The Vice President, Scientific IT Business Partner will lead Madrigal's Scientific IT Business Partnership, supporting the company's Research & Development and Technical Operations organizations. This role will serve as the senior IT partner to the R&D and TechOps executive leadership teams, translating functional strategy into technology roadmaps, portfolio priorities, operating capabilities, and delivery outcomes.
As Madrigal continues to grow, the technology needs across R&D and TechOps are becoming more complex, interconnected, and critical to the company's ability to execute. This leader will help mature how IT supports the scientific value chain, bringing both domains together with a breadth to lead across an interconnected landscape, ensuring the right systems, data, integrations, processes, partners, and internal capabilities are in place to support clinical development, regulatory progression, quality, manufacturing, supply, and continued operational scale.
This is a senior IT leadership role that requires deep life sciences technology experience, strong executive influence, and the ability to operate across strategy and execution. The VP will own the Scientific IT portfolio, budget, roadmap, and business partnership model, while working closely with Data, AI, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Architecture, Infrastructure, PMO, and IT Compliance to ensure solutions are scalable, compliant, secure, and aligned to enterprise standards.
A key part of this IT leadership role will be supporting R&D and TechOps as those functions build more internal business capability and reduce reliance on external partners. As functional ownership moves further in-house, this leader will ensure the technology roadmap, systems, data, integrations, governance, and support model evolve alongside the business. The VP will partner with R&D and TechOps leaders to anticipate how those shifts affect process ownership, compliance needs, decision-making, and operating rhythms, and translate those needs into practical technology plans.
Key ResponsibilitiesScientific IT Strategy & Executive Partnership- Serve as the senior IT business partner for Madrigal's R&D and TechOps organizations, building trusted relationships with the respective ELT members and their leadership teams.
- Translate R&D and TechOps business strategies into multi-year technology roadmaps, investment priorities, and portfolio plans.
- Develop sufficient digital breadth across the scientific value chain to anticipate cross functional implications and ensure technology decisions made within one domain support the broader R&D and TechOps strategy.
- Provide strategic technology guidance across the scientific value chain, including clinical development, regulatory, quality, manufacturing, supply chain, CMC, and related scientific business capabilities.Partner with business leaders to identify opportunities where technology, data, automation, and AI can improve speed, quality, compliance, visibility, and decision-making.
- Represent R&D and TechOps needs within ITLT and enterprise governance forums, ensuring scientific priorities are visible, well-understood, and appropriately sequenced.
- Navigate competing priorities across R&D and TechOps, facilitating balanced recommendations that align with enterprise and corporate objectives.
Portfolio, Roadmap & Investment Leadership- Own the Scientific IT portfolio across R&D and TechOps, including roadmap development, investment planning, prioritization, and value realization.
- Maintain an integrated view of technology needs, investments, dependencies, and risks across the scientific value chain.Partner with PMO and IT leadership to ensure initiatives are appropriately scoped, sequenced, resourced, governed, and delivered.
- Develop clear business cases for technology investments, including expected value, risk, implementation approach, resource needs, and long-term operating implications.
- Make start / stop / sequence recommendations for Scientific IT initiatives based on business value, risk, capacity, dependencies, and strategic alignment.
- Ensure Scientific IT roadmaps are realistic, integrated, and aligned with enterprise architecture, data strategy, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and compliance expectations.
- Provide executive-level visibility into portfolio health, delivery risks, resource constraints, and key decisions needed to keep work moving.
R&D Technology Leadership- Lead IT partnership and delivery for R&D functions, with near-term emphasis on Clinical Development and Regulatory capabilities.
- Support the continued buildout of Madrigal's R&D technology landscape, including systems and capabilities that enable clinical execution, regulatory operations, scientific collaboration, data flow, inspection readiness, and decision-making.
- Bring strong working knowledge across R&D technology domains, while leveraging and growting internal and external subject matter expertise where deeper specialization is required.
- Partner with R&D leaders to identify technology needs across the development lifecycle and translate those needs into practical, scalable solutions.
- Connect technology decisions across Clinical, Regulatory, Safety, Data and other R&D capabilities to reduce fragmentation and create an integrated scientific technology landscape.
- Ensure R&D technology investments support clinical operations, regulatory milestones, data quality, compliance, and business agility.
- Strengthen internal ownership of critical R&D technology capabilities that require business context, continuity, and close alignment with scientific priorities.
TechOps Technology Leadership- Lead IT partnership and delivery for TechOps functions, including CMC, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and related operational capabilities.
- Apply broad understanding of the TechOps technology landscape while drawing on specialized expertise across Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, CMC and other domains as needed.
- Build trusted relationships with TechOps leaders to understand business priorities, operational risks, external partner dependencies, and technology needs.
