Director, Solution Engineer, Data Storage and Registration

Role Summary

Discovery, Preclinical, and Translational Solutions (DP&TS) sits at the center of Pfizer’s scientific software work, building the digital tools that help researchers move from target identification through clinical translation.

We’re looking for a Solution Engineer to own data storage and registration for integrative biology research. This is a hands-on role: you’ll design, build, and maintain the capabilities that determine how biological research data gets stored, registered, and accessed. You’ll partner with the aligned capability lead to scope and prioritize what gets built, and work across scientific, product, and engineering stakeholders to deliver solutions that are secure, scalable, and useful for researchers.

You’ll work hands-on in AWS and GCP, building storage and data services that span both clouds and hold large omics datasets (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, imaging). You’ll need depth in large-scale data management and cross-cloud integration, plus enough scientific fluency to earn credibility with computational biologists and engineers alike.

Reporting to the Principal Engineer, Integrative Biology Solutions, you’ll define the technical direction for data storage and registration within the Integrative Biology space, aligning with scientific strategy, regulatory requirements, and enterprise architecture. You’re expected to be hands-on writing and reviewing real code, not just directing while also setting the standards and patterns that guide contractors and cross-functional teams. You’ll lead contractor teams as needed to extend capacity.

You’re the primary technical owner: individual engineering depth combined with cross-functional leadership. The problems are real, large-scale, heterogeneous scientific data with strict regulatory requirements, and the solutions need to hold up at research scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and Lead Data Storage and Registration Solutions: own data storage and registration end-to-end: design, implementation, and maintenance. Work with the Capability Lead to prioritize and scope features. Lead contractors as needed to extend capacity.
• Oversee Data Storage, Registration, and Scientific Data Stewardship: design and implement scalable data storage, experiment registration, metadata, provenance, lineage, access control, and findability capabilities. Set the storage, metadata, and stewardship standards that make Integrative Biology omics data trustworthy, reusable, and AI-ready across AWS and GCP.
• Define Standards and Best Practices: establish and maintain standards, architectural patterns, and governance frameworks for the capability area. Get them documented and adopted by delivery teams and contractors.
• Collaborate with Capability Lead and Business Stakeholders: work closely with the R&D capability lead to understand business needs, translate scientific requirements into technical solutions, and keep the backlog prioritized. Be the technical partner scientists and product stakeholders can rely on.
• Lead Contractor Teams and Drive Delivery: direct contractors as needed: provide technical guidance, review their work, and hold the line on quality, scope, and timelines.
• Provide Technical Guidance and Architecture Leadership: make and document key technical decisions, review designs and implementations, and guide technical direction for contractors and cross-functional partners in the capability area.
• Drive Innovation, Continuous Improvement, and Operational Excellence: identify and address technical debt, performance issues, and security gaps. Keep the platform moving forward in line with changing research and business needs.
• Solve Highly Complex and Cross-Disciplinary Problems: solve complex data engineering and storage challenges: large-scale heterogeneous scientific data, demanding research workflows, and the compliance requirements that come with a regulated environment.
• Build and Operate Cross-Cloud Storage and Data Services: design and implement storage, registration, and data access capabilities across AWS and GCP. Own identity federation, network connectivity, data movement, and replication between clouds so researchers can work with data where it lives without duplicating it.
• Manage Data Lifecycle, Performance, and Cost at Scale: define storage tiering, retention, archival, and egress policies for very large omics datasets. Monitor storage and transfer costs and tune for throughput on high-volume analytical and pipeline workloads.

