serve as a member of the GDO BI&T Leadership Team, reporting to the Executive Director, GDO BI&T.
•Translate trial management domain knowledge into IT investment priorities the team can execute.
•Maintain external perspective: Stay ahead of the field by engaging vendors, industry peers, and emerging technology leaders — bringing outside thinking into how BMS approaches trial technology.
Skills/Experience:
•Industry Experience: 12+ years in pharma or biopharma, with meaningful exposure across R&D, drug development, and clinical operations.
•AI & Innovation Leadership: Track record deploying AI, ML, or Agentic automation as IT investments in an enterprise or clinical setting, with real, quantifiable impact.
•Creative Problem-Solving: Comfort operating in ambiguity, with a record of unconventional solutions to entrenched process bottlenecks.
•Trial Lifecycle & GxP Fluency: Working knowledge of the trial lifecycle from start-up through close-out (sponsors, sites, CROs, vendors) and how CSV/CSA and Part 11 shape AI/automation deployment in a regulated environment.
•Strategic IT Product Management: 10+ years in biopharma or life sciences, building IT strategies, product roadmaps, and Agile delivery models tied to measurable technology investment outcomes.
•Outcome Definition & Quantification: Skilled at defining success metrics up front and quantifying the business outcomes of IT investments — translating technical delivery into measurable value (cycle time, cost, quality, throughput) for clinical operations…