Strive to Bring a Profound Difference to our Patients

At Avidity Biosciences, we are passionate about the impact of every employee in realizing our vision of improving people’s lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics. Avidity is revolutionizing the field of RNA with its proprietary AOCs, which are designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to address targets and diseases previously unreachable with existing RNA therapies. If you are a committed, solution-oriented thinker, join us in making a difference and become part of our growing culture that is integrated, collaborative, agile and focused on the needs of patients. 

Avidity Biosciences, Inc.'s mission is to profoundly improve people's lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics - Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs™). Utilizing its proprietary AOC platform, Avidity demonstrated the first-ever successful targeted delivery of RNA into muscle and is leading the field with clinical development programs for three rare muscle diseases: myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Avidity is broadening the reach of AOCs with its advancing and expanding pipeline, including programs in cardiology and immunology through internal discovery efforts and key partnerships. Avidity is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information about our AOC platform, clinical development pipeline, and people, please visit www.aviditybiosciences.com and engage with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced leader to head our Information Technology (IT) AI and Advanced Analytics function. In partnership with AI and data leaders and other functional stakeholders across the organization, this role will be responsible for driving our organization's comprehensive data and IT AI strategy, including data architecture, data governance, data engineering, and business intelligence to deliver actionable insights and business value. This role will also work closely with Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and Enterprise Architecture teams to ensure that AI and data initiatives are secure, scalable, and fully integrated with Avidity Biosciences’ IT ecosystem. By aligning these initiatives with our broader IT strategy, this role will help drive innovation and support the organization's growth through data-driven insights and advanced analytics.
 

What You Will Contribute

Artificial Intelligence:

• Lead the development and implementation of IT’s AI strategy and initiatives in partnership and alignment with the Vice President (VP) of AI and ML.  In partnership with the VP of AI and ML, advise on Avidity’s company AI strategy.
• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of analytics and AI projects for enterprise GenAI and SaaS based AI solutions, from ideation to production deployment.
• Ensure best practices in areas like model development, responsible AI, and analytics governance.
• Work with the Cybersecurity team to implement robust data protection measures, ensuring that all AI and analytics activities comply with industry regulations and internal security protocols.
• Collaborate with the Infrastructure team to ensure that the computational and data storage resources required for AI initiatives are available, optimized, and scalable.
• Partner with Legal and other stakeholders on evolving our policies and procedures to support the responsible and ethical use of AI.
• Stay abreast of the latest developments in AI technologies, recommending new approaches as appropriate.
• Foster a culture of innovation and AI adoption across the organization.

Data Strategy and Governance:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive enterprise data strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Establish fit for purpose data governance policies, procedures, and standards to ensure data quality, security, and compliance.
• Implement data quality management processes and tools.
• Create and maintain a data catalog and metadata management system.
• Develop data literacy programs to foster a data-driven culture across the organization.
• Manage, prioritize, and align enterprise-wide data procurement, projects, and initiatives

Data Architecture:

• Deep dive analysis of the current data and analytics landscape (data architecture, hierarchies, quality, lineage, metadata, and governance) to identify opportunities, risks, and challenges; propose and own tactical solutions.
• Design and oversee the enterprise data architecture to support analytics and AI capabilities.
• Ensure that data and AI initiatives are aligned with the organization’s Enterprise Architecture, working to deploy data products and integrate AI solutions seamlessly with existing IT systems while adhering to architectural standards.
• Develop and maintain data models, including conceptual, logical, and physical models.
• Implement data integration patterns and best practices.
• Evaluate and recommend data storage solutions, including data lakes and data warehouse.

Data Engineering:

• Lead the development of robust data pipelines and ETL processes.
• Implement data processing frameworks for batch and real-time data processing.
• Oversee the implementation of data versioning and lineage tracking.
• Ensure efficient data storage and retrieval mechanisms.
• Implement data security measures at various levels of the data stack.