Basic Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Data Science, Bioinformatics, Engineering, or related discipline)

Experience:

• 8+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, data engineering, or solution engineering roles, with demonstrated hands-on delivery of complex data storage, registration, or related platform capabilities.
• Proven experience designing, building, and maintaining data storage and registration solutions in a scientific or regulated enterprise environment, including hands-on implementation accountability.
• Experience defining standards, best practices, and technical patterns within a capability or domain area, and driving their adoption across delivery teams.
• Strong technical background in data engineering, cloud-native platforms, and software development, with the ability to contribute individually and lead contractor teams toward delivery outcomes.
• Hands-on experience designing and operating storage and data services in both AWS and GCP, including at least one production system that integrates data or services across the two clouds.
• Experience managing very large scientific or research datasets (hundreds of terabytes to petabytes), including tiering, lifecycle management, performance tuning, and cost control.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in Python, Typescript, Java, or other modern high-level language
• Expertise in infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Helm) and CI/CD (e.g., GitHub Actions)
• AWS: S3 (including storage classes and Glacier), IAM, Lake Formation, Glue, Athena, and high-throughput file storage such as FSx for Lustre.
• GCP: Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Dataproc or Dataflow, IAM and Workload Identity Federation, and VPC Service Controls.
• Cross-cloud integration: identity federation between AWS and GCP, private connectivity (Direct Connect, Cloud Interconnect, Cross-Cloud Interconnect), data transfer and replication tooling (e.g., Storage Transfer Service, DataSync), and egress cost management.
• Modern data architectures: lakehouse patterns and open table formats (Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake) that work across cloud engines.
• Omics data: working knowledge of common formats (FASTQ, BAM/CRAM, VCF, Parquet, HDF5/AnnData, Zarr) and how their size and access patterns affect storage design.

Other Requirements

• Demonstrated experience in working with regulated data, compliance frameworks, and secure development practices
• Ability to lead complex engineering efforts across global, cross-functional teams
• Fluent in English; capable of clear technical communication across scientific and engineering disciplines

Preferred Qualifications

 

Education: Master’s or PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Data Science, Bioinformatics, Engineering, or related discipline)

Domain Expertise

• Experience supporting pharmaceutical R&D, life sciences, or computational biology
• Familiarity with GA4GH standards for omics data (DRS, htsget, refget, Passports) and FAIR data principles
• Experience with scientific workflow platforms such as Nextflow, Snakemake, AWS HealthOmics, or Google Cloud Batch.
• AWS or GCP professional-level certifications, such as Solutions Architect Professional or Professional Cloud Architect.

Technical Leadership

• Recognized internal or external technical thought leadership in integrative biology, omics data ecosystems, computational research environments, AI-ready data products, or scientific analytics capabilities
• Experience directing contractor teams or vendor resources on technical delivery, including providing technical guidance, reviewing work, and maintaining quality standards

Strategic Capabilities

• Familiarity with research environments and how data scientists and computational biologists work, including their tooling preferences and data workflows
• Experience working with large volumes of scientific or research data, including understanding the technical challenges of data at scale (performance, storage costs, data quality, heterogeneous formats, findability)

Travel Requirements

• Travel up to 10% may be required for business activities.

 
Candidate demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact.

NON-STANDARD WORK SCHEDULE, TRAVEL OR ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

Travel up to 10% may be required for business activities.

Work Location Assignment: Hybrid

Last Date to Apply for Job: 11/30/2026

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $162,900.00 to $271,500.00.* In addition, this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 20.0% of the base salary and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program. We offer comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support each of life’s moments. Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage. Learn more at Pfizer Candidate Site – U.S. Benefits | (uscandidates.mypfizerbenefits.com). Pfizer compensation structures and benefit packages are aligned based on the location of hire. The United States salary range provided does not apply to Tampa, FL or any location outside of the United States.* The annual base salary for this position in Tampa, FL ranges from $146,600.00 to $244,400.00.This role is posted in multiple locations. If you are applying for the role in an secondary job posting location where pay transparency regulations apply, your Talent Advisor will share the local pay information with you during the first interview.

Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.

Sunshine Act

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EEO & Employment Eligibility

Pfizer is committed to equal opportunity in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability or veteran status.  Pfizer also complies with all applicable national, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA.  Pfizer is an E-Verify employer.  This position requires permanent work authorization in the United States.

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