Data Platforms Strategic Partner

At Astellas, we believe that nurturing exceptional relationships with our employees delivers exceptional business results.

Everyone at Astellas has a responsibility for creating a brighter future for patients around the world. From the first moment, Astellas will inspire you to put this ethos into practice – with a positive, agile company culture and with well-defined ethical principles, values, and systems.

Everything we do is led by our company values of integrity, being patient centric, taking ownership, delivering results, and communicating openly. These values are essential to Astellas’ relationship with its employees and now is an exciting time to join us as we continue to evolve as a cutting-edge, value driven life sciences innovator.

Purpose and Scope

As a Data Platforms Strategic Partner, you will perform a critical role within the Commercia Insights Data Strategy team (Data Platforms sub-team). Your main responsibility is to lead and/or support, implement, and stabilize advanced data solutions in the areas of (but not limited to) Cloud Data offerings, Data Warehousing/Lakehouse, Data Virtualization, Data Automation and Integrations, Data Observability, Master Data Management (MDM), Business Domain Data Architecture, and bespoke Business Applications/Portals/Platforms.

This is a global role that is also expected to build trusted partnerships with global, regional, and affiliate groups from various areas of the company (with co-colleagues within Commercial Insights and outside such as Medical Affairs, Information Systems (DX), Finance, Procurement, HR, etc.)as well as with external vendors/suppliers. Your balanced strategic and pragmatic mindset and your drive for continuous learning in the space of modern data management technologies will assist in further evolving the data platforms/solutions ecosystem for Commercial (with close partnership with Medical Affairs and IS/DX) – enabling faster and more efficient access to various datasets that are of quality and therefore trusted to support factual decision making.

Responsibilities

• From a business ownership lens, lead data solutions projects focusing on cloud data platform technologies in Data Warehousing/Data Lakes, Data Virtualization, Data Observability, Data Process Automation and Integrations, etc. that will utilize the following technology stack: AWS S3/RedShift, Databricks (or other virtualization/integration tool), Talend, data observability tools, etc.
• Effectively represent the team on other business and/or technical initiatives, e.g., Business Intelligence (BI)/Reporting and Advanced Analytics projects, Data Governance initiatives, Omnichannel projects, joint initiatives with Medical Affairs, technology roadmap alignment with IS/DX, etc.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders within and outside of Commercial Insights, e.g., with other global Commercial functions such as Omnichannel department, Commercial regions/divisions, Medical Affairs, Finance, Procurement, etc. to understand and document business requirements and translating them to technical specifications.
• As a key member of the newly formed Data Integrations and Platforms Management (DIPM) Value Team, own and/or support some of the initiatives (epics) and/or tasks (user stories) focusing on data evolution projects utilizing the new Agile way of working. Assist in the continuous monitoring and successful implementation of backlog items within this Value Team (VT) in close alliance with co-team members as well as with other VTs within the new GrowthX Hub.
• Support other initiatives outside of the DIPM Value Team, such as the Master Data Management solution expansion to other regions and potentially outside of Commercial (e.g., Medical Affairs), Product MDM pilot, and the various initiatives in the Omnichannel Foundation Pod within GrowthX Hub.
• Provide oversight and expertise as necessary to existing operational data solutions, processes, and activities. Aid in developing data governance and quality control framework(s) to ensure these solutions have robust data integrity checks.
• Assist in the review, design, and scale up of data platforms/systems, tools/technologies roadmap review, etc. via strong engagement with the IS/DX groups and technical suppliers.
• Stay up-to-date on the latest trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in modern data management and life cycle solutions and processes. Must possess “think outside the box” mindset to identify and deliver innovative ideas/options for process improvements to further evolve the existing data solutions with business value wins, efficiency, and practicality in mind.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer or information/Data Science, Information Systems, or STEM field.
• At least 7 years of relevant experiences.
• Strong understanding and experience in Data Warehousing/Data Lakehouse platforms and data life cycle management concepts and methodologies from a solution implementation and upscaling lens. This includes but not limited to data/dimensional modeling and architecture, data quality and referential integrity checks, data observability (cataloguing, lineage, etc.).
• Good understanding and/or exposure to advanced data tools and techniques in the areas of data virtualization (e.g., data fabric/mesh, optimized query federation, etc.), data process automation (e.g., robotic process automation), data discovery (e.g., AI/NLP-enabled data insights generation), data observability (e.g., AI-enabled technical metadata and data cataloguing, automated data lineage monitoring), DaaS (data as a service), PaaS (platform as a service), etc.
• Experience with and/or solid exposure to the following technologies or equivalent: AWS (S3, RedShift), Talend, SQL, Databricks, Python, etc.
• Exposure to and/or good understanding of other data management tools such as (but not limited to):Data Observability, Governance, Quality Control solutions (e.g., Monte Carlo, Collibra, Informatica, etc.)
• Experience with and/or good exposure to the following business applications: SAP, Veeva solutions in MDM (Network) and CRM, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with Business Intelligence (BI) tools such as Qlik, Tableau, or equivalent.
• Adept in Project and Change Management and System Development Life Cycle methodologies.
• Extensive computer proficiency in other Microsoft products: Excel, VBA, Macros, Access, Visio, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint Online (for customized business applications), etc.
• Excellent organizational, planning and project management skills with a strong attention to detail and ability to effectively manage cross-functional projects.
• Demonstrated ability to understand business requirements as well as underlying infrastructure applications, systems, and processes. Proven experience in process mapping, process improvement, and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability in taking initiative to proactively evaluate existing strategies and processes and recommend best-fit solutions when appropriate.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and influencing skills to effectively interact to a diverse audience and gain impact with senior-level decision makers.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment, collaborating with diverse groups of stakeholders, including business and technical colleagues from various areas and in various roles within the company, across multiple cultures and regions, facilitating effective collaboration in diverse environments.
• Self-directed with strong attention to detail and must be able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment with flexibility to adapt to changing requirements, technologies, and shifting priorities.
• Solid stakeholder, resource, and external supplier/vendor management skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in computer or information/Data Science, Information Systems, or STEM field
• Certifications in appropriate area(s) such as Cloud Computing Solutions (e.g., AWS Suite), PMP, etc.
• Strong knowledge of Agile methodologies and frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, etc. Adept in project management delivery tools such as: MS Azure DevOps, MS Project, or equivalent.
• Pharmaceutical or BioPharma experience with good understanding of secondary data sources commonly used (e.g., script level, patient longitudinal, promotional, omnichannel data, etc.)
• Subject Matter Expertise: possess a strong understanding of data architecture/engineering/operations/ reporting within Life Sciences/ Pharma industry across Commercial, Medical (R&D), and Finance domains.