Technical Director/Senior Director, Pharma Workflow Automation | Life Sciences

Location: United States (remote)

Business Unit: Life Sciences

Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

About the Company

Galatek is a Singapore-headquartered deep technology company focused on enabling the next generation of scientific discovery and advanced manufacturing. Combining artificial intelligence, precision engineering, advanced optics, and software platforms, we develop intelligent systems that help organizations operate with greater precision, productivity, and insight.

As science and industry become increasingly interconnected, Galatek is building the intelligent infrastructure that empowers breakthrough discoveries, accelerates industrial progress, and contributes to a more sustainable future. Operating across Asia, Europe, and North America, we partner with customers worldwide to transform complex workflows into intelligent, scalable, and future-ready systems.

About the Role

This role connects real pharmaceutical workflows to Galatek’s automation and AI for Science capability. The holder owns the full chain: understanding how pharmaceutical R&D, QC, CMC and production actually operate, identifying where the highest value sits, judging where automation and AI can realistically intervene, defining the solution, and converting it into a standardised, platform-based product rather than a one-off project.

This is a technical ownership role, not a product management role. The person is expected to make and personally defend scientific, engineering and regulatory judgment calls in front of customers, regulators and internal engineering teams - not to coordinate requirements between commercial and engineering teams.

It is a hands-on, domain-led position. Depth of scientific and technical judgment matters more than management methodology. The person in this seat is expected to hold an independent technical view and defend it in front of customers, regulators and internal engineering teams alike, and to stay personally involved in the technical work as the team grows.

The role sits at the intersection of pharmaceutical domain depth, automation and product creation. Candidates whose experience is concentrated in only one of the three are unlikely to be a fit.

Key Responsibilities

Workflow analysis

• Map real pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical workflows across discovery, process development, CMC, QC, MSAT and GMP production.

Scenario identification

• Identify the points in those workflows where automation or AI delivers measurable value in throughput, cycle time, data integrity, reproducibility, cost or compliance burden.
• Separate genuinely high-value scenarios from those that are technically interesting but commercially marginal.

Solution definition

• Define what the automation and AI4S solution must do for each prioritised scenario: scope, workflow boundaries, data requirements, instrument and software interfaces, and acceptance criteria.

Technical judgment

• Make the call on feasibility and approach alongside internal AI, software, robotics and hardware engineering teams.
• Own the scientific and regulatory soundness of the solution as designed — this accountability sits with this role, not with engineering or product teams.

Solution standardisation

• Convert validated, customer-specific engagements into standardised, repeatable technical solutions — defined workflows, data models and validation packages — deployable across multiple customers and sites without re-solving the science each time.

Technical specifications & platform assets

• Own the technical specification for each solution: scope, workflow boundaries, data requirements, instrument/software interfaces and acceptance criteria.
• Build the reusable asset base of workflow templates, data models and validation packages that moves delivery from one-off project work to repeatable technical work.

Customer engagement

• Work directly with pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers to validate scenarios and pressure-test solution design against how their sites actually run.

Technical authority

• Act as the domain authority in customer technical discussions, and support commercial teams where scientific credibility — not commercial framing — determines the outcome.

Technical roadmap input

• Feed customer site evidence, regulatory findings and technical feasibility learnings back into engineering and platform priorities on a continuous basis.

GMP and data integrity

• Ensure solutions are designed for GMP environments, with data integrity, computerised system validation and audit expectations built in from the start rather than retrofitted.

Regulatory readiness

• Anticipate the questions that FDA, NMPA/CDE and equivalent authorities will ask, and design solutions that withstand them.

Team building

• Build and lead a small, technically deep team as the scope grows, while remaining personally hands-on in the technical work.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline. An advanced degree (MSc or PhD) in bioprocess engineering, chemical engineering, biotechnology or a related field is an advantage.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience, of which at least 5 years must be first-hand, hands-on operating experience inside a pharmaceutical or biotechnology organisation - not advisory, vendor-side, or product-management-only - in one or more of: R&D and process development, CMC, QC, MSAT, or GMP production.
• Demonstrated experience in laboratory automation, process automation, digitalisation or scientific software, as a builder or owner rather than only as a user or buyer.
• A track record of turning a process or a one-off solution into something standardised and repeatable: a platform, a validated method, or a technical solution deployed at more than one site.
• Working knowledge of GMP requirements, with direct exposure to regulatory interaction or inspection (FDA, NMPA/CDE or equivalent).
• Practical understanding of how AI and machine learning apply to scientific and manufacturing workflows, and the judgment to distinguish where they add value from where they do not.
• Ability to work hands-on across scientific, engineering and technical-solution domains, and to make technical decisions on incomplete information.
• Advantageous: biologics, cell therapy or gene therapy process development and manufacturing scale-up; technology transfer across sites or geographies; design of experiments, process modelling or process analytical technology in a production setting; and establishing a capability or team from zero to one.
• Proficiency in English is required. Working proficiency in Mandarin is an advantage, as the role works closely with Mandarin-speaking R&D, engineering and manufacturing teams and with customers in Greater China.
• Willing to travel up to 25% of the time to engage with customer sites, manufacturing facilities and internal engineering teams across Asia, Europe and North America.

This Role Is Not

• A commercial or sales-facing role.
• A traditional Product Manager role (backlog ownership, roadmap prioritisation driven by commercial input, requirements-gathering between business and engineering).
• A pure automation/controls engineering role with no pharma operating background.
• A pure people-management role without ongoing hands-on technical involvement.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Professional training and development opportunities

Ready to Build What’s Next?

We’re not just designing machines – we’re building the future of autonomous and intelligent science and manufacturing. Join Galatek and take your career to the next level.

Galatek is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate different perspectives and believe diversity drives innovation. All employment decisions are made fairly, without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other characteristic that makes each individual unique.

For interested applicants, we welcome you to submit your updated resume to View email address on click.appcast.io for consideration. We appreciate your interest and look forward to hearing from you. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.