Head of Engineering DIA R&D (Santa Clara)

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.The PositionHead of Engineering DIA R&DAs a Head of Engineering in Diagnostics (DIA) R&D, you’ll lead the teams that build the engineering foundation beneath our science, and the development of your people will be your first responsibility. You’ll help them shape their own career paths and open the opportunities that let them grow, remove the roadblocks in their way, and set the clear goals that good performance management depends on. You’ll lead software and service delivery with focus, clearing impediments, managing stakeholders well and building efficiencies into the way teams collaborate.Description of the Area:You’ll architect and deliver the next generation of DIA R&D engineering capabilities, leading teams that bring together advanced AI and ML, laboratory informatics infrastructure and computational science. You’ll develop engineers who can work through the unusual complexity that comes when biology, chemistry and technology meet, from LIMS and ELN systems to agentic AI and cloud-scale data platforms. And you’ll drive technical excellence and pace while holding the rigour and compliance standards that Diagnostics R&D depends on.The Opportunity:In this role, you’ll have the room to drive technical excellence and shape platforms built for what comes next. You’ll:Develop future capabilities: Build the engineering strengths the function will need next, and coach your people through the long arc of their careers, including the systemic roadblocks that hold whole teams back.Shape strategy and vision: Co-create the long-term technical direction and strategy for the computational science and AI/ML platform portfolio.Set the technical standard: Define the platform architecture for AI/ML infrastructure (model deployment, MLOps, vector databases), scientific computing (HPC and cloud compute), laboratory informatics (LIMS and ELN integration) and the data platforms beneath them.Own delivery: Take accountability for how the portfolio performs in production, holding the line on quality, reliability and the performance SLAs people depend on.Manage complex dependencies: Direct technical priorities across a portfolio that spans AI solutions, bioinformatics pipelines, laboratory systems and data infrastructure, keeping the architecture coherent and free of duplication.Engage senior stakeholders: Build the relationships that make engineering possible here, with research leadership, IT infrastructure, Quality and Compliance, enterprise architecture and cloud platform teams, and align priorities and resources across them.Sharpen engineering practice: Improve how the teams build, from CI/CD pipelines for validated systems to infrastructure-as-code, automated testing and model deployment.Steward budget and resources: Manage the team’s budget, including headcount, operating costs and vendor contracts, and make the trade-offs that put resources where they matter most.Who you are:We’re looking for a leader who pairs technical depth with regulatory discipline, and who has already built and run engineering organisations rather than stepping up to lead one for the first time. You’ll bring:Education: A bachelor’s or advanced degree, typically in an engineering, IT or business discipline.Engineering leadership: 10+ years in software and platform engineering, including 5+ years leading cross-functional technical teams, with managers as well as engineers reporting to you.Regulated life sciences: 5+ years in pharmaceutical R&D, biotech, diagnostics or another regulated life sciences environment, with a working command of GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, GAMP 5 and risk-based validation.Production AI and ML: 3+ years leading AI/ML engineering teams, with systems you’ve taken to production at scale rather than pilots: LLM-based platforms, MLOps frameworks such as MLflow or SageMaker, vector databases and RAG workflows among them.Scientific and laboratory informatics: Hands-on experience with laboratory informatics platforms such as Sapio, Benchling or LabVantage, instrument integration, scientific computing environments (HPC and GPU infrastructure) and data standards such as FAIR and CDISC.Architecture and DevOps: Deep expertise across cloud platforms (AWS, Azure or GCP), microservices, API design, containerisation (Docker and Kubernetes) and GitOps, with the standing to lead serious modernisation work.Leadership in practice: Strong business sense and genuine executive presence. You lead through others, coaching as much as deciding; you’re comfortable with ambiguity, and you can translate technical investment into business value that non-technical leaders can see.What you get:Salary range 30,300 - 56,300 PLN gross monthlybased on the employment contract.Annual bonus payment based on your performance (target 20%).Car or Car Allowance.Private healthcare ( LuxMed packages), group life insurance (UNUM) and Multisport.Recharge Fridays (2 Fridays off per quarter).Take Time Program (up to 3 months of leave to use for any purpose).Flex Location (possibility to perform our work from different places in the world for a certain period of time).Take Time for Charity (additional paid leave of maximum 2 weeks to engage in the charity action of your choice).Stock share purchase additions.Yearly sales of company equipment and many more!Ready to bring your strengths to Roche and help shape the future of diagnostics? Apply now and join us in doing now what patients need next.#RDT2026The controller of your personal data is Roche Polska Sp. z o.o., ul. Domaniewska 28, 02-672 Warsaw. The data is processed for the purpose of recruitment. You have the right to access your data, rectify it, delete it, limit processing, transfer it and - if processing is based on your consent - withdraw this consent at any time. Contact the Data Protection Officer at: View email address on apply.placed-app.com. More information on the principles of processing your personal data by Roche at the link: Roche Polska sp. z o.o. operates in full compliance with the law and does not tolerate any violations. Roche Polska sp. z o.o. has implemented a Procedure for Reporting Violations of Law. If you wish to report any irregularities related to our activities, all necessary information regarding the reporting process can be found on our website:.Compensation & BenefitsThe expected salary range for this position, based on the primary location of Warsaw Grafit is 364,000.00 PLN - 676,000.00 PLN. Final compensation will be determined by a number of factors, including your skills, experience, qualifications, and location. In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus with a target of 20% subject to both individual and company performance.This position also offers an attractive benefits package.Learn more about how we reward our employees at Roche.This job is posted in multiple locations. If you're applying for the role in an alternative location where pay transparency regulations apply, the Talent Acquisition Partner will share the local pay information with you ahead of any business interview.Who we areA healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.Let’s build a healthier future, together.Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.SummaryLocation: Warsaw; Madrid; Poznan; Santa Clara; PleasantonType: Full time