Senior Director, Development AI Program Management

Why Join Us?   Be a hero for our rare disease patients At Ultragenyx, we fundamentally believe that taking real impactful action to care for the needs of patients and our people is always the right thing to do. To achieve this goal, our vision is to lead the future of rare disease medicine. For us, this means going where other biopharma companies won’t go – challenging the status quo and creating a new model that advances our field so more patients and caregivers can benefit from life-changing treatments. We do this by following the science, applying a novel rapid development approach, making innovative medicines at fair and reasonable prices, and creating a collaborative ecosystem to reach patients in ways that are most meaningful for them.    Our commitment and care for patients extends to our people, so culture is an essential cornerstone for Ultragenyx. We remain continuously focused on creating a supportive and inclusive environment of profound learning and growth – so employees can thrive in all areas of their lives, in and outside of work. Ultimately, we want to be an organization where we would be proud for our family, friends and children to work.   If you want to have a meaningful impact, do the best work of your career, and grow a lot, both professionally and personally, come join our team.

Position Summary:

ultrafocused – Work together to fearlessly uncover new possibilities

The Senior Director, Development AI Program Management leads the delivery of Development’s highest-priority AI and operational transformation initiatives, turning enterprise AI capability into realized business value. Partnering closely with IT, the Development organization, and the AI Steering Committee, this leader prioritizes the portfolio, orchestrates cross-functional teams, and drives initiatives from concept through adoption on time, on scope, and to intended outcomes. They own end-to-end delivery accountability and provide ongoing quality, performance, and compliance oversight of deployed AI use cases across the Development lifecycle. This is a senior leadership role that builds the delivery engine and program discipline needed to scale responsible AI across Development

Work Model: 

Remote: Officially documented as working full-time from home, with travel to Ultragenyx's offices or other locations on occasion as needed.

Responsibilities:

• Portfolio prioritization. Partner with Development leaders and the AI Steering Committee to identify, evaluate, and prioritize AI and transformation initiatives against business value, feasibility, risk, and strategic fit, maintaining a clear, sequenced roadmap.  

• Program & project leadership. Lead the end-to-end delivery of high-priority AI and operational transformation initiatives, coordinating across Development, IT, and other stakeholder from initiation through deployment and hand-off.  

• Delivery accountability. Own scope, timeline, budget, resourcing, dependencies, and risk management; keep initiatives on track and resolve blockers to ensure predictable, on-time execution.  

• Value realization. Define success metrics and business cases up front, then track, measure, and report realized value-efficiency, quality, and impact-against commitments after go-live.  

• Business-to-technology partnership. Serve as the primary delivery interface to IT, translating business priorities into clear requirements and ensuring solutions are built on IT's platforms, standards, and scalable delivery model.  

• Performance & compliance oversight. Provide ongoing quality oversight of deployed use-case performance; monitor outputs, drift, and adoption, and ensure solutions remain compliant with GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, and data governance requirements.  

• Organizational change management. Lead adoption, training, and change management for delivered solutions so new AI-enabled workflows are embedded, sustained, and generating value across teams.  

• Governance & reporting. Establish and run program governance-status reporting, stage gates, steering updates, and decision forums-providing executives and the AISC with clear visibility into progress, risk, and outcomes.  

• Stakeholder & executive engagement. Build trusted relationships across Development, IT, the AI Steering Committee, CMC, PPM, and other partner functions; align stakeholders and communicate progress and impact to senior leadership.  

• Capability building. Develop and mentor project delivery talent and establish repeatable program-management standards, tools, and playbooks that scale responsible AI delivery across Development.  

Requirements:

• Education. Bachelor's degree in a scientific, engineering, technology, or business discipline required; advanced degree (MS, MBA, or PhD) preferred.  

• Experience. 12+ years of experience in biopharma/life sciences drug development, R&D operations, or technology-enabled transformation, including 5+ years leading large, cross-functional programs and teams.  

• Delivery track record. Demonstrated success leading complex, enterprise-scale initiatives end-to-end and delivering measurable business outcomes and value realization.  

• AI & digital fluency. Working knowledge of AI/automation solutions and how they apply to Development workflows; able to bridge business needs and technical delivery in partnership with IT.  

• Regulatory & compliance. Strong understanding of GxP-regulated environments, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, and validation expectations for computerized/AI systems.  

• Leadership & influence. Proven ability to lead without direct authority, influence senior stakeholders, and drive alignment and decisions across functions.  

• Certifications (preferred). PMP, PgMP, Agile/Scrum, or equivalent program/project management certification; change-management certification (e.g., Prosci) a plus.  

• Skills. Executive communication, portfolio prioritization, stakeholder management, risk management, metrics/value tracking, and change leadership.  
• Travel. Ability to travel up to ~10-15% for team, partner, and stakeholder collaboration as needed.  

#LI-CS1 #LI-Remote

The typical annual salary range for this full-time position is listed below. This range reflects the characteristics of the job, such as required skills and qualifications and is based on the office location noted in this job posting. The range may also be adjusted based on applicant's geographic location.

This position is eligible for annual bonus and equity incentives. Actual individual pay is determined by demonstrated experience and internal equity alignment.

Pay Range$242,800—$300,000 USD  Full Time employees across the globe enjoy a range of benefits, including, but not limited to:   ·         Generous vacation time and public holidays observed by the company ·         Volunteer days ·         Long term incentive and Employee stock purchase plans or equivalent offerings ·         Employee wellbeing benefits ·         Fitness reimbursement ·         Tuition sponsoring ·         Professional development plans   * Benefits vary by region and country

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital and veteran status, and any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for all protected statuses or classifications protected by applicable law, including individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, and based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants can request an accommodation prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, you may contact Talent Acquisition by emailing us at talentacquisition@ultragenyx.com.

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