Director, Cloud Engineering

SUMMARY/JOB PURPOSE:

The Director, IT Product Management - Cloud Platform, will lead a portfolio of cloud products critical to Exelixis's success and ambition to launch innovative medicines for patients. Operating within a product-centric model, the Director IT Product Management will be responsible for defining product roadmaps, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and leading agile product teams to deliver innovative and impactful solutions that accelerate drug discovery, development, and commercialization.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Define and operate our AWS landing zone, include automation, security and monitoring requirements
• Define and operate terraform-based automation platform for deployment and management infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code
• Define and manage a set of AWS infrastructure standards for the enterprise to ensure consistency and security across all our AWS cloud environments
• Drive improvements that help us to scale through optimization and automation
• Act as the technical product owner for key cloud platform services, including cloud infrastructure and automation
• Work with other IT teams to map their technical requirements in AWS services
• Work with other teams on cost management, including chargeback and detail usage reporting

Product Strategy and Roadmap

• Define and champion the strategy and roadmap for a portfolio of cloud products.
• Collaborate closely with IT and business stakeholders to understand their business needs, challenges, and make recommendations to influence strategic opportunities for actionable product roadmaps.
• Conduct market research, competitive analysis, and technology trends assessment to identify new opportunities to maintain competitive technology utilization.
• Prioritize product initiatives based on business value, technical feasibility, regulatory compliance, and resource availability and provide recommendations short and long term strategi investments.
• Lead architecture and design patterns to build solutions correctly and in a secured manner.

Product Development and Delivery

• Oversee the development process from ideation to launch and post-launch optimization and ensure efficient and effective product development processes and may recommend implementation improvements (e.g., Agile Scrum, Kanban).
• Own and drive the definition of clear user stories, acceptance criteria, and product specifications, ensuring alignment with overall product vision and business objectives.
• Partner with engineering, architecture, and quality assurance teams to ensure timely delivery of secure, scalable and high-quality products.
• Develop partnerships with external vendors and service providers to align internal product roadmaps, delivery timelines and operational excellence standards.
• Lead a user-centric design approach, leveraging user research, usability testing, and feedback loops to continuously improve the user experience and effectiveness of cloud solutions.
• Manage and sustain a robust data management & AI practice to protect sensitive information and ensure its accuracy and reliability.
• Lead cross-functional teams, including Business Analysts, Product Lead(s) and data platform specialists, by cultivating a culture of ownership, innovation, and continuous improvement across the data lifecycle.

Stakeholder Management & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build strong, collaborative relationships with key stakeholders across the organization to ensure alignment on product vision, priorities, and outcomes.
• Lead communication and decision-making across product teams, business units, and IT functional groups.
• Represent the team in leadership forums, strategic planning sessions, and cross-departmental initiatives.
• Act as a primary liaison between IT and various business functions, translating complex technical concepts into business outcomes and benefits.

Operational Excellence, Quality & Compliance

• Ensure operational stability, performance, and security by working closely with other IT teams.
• Assist in the establishment of governance frameworks for vendor partnerships and third-party software solutions, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture, compliance mandates, and business continuity objectives.
• Help define and enforce processes to ensure all feature releases comply with relevant regulatory requirements (e.g., GxP, HIPAA, GDPR) and internal quality and security standards.
• Ensure that all product releases meet rigorous quality standards and compliance requirements.
• Implement and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success, adoption, and business impact of digital solutions, driving continuous improvement based on data.

Team Leadership & Development

• Make recommendations for talent strategy to the team by attracting, developing, and retaining top talent within the team, fostering a high-performance and engaged work environment.
• Provide leadership and mentorship, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation and continuous growth through coaching, feedback and career development framework.
• Promote a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and adaptability to evolving technologies and business needs.

Budget Management

• Contribute to budget planning
• Manage budget allocation and financial planning across all product lines in their functional areas of support.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage through direct team of managers and high-level individual contributors.
• Coach and train managers and high level individual contributor to ensure retention of highly performing teams.
• Recruit staff to meet the unit’s immediate objectives and contribute to succession planning to meet longer term objectives.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

Education:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field and 11 years of related experience; or
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and 13 years of related experience; or
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Technical certification may be required

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in IT, with at least 6 years in a leadership role focused on cloud infrastructure and / or platforms.
• Proven experience in leading product development teams in an agile/product-centric operating model is essential.
• Strong understanding of the drug discovery or clinical development, or commercialization lifecycle within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company.
• Demonstrated success in defining and delivering complex cloud products that drive significant business value.
• Proven ability to architect and operate large and complex AWS environments
• Deep, hands-on expertise in AWS services
• Proficiency with GitHub, including GitHub actions
• Proficiency with continuous integration / continuous deployment tools and processes
• Experience with regulatory frameworks and compliance in a GxP environment.
• Proficiency with Ansible or Chef a plus

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Comprehensive level knowledge of Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• Advanced understanding of product management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Scrum, Kanban) and product lifecycle management.
• Intermediate level knowledge of modern development and deployment practices of continuous integration and continuous deployment.
• Intermediate level knowledge with infrastructure as code (IaC) tools, especially Terraform.
• Intermediate level knowledge with cloud and infrastructure automation.

Work Environment/Physical Demands:

Our office is a modern, open-plan space that foster collaborations and creativity. Teams work closely together, sharing ideas and solutions in a supportive atmosphere. We provide all necessary equipment, including dual monitors and ergonomic chairs, to ensure a comfortable workspace.

This position will require minimal travel.

#LI-EZ1

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The base pay range for this position is $203,500 - $288,000 annually. The base pay range may take into account the candidate’s geographic region, which will adjust the pay depending on the specific work location. The base pay offered will take into account the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, experience and internal equity, among other factors.In addition to the base salary, as part of our Total Rewards program, Exelixis offers comprehensive employee benefits package, including a 401k plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts. Employees are also eligible for a discretionary annual bonus program, or if field sales staff, a sales-based incentive plan. Exelixis also offers employees the opportunity to purchase company stock, and receive long-term incentives, 15 accrued vacation days in their first year, 17 paid holidays including a company-wide winter shutdown in December, and up to 10 sick days throughout the calendar year.

DISCLAIMER
The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to the job.