Data Application and Infrastructure Management:

• Own and maintain overall accountability for support and adoption of enterprise-wide data technology platforms including master data management, active metadata management and digital data catalog, enterprise BI, AI/ML, data lake and data warehousing environments.
• Implement data access and sharing policies that adhere to security requirements and enable data democratization.
• Develop self-service analytics capabilities for business users.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement in data infrastructure and application management, ensuring integration and interoperability between various data systems and applications stays optimized and resilient.
• Implement logging, monitoring, and alerting systems for data applications and systems to ensure availability, performance, and security,
• Develop and implement a robust and scalable data infrastructure strategy that aligns with immediate business needs and supports future growth.

Leadership and Strategy:

• Build and manage high-performing teams across AI, data governance, data architecture, data engineering, and business intelligence.
• Partner with business leaders to identify opportunities for data-driven solutions that drive measurable business impact.
• Communicate insights, recommendations, and data/AI strategy to senior leadership.
• Develop and manage budgets for data and AI initiatives.
• Establish metrics and KPIs to measure the success and ROI of data and AI initiatives.

What We Seek

• 12+ years of experience in data and AI-related roles, with 7+ years in leadership positions.  Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience in designing and implementing large-scale data solutions and AI applications.
• Deep expertise in AI and data strategy, data architecture, data engineering, data governance, and advanced analytics.
• Proven experience in collaborating with Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and Enterprise Architecture teams to deploy scalable and secure AI solutions.
• Strong understanding of modern data stack and cloud-based data platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure) and their data services.
• Strong understanding of data security and compliance requirements in AI and analytics, with experience working closely with cybersecurity teams.
• Proficiency in data modeling, ETL processes, and database management systems.
• Strong technical skills in languages like Python, SQL, and experience with big data technologies.
• Knowledge of data privacy regulations and compliance requirements.
• Innovative, capacity to think through enterprise lens and forward thinker with good grasp of new technologies, competitive landscapes, and the regulatory environment
• Ability to align AI strategy with the organization’s overall IT and security goals, ensuring that AI solutions are both innovative and secure.
• Organizational change management experience, leveraging key change management principals and tools for the rollout of new capabilities and introduction of change to the business.  In addition, monitored and drove the adoption of new business processes and IT capabilities with a strong focus on user experience.

• Vendor management experience including vendor due diligence, contracting, and performance management.  Fosters partnerships and contracts which result in competitive investment for Avidity and maximizes the efficiency of vendor performance.
• Ability to creatively influence global stakeholders and IT colleagues to achieve objectives and realize business value.

• Strong leadership and decision-making skills, able to develop positive coaching/mentoring relationships with direct reports and global matrixed team members.
• Demonstrated ability to lead AI initiatives that require collaboration across IT domains, including R&D Commercial, Corporate functions, Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and Enterprise Architecture.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Able to understand and absorb complex information and requirements.

• Ability to effectively facilitate meetings (e.g., status meetings, functional requirements gathering, process flow development workshops, end user training, etc.)
• Excellent organisational skills, meticulous and methodical. Good at prioritising and flexible enough to adapt plans. Comfortable working to tight deadlines and within constraints.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a strong ability to lead change management initiatives and communicate complex information simply and effectively.
• Forms trusting, collaborative and strategic relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners with skills in assertion, negotiation, influencing, tact and diplomacy ensuring that AI initiatives are integrated, secure, and drive innovation throughout the organization.

What We will Provide to You:

• The base salary range for this role is $200,600 - $221,800.The final compensation will be commensurate with such factors as relevant experience, skillset, internal equity and market factors.
• Avidity offers competitive compensation and benefits which includes the opportunity for annual and spot bonuses, stock options and RSUs, as well as a 401(k) with an employer match. In addition, the comprehensive wellness program includes coverage for medical, dental, vision, and LTD, and four weeks of time off.
• A commitment to learning and development which includes a variety of programming internally developed by and for Avidity employees, opportunities for job-specific training offered by industry, and an education reimbursement program.