Head of Platform

Head of Platform, Bridge Analytics

Location : South San Francisco, CA (Hybrid, 2 days / week in office)

Organization : Bridge Analytics

Level : Sr. Director

About Bridge Analytics

Bridge Analytics is a new, not-for-profit organization with a vital mission : to accelerate the development of therapies for Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders. We are a core component of the ambitious CNS Quest, a large‑scale initiative dedicated to catalyzing progress in scientific discovery and creating more therapeutic opportunities for people with Parkinson's disease, profound autism, and bipolar disorder. We believe that the key to unlocking new treatments lies within the vast and complex biomedical data generated by pioneering research.

Our vision is to build a world‑class analytical ecosystem that makes it easier for researchers and therapy developers to access, analyze, and collaborate with data. We are the tide that raises all boats, enabling open science and empowering the world’s leading researchers with the tools they need to make breakthrough discoveries. By taking on the complex challenges of data infrastructure, harmonization, and long‑term stewardship, we allow the scientific community to focus on what it does best : moving science forward.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a visionary and experienced Head of Platform to lead the strategy, development, and delivery of the Bridge Analytics Environment (BAE). This is a unique opportunity to build a foundational data platform that will serve as the central hub for data from some of the most important longitudinal clinical studies in the neuroscience field.

You will be the single‑threaded owner of a platform designed not just for data storage, but for active discovery. The BAE will empower researchers to perform advanced, cross‑cohort analyses, share code and workflows, and ultimately accelerate the journey from data to life‑changing therapies. As a leader in a lean and mission‑driven organization, you will be instrumental in shaping our technical strategy, our team, and our impact on the world.

What You'll Do

Own the Vision and Technical Roadmap : Define and drive the strategic vision, product feature roadmap, and technical architecture for the Bridge Analytics Environment (BAE), ensuring it meets the urgent needs of the CNS research community.

Architect a Scalable Ecosystem : Lead the design and implementation of a cutting‑edge, cloud‑based data ecosystem. Ensure the architecture is scalable, reliable, secure, and capable of handling diverse biomedical data types (pre‑clinical, clinical, imaging, sensor, and 'omics).

Lead and Build a World‑Class Team : Recruit, manage, and mentor a high‑performing, multi‑disciplinary team of Engineers, Technical Program Managers, and Bioinformaticians. Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, innovation, and user‑centricity.

Drive Platform Delivery : Be fully accountable for the end‑to‑end delivery of the platform, from data ingestion and harmonization to the implementation of analysis workspaces and tools for sharing code and reproducible workflows.

Champion a "Buy and Integrate" Strategy : Lead the execution of our "build vs. buy" strategy, which favors integrating best‑in‑class vendor solutions. You will own the primary relationship with our core platform partners and manage a small portfolio of other vendors to assemble a cohesive, powerful, and sustainable platform.

Forge Strategic Partnerships : Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with key data platform owners and users in the ecosystem, including those from the Allen Brain Institute, FNIH AMP PD, and the Gates Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative, ensuring seamless interoperability and data federation. You help foster collaborative decision‑making when other data platforms and users are impacted by your platform choices and changes.

Embed Usability and User Success : Our users are neuroscientists, data scientists, and clinical researchers. Engage users regularly to ensure that their needs are deeply embedded in our product development lifecycle, creating intuitive, reliable, and powerful tools that remove friction from their research process.

Oversee Technical Governance and Compliance : In partnership with our Operations team & Compliance consultants, architect and implement rigorous security measures and technical capabilities that support best practices in data governance. Ensure compliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule, GDPR, and other relevant regulations, as well as aligning with contractual obligations pertaining to data generation, storage and use. You are responsible for the security of systems, data, and technology assets and for security training for your team, and testing, and monitoring of potential security and privacy breaches.

Who You Are

An Experienced Technical Platform Leader : You have 15+ years of experience in technology, with a proven track record of architecting, building, and scaling large‑scale data platforms, ideally at a Director level or equivalent. An advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related field is strongly preferred.

Expert in Cloud and Data Technologies : You possess strong expertise in Google Cloud Platform and its native data solutions including data warehousing and analytics (e.g., BigQuery, Vertex AI). You have hands‑on experience building software reliant on big data technologies (e.g., Databricks, Snowflake).

Fluent in the Biomedical Data Domain : You are a champion of FAIR principles, and have deep knowledge of healthcare data standards and sharing patterns (e.g., HL7, FHIR, GA4GH) and extensive experience with diverse biomedical data types. Expertise in bioinformatics topics such as genetics, genomics, proteomics, or neuroimaging is a significant advantage.

A Product‑Driven Thinker : You possess a strong product mindset, with deep experience in user research, roadmap development, and agile execution. You are obsessed with understanding user pain points and building elegant solutions.

A Master of Partnerships : You have a demonstrated ability to identify, negotiate with, and manage strategic vendors and partners. You know how to build "win‑win" relationships that drive value and accelerate delivery. You forge strong relationships with ecosystem users and can successfully navigate changing needs and competing timelines among users and with your own delivery team.

A Leader of Cross‑Functional Teams : You have significant experience managing and integrating the work of diverse technical teams, including software engineering, product management, and program management.

Strategically Minded and Operationally Strong : You can operate at the 30,000‑foot level, setting a multi‑year vision, while also being comfortable diving into the details of a technical design or a product sprint to unblock your team. You understand and communicate operational and strategic impacts throughout delivery. You are reliable and deliver on your commitments.

Mission‑Aligned : You are driven by the desire to have a tangible, positive impact on human health and are excited by the prospect of working in a nimble, not‑for‑profit environment focused on solving one of society’s most pressing challenges.

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