Senior Director, Enterprise Architect

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals • Cambridge, MA

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

We're transforming our data organization from a traditional portfolio and service delivery model to a technical, engineering-led approach where leaders architect solutions, write code, and drive business value through hands-on contribution. This role is at the epicenter of that transformation.
As Senior Director of Enterprise Architecture, you'll own the architecture capability across the enterprise, leading a small team of elite architects while personally contributing to the most challenging technical problems. You'll be accountable for designing and implementing the data platform, integration patterns, and software engineering standards that enable AI/ML capabilities, operational excellence, and pharmaceutical innovation from drug discovery through commercial operations.
You'll work in a matrix organization where you own your architecture capabilities and are directly accountable for delivering scalable, reliable, and secure systems that drive measurable business value. This means partnering deeply with R&D, Clinical Operations, Manufacturing, Commercial, and IT to translate complex enterprise requirements into modern technical architectures.
Reporting to the VP, Data & AI, this is a Hybrid role based in Cambridge, MA, with a target of 2-3 days onsite.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field; Master's degree preferred
• 10+ years of experience building enterprise data platforms and architectures, with 5+ years in leadership roles
• Expert-level experience with Snowflake (lakehouse implementation, data sharing, governance) and strong experience with Databricks (Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, workflows, ML integration)
• Hands-on experience designing and implementing cloud data platforms on AWS (S3, Glue, EMR, Redshift, Kinesis, Lake Formation); AWS Solutions Architect Professional level or equivalent experience
• Highly skilled in Python and SQL with production-quality code standards; strong Infrastructure as Code expertise (Terraform, CloudFormation, or AWS CDK)
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Jenkins, GitLab CI) and hands-on experience with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes, ECS)
• Experience with data pipeline tools (Airflow, Prefect, dbt, or similar), API design patterns, microservices architecture, and event-driven systems
• Experience designing integration architectures for enterprise systems (SAP, Oracle, Workday, Salesforce, Veeva, or similar)
• 5+ years leading architecture and engineering teams, including hands-on technical mentorship; proven ability to build and develop high-performing teams of 3-10 people
• Experience working in matrix organizations with cross-functional collaboration across AI/ML, data engineering, security, and IT infrastructure teams
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex business requirements into scalable technical solutions and communicate architecture decisions to executive audiences
• Experience operating in regulated environments (FDA, EMA, GxP requirements)

Nice To Haves

• Biotech, pharmaceutical, or life sciences industry experience
• Deep knowledge of architecture patterns in Clinical Development (EDC systems, CTMS, eTMF), Manufacturing (MES, LIMS, batch systems), Research (lab systems, genomic data platforms), or Commercial (CRM, marketing analytics, supply chain)
• Understanding of pharmaceutical data types and systems including clinical trials, genomics, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain
• Expertise in modern data architecture concepts: data lakes, lakehouses, data mesh, streaming architectures, semantic layers, data virtualization
• Knowledge of data modeling approaches including dimensional modeling, Data Vault, normalized designs, and graph databases
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools (CloudWatch, Datadog, New Relic) and understanding of distributed systems and performance optimization

Responsibilities

• Own Enterprise Architecture Strategy and Execution: Define and execute enterprise architecture strategy spanning data platforms, integration architecture, cloud infrastructure, and software engineering standards. Architect end-to-end data solutions from ingestion through analytics and AI/ML consumption while establishing architecture standards, design patterns, and governance frameworks for a regulated pharmaceutical environment. Build and drive the technical roadmap aligned with business needs and 2030 transformation goals.
• Architect and Build Production Data Platforms: Design and implement production-quality data platforms using modern DataOps and DevOps practices. Write production code (Python, SQL, Infrastructure as Code) for data pipelines, integration services, and platform automation. Design cloud infrastructure on AWS using Terraform/CloudFormation/CDK, build robust data pipelines using Airflow/dbt/Spark/Glue, and implement CI/CD pipelines with automated testing. Personally tackle complex technical challenges in data modeling, performance optimization, and system integration.
• Lead and Develop World-Class Architecture Team: Build, mentor, and scale a team of 3-5 highly skilled enterprise architects and technical leads. Balance hands-on technical contribution (20-30% of time) with team leadership and strategic architecture. Provide technical mentorship on architecture patterns, data engineering practices, cloud infrastructure, and pharmaceutical domain knowledge. Foster a culture of engineering excellence and continuous improvement while leading from the front on the hardest technical problems.
• Drive Strategic Business Partnership and Value Delivery: Partner with business and technology leaders across R&D, Clinical Operations, Manufacturing, Commercial, and IT to translate complex requirements into scalable technical architectures. Identify architectural patterns that create the most value, communicate complex technical trade-offs to executive stakeholders, and drive data democratization and engineering best practices across the organization. Build credibility through demonstrated delivery of high-impact architectural solutions.
• Establish Modern Data Architecture and Technology Standards: Lead evaluation and adoption of modern data technologies (Snowflake, Databricks, AWS services, modern data stack tools). Design reference architectures for common patterns including data ingestion, transformation, API integration, and event-driven systems. Implement APIs and integration patterns using REST, GraphQL, and event streaming (Kafka/Kinesis). Stay current with architecture trends and translate them into practical implementations that maximize organizational time-to-value.
• Ensure Operational Excellence and Architecture Governance: Design for observability, monitoring, and operational resilience. Create architecture governance processes including design reviews, technical standards, and architecture decision records (ADRs). Manage technical debt while rapidly delivering new capabilities. Balance innovation with operational stability, security, and regulatory compliance in a GxP-regulated pharmaceutical environment.
• Deliver in Matrix Organization with Collaborative Accountability: Work within the Data, AI and Enterprise Architecture team structure while maintaining accountability for architecture outcomes. Partner with AI/Analytics colleagues to ensure data platforms enable ML/AI capabilities. Collaborate with Data Platform teams on implementation of architecture standards. Coordinate with IT, Security, and Compliance on enterprise-wide initiatives while owning architecture delivery commitments.

Benefits

• We offer comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, a lifestyle reimbursement program, flexible spending and health savings accounts and a 401(k)with a generous company match.
• Eligible employees enjoy paid time off, wellness days, holidays, and two company-wide recharge breaks.
• We also offer generous family resources and leave.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior