Associate Director, Research and Computing Operations

AskBio Inc., a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, is a fully integrated gene therapy company dedicated to developing life-saving medicines and changing lives. The company maintains a portfolio of clinical programs across a range of neuromuscular, central nervous system, cardiovascular, and metabolic disease indications with a clinical-stage pipeline that includes investigational therapeutics for congestive heart failure, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, multiple system atrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and Pompe disease. AskBio’s gene therapy platform includes Pro10, an industry-leading proprietary cell line manufacturing process, and an extensive array of capsids and promoters. With global headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and European headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland, the company has generated hundreds of proprietary capsids and promoters, several of which have entered pre-clinical and clinical testing.

**Our vision**:Pioneering science to create transformative molecular medicines.

**Our mission**:Lead innovative science and drive clinical outcomes to transform people's lives.

**Our principles**:

- Advance innovative science by pushing boundaries.
- Bring transformative therapeutics to patients in need.
- Provide an environment for employees to reach their fullest potential.

**Our values**:

- Be a Pioneer. We are not afraid of the impossible and to innovate to make gene therapies accessible to those in need.
- Cultivate Collaboration. Strive to be the best teammate, actively listen, openly communicate, and embrace diverse points of view.
- Embrace Responsibility. We are humbled by the enormity of our mission. We hold a relentless commitment to advance science and clinical outcomes for our patients, families, and caregivers.
- Raise the Bar. Continuously drive improvements and efficiencies. Seek and provide constructive feedback. Have a bias for learning and action.
- Act with Uncompromising Integrity. Be honest, transparent, and committed to doing what’s right in every situation. Make clear commitments and follow through.

**Position Summary**

We're seeking an Associate Director, Research Computing Operations to lead and transform our scientific computing environment in support of our cutting-edge gene therapy research. This senior leadership position will drive the strategy and execution of research computing initiatives, working in close partnership with our Bioinformatics, AI/ML, and Global IT Infrastructure teams. The role focuses specifically on advancing our scientific computing capabilities through operational excellence, while ensuring our research teams can maximize the value of our high-performance computing investments.

**Responsibilities**:

- Serve as the primary local IT Infrastructure contact for Edinburgh's Bioinformatics and AI/ML teams
- Manage and optimize scientific computing infrastructure, including GPU clusters, high-performance storage systems, and virtualized environments
- Collaborate with global IT teams to ensure infrastructure alignment with scientific computing needs
- Lead technical planning and implementation of infrastructure improvements
- Provide technical guidance on architecture decisions affecting scientific workflows
- Manage and optimize WEKA storage systems and VSphere virtual environments
- Support Linux-based scientific computing environments, leveraging managed services as appropriate
- Implement and maintain monitoring solutions for complex computing environments
- Participate in capacity planning and performance optimization initiatives
- Drive infrastructure automation and continuous improvement
- Manage relationships with vendors and technical partners
- Vendor & Contract Management: _
- Manage third-party Linux support contract and contractor relationships
- Define and monitor service level agreements
- Ensure contractor compliance with company security policies
- Review and approve contractor work
- Manage vendor performance and escalations
- Security & Compliance: _
- Act as primary point of contact for parent company security audits
- Develop and maintain security compliance documentation
- Coordinate and respond to penetration testing activities
- Implement security recommendations and remediation plans
- Ensure infrastructure meets corporate security standards
- Participate in security incident response planning
- Business Continuity: _
- Lead disaster recovery planning for scientific computing infrastructure
- Coordinate and execute DR testing
- Maintain DR documentation and procedures
- Develop and maintain business continuity plans
- Ensure RPO/RTO objectives are met
- Financial Planning & Technical Debt: _
- Develop long-term capital planning for infrastructure
- Manage infrastructure budget and forecasting for AskBio European locations
- Identify and track technical debt
- Create remediation plans for technical debt
- Provide cost-benefit analysis for infrastructure investments
- Manage infr