Seattle Research Technology Associate Director

General Summary:

This role leads laboratory technology support and continuous evolution across Seattle, and is the accountable Research Site Partner for Seattle: the primary DTE relationship holder for the site's research leadership, and the front door through which site requirements are captured, shaped, and routed into the correct cross-functional platform backlog.

Operating within highly regulated GxP and SOX environments, this role remains accountable for operational excellence, financial stewardship, and risk management across a complex laboratory technology landscape, including ownership of the site's annual operating budget. In parallel, the role carries accountability for local technology adoption, change management, and cross-site prioritization advocacy — ensuring Seattle's voice shapes the shared platform roadmap without the site building or maintaining local one-off solutions.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Technology & Operations Leadership
• Build and sustain strong, trust-based relationships with senior business, quality, and DTE leaders, acting as a strategic partner with sustained impact on enterprise laboratory goals.
• Ensure stable, secure, and compliant laboratory technology operations across both IT and OT environments, aligned to cyber security, ITSM, ITIL, and DTE system lifecycle standards.
• Serve as the primary point of accountability for laboratory technology operating within GxP- and SOX-regulated environments, partnering with DTE Compliance, Cyber Security, Internal Audit, and Quality Assurance.
• Own and manage the site's operating budget, ensuring disciplined financial planning, forecasting, vendor management, and value realization across services and platforms.
• Oversee a portfolio of programs, projects, platform releases, and enhancements delivered at the site, ensuring quality, timeliness, and alignment with business outcomes.
• Attract, develop, and retain top talent; carry full people-management accountability for assigned staff.
• Research Site Partnership
• Serve as the single accountable owner for technology adoption, change, and the DTE relationship at Seattle — the primary partner to the site SVP and research leadership.
• Act as the site's product owner: capture requirements and user stories directly from scientists and shape raw, ambiguous input into clear, prioritized demand.
• Be the single front door for Seattle — route shaped requirements to the correct platform owner (within Laboratory Solutions or peer DTE platform organizations) rather than site stakeholders engaging each platform team directly.
• Drive local adoption and change management for new platform capabilities; carry roadmap and delivery updates back to site scientists and leadership on a regular cadence.
• Represent the site's voice in cross-site, cross-functional prioritization forums, ensuring the shared platform roadmap reflects the site's highest-value needs.
• Maintain a transparent, current view of the site's demand status and backlog position that site stakeholders can see and understand.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Strong senior-level business engagement and stakeholder partnership capabilities.
• Deep understanding of enterprise technology operations, cyber security, ITSM, and system lifecycle practices.
• Proven people leadership experience building and sustaining high-performing teams.
• Program, portfolio, demand, and financial management expertise.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, communication, and executive-level presentation skills.
• Ability to balance operational stability with innovation in regulated environments.
• Comfort operating in a matrixed accountability model — shaping and routing demand where the build/architecture decision rests with a peer platform owner, not this role.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree
• 8+ years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated leadership managing enterprise-scale technology platforms and support organizations.
• Proven experience operating within GxP- and SOX-regulated environments.
• Experience leading complex programs, portfolios, and vendor ecosystems with financial accountability.
• Experience operating as a product owner, business relationship manager, or similar demand-shaping role — translating ambiguous stakeholder input into structured, prioritized backlog items.