IT Product Owner, China R&D

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITES 1. Product Vision, Strategy & Roadmap • Own the product vision, strategy and multi-year roadmap for a portfolio of scientific digital, data and AI products, aligned with R&D scientific strategy and the China IT and global R&D IT strategy • Map products and capabilities to the Clinical development lifecycle (Phase III, regulatory submission and lifecycle management) to find where digital and AI can remove bottlenecks and speed up decisions • Define the target technology stack for the domain (e.g. scientific computing/HPC and cloud, omics and biomarker data pipelines, translational and clinical data platforms, analytics and ML/AI tooling) and make build/buy/reuse decisions aligned with enterprise architecture • Turn long-term scientific plans into a prioritised, outcome-based roadmap with clear OKRs and measurable value hypotheses 2. Business Partnership & Scientific Domain Leadership • Act as the single accountable product partner for supported scientific teams, building trusted relationships from working level to senior scientific leadership • Develop a deep understanding of scientific workflows and data flows (e.g. NGS/multi-omics analysis, biomarker strategy, PK/PD and quantitative modelling, clinical data review and statistical analysis) and use product discovery and user research to uncover high-value opportunities • Shape demand into business cases, value hypotheses and investment proposals; manage stakeholder expectations and trade-offs transparently • Represent China R&D needs in global product forums, so that local requirements (e.g. NMPA submissions, China data regulations) are built into global products 3. Product Backlog & Agile Delivery • Own and prioritise the product backlog ; define epics, user stories and acceptance criteria, and make timely scope and release decisions that maximise value • Lead cross-functional Agile squads (engineering, data, UX, vendors/OSPs) and drive iterative delivery from MVP to scale • Coordinate dependencies with platform, data, infrastructure, security and global product teams; manage risks, issues and release readiness • Drive user adoption, training and change management so products become part of day-to-day scientific work 4. Data & AI Innovation • Identify, assess and prioritise AI/ML and GenAI use cases (e.g. LLM-based literature and knowledge mining, agentic workflows for scientific data analysis, AI-assisted biomarker discovery, support for protocol and document authoring) • Take AI use cases from proof of concept to production, covering data readiness, model evaluation, human-in-the-loop design and MLOps/LLMOps • Champion FAIR data , data quality and reusable data products so scientific data can power analytics and AI across development phases • Ensure AI solutions follow AstraZeneca’s responsible and ethical AI principles and AI governance processes 5. Value, Budget & Vendor Management • Own the product portfolio budget: annual planning, Mid-Term Plan (MTP) inputs, forecasting, actual-vs-plan tracking and variance analysis • Track product KPIs and value realisation (e.g. cycle-time reduction, adoption, cost avoidance, decision quality) and report outcomes to IT and business leadership • Apply Cloud FinOps discipline to optimise cloud consumption, run cost and licence spend • Manage vendor and OSP relationships for the portfolio, including SOWs, SLAs/KPIs and performance reviews 6. Compliance, Quality & Capability Building • Ensure products meet GxP and computer system validation/assurance requirements (e.g. GAMP 5, 21 CFR Part 11, EU Annex 11) where applicable, together with information security and data privacy standards • Ensure compliance with China regulations on personal information, data security and human genetic resources, including cross-border data transfer, in partnership with Legal and Privacy • Coach and mentor Associate Product Owners and business analysts, and promote product management and Agile best practice across R&D IT JOB REQUIREMENTS & COMPETENCIES Job requirements Academic / Professional qualification • Bachelor’s degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Life Sciences, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Technology or a related field (essential) Technical / skill training • Product ownership certification (e.g. CSPO, PSPO, SAFe POPM) preferred • Cloud (e.g. AWS) and/or AI/ML training; certifications such as PMP, CBAP or TOGAF are a plus Working experience • 8+ years in pharma/biotech R&D IT, scientific informatics or a related area, including 3+ years as product owner, product manager or IT business partner Essential • Pharma or biotech R&D experience with a working understanding of the drug development lifecycle (preclinical, Phase I–III, regulatory submission, lifecycle management) and how data and decisions flow between phases • Strong domain understanding in at least one of bioinformatics, data science or development science (e.g. translational/precision medicine, biomarkers, clinical pharmacology, quantitative sciences) • Proven track record owning product vision, roadmap and backlog, and delivering digital products with Agile methods • Hands-on experience taking AI/ML or GenAI solutions from concept to production, with a clear view of their value, limitations and risks • Solid knowledge of cloud, data platforms, scientific computing and modern data and analytics architecture • Experience owning product budgets and managing vendors • Working knowledge of GxP, CSV/CSA and data privacy requirements in a regulated environment • Excellent communication and influencing skills with both scientists and technologists; high autonomy and able to manage multiple products at once Desirable • Experience supporting clinical development • Hands-on familiarity with scientific computing environments (HPC, cloud-based pipelines, workflow tools such as Nextflow) and common bioinformatics/data science tools (R, Python, notebooks) • Famili