- Help mature the TechOps technology roadmap as Madrigal scales its manufacturing, quality, supply, and product lifecycle capabilities.Provide strategic oversight of across systems and capabilities such as QMS, LIMS, ERP, serialization, supply planning, quality documents, deviation / CAPA / change control, batch records, external manufacturing portals, and related manufacturing or quality systems.
- Identify opportunities to improve visibility, data flow, process consistency, and decision-making across internal teams and external manufacturing / supply partners.
Capability Building, Service Delivery & Business Outcomes- Lead the Scientific IT Business Partnership organization and ensure it can scale with the evolving needs of R&D and TechOps.
Build and evolve the Scientific IT organization with the right combination of domain depth and cross functional breadth, ensuring specialized expertise is available where required while maintaining an integrated view across the scientific value chain.
- Own the Scientific IT application portfolio across R&D and TechOps, including lifecycle management, roadmap alignment, enhancement planning, operational support, and continuous improvement.
- Establish a clear service delivery model for Scientific IT, including support expectations, ownership, escalation paths, vendor responsibilities, performance management, and business continuity.
- Partner with Quality, IT Compliance, and applicable delivery teams to ensure systems are fit for purpose, compliant, validated as needed, and able to support operational growth.
- Maintain executive accountability for technology outcomes across the R&D and TechOps portfolio, including delivery performance, adoption, value realization, operational readiness, and risk management.
- Partner with R&D and TechOps leaders as they build more internal business capability and reduce reliance on external partners, ensuring the technology landscape evolves alongside those operating model changes.
- Work closely with internal Data & AI teams to ensure R&D and TechOps needs are represented in Madrigal's broader enterprise data strategy.
- Ensure delivery teams, managed service providers, domain experts, and strategic partners understand business objectives, success measures, compliance expectations, and operating requirements.
- Manage vendors and external partners supporting the Scientific IT portfolio, ensuring accountability for service quality, delivery outcomes, and long-term supportability.
- Ensure Scientific IT initiatives follow appropriate controls for GxP, CSV / CSA, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, privacy, security, audit readiness, and inspection support.
- Build the right mix of business partnership, product ownership, application management, vendor oversight, compliance awareness, and delivery leadership within the Scientific IT team.
- Drive continuous improvement in how IT engages with R&D and TechOps, moving from reactive support to proactive strategic partnership.
- Build and evolve the Scientific IT organization, including talent, structure, capabilities and sourcing strategy, to create sustainable internal ownership while strategically leveraging external partners.
Create a culture of ownership, service, accountability, and practical problem-solving across the Scientific IT organization.
QualificationsEducation- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Life Sciences, Business, or a related field required.
- Advanced degree, such as an MBA, MS, or related graduate degree, preferred.
- Equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
Experience- Typically requires 20+ years of progressive experience in IT, digital, technology strategy, business partnership, enterprise applications, or related technology leadership roles.
- Significant experience in biotech, pharmaceutical, life sciences, or other regulated healthcare environments required.
- Demonstrated experience partnering with senior executives or functional leadership teams to translate business strategy into technology roadmaps and investment plans.
- Strong understanding of R&D and / or TechOps business processes, systems, data needs, compliance requirements, and operating models.
- Experience leading technology portfolios across complex, cross-functional environments.
- Experience building or maturing internal technology capabilities, including insourcing, operating model design, vendor transition, or capability development.
- Experience managing teams, budgets, vendors, strategic partners, and multi-year technology roadmaps.
- Experience operating in a GxP-regulated environment, with working knowledge of CSV / CSA, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, validation, audit readiness, and inspection support.
- Experience with leading within complex life sciences technology environments, with exposure to relevant platforms and capabilities across relevant life sciences platforms and capabilities across R&D, regulatory, quality, manufacturing, supply chain, data, integrations, and enterprise systems.
- Prior experience in a high-growth biotech or mid-sized pharma environment preferred.
Skills and Competencies:- Executive presence and credibility with senior business and IT leaders.
- Ability to influence ELT-level stakeholders and resolve competing priorities across functions.
- Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to connect corporate objectives, functional strategy, and technology execution.
- Practical operating judgment; able to build structure without unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Strong portfolio and investment discipline, including prioritization, sequencing, value realization, and risk management.
- Ability to lead through ambiguity and build capabilities that do not yet fully exist.
- Strong understanding of regulated life sciences operations and the role technology plays in enabling compliant growth.
- Ability to develop talent, build teams, and create internal capability in areas previously supported by external partners.
- Strong collaboration style, with the ability to work across Enterprise Architecture, Data, AI, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, PMO, IT Compliance, and business functions.
- Clear communicator who can translate complex technology topics into business-relevant options, trade-offs, and recommendations.
Madrigal's Total Rewards strategy is based on a biotech industry peer group comparator and is inclusive of base pay, bonus and equity. Our equity offers meaningful opportunity allowing our employees to share in the success they help create. By aligning individual and compa
