Why choose AstraZeneca Spain?
AstraZeneca Spain is a rising force in our global business. With headquarters in Madrid and our global hub in Barcelona, we’ve become an important international centre of excellence in the fight against critical disease. Boasting vibrant universities and business schools, the Barcelona ecosystem is a place where scientists can thrive. We attract a diverse workforce from across the globe, shining a beacon for innovation in a country that’s committed to clinical development.
We invite you to bring your talents to Barcelona where our respiratory medicine R&D and Global Marketing centre offers opportunities in R&D, IT, Commercial and HR. Or join us in Madrid and shape our growth in our BUs (Respiratory, Oncology & CVRM ), and a range of Corporate functions. Additionally, you can find sales roles throughout the country. Together, we’re contributing to a world-leading pipeline of therapeutics and delivering life-changing medicines to patients.
Who do we look for?
Calling all tech innovators, ownership takers, challenge seekers and proactive collaborators. At AstraZeneca Spain, breakthroughs born in the lab become transformative medicine for the world's most complex diseases. Alongside technical expertise, colleagues have the resilience, energy and collaborative mindset to change lanes, work with different teams and start projects from scratch.
Here, diverse minds and bold disruptors can meaningfully impact the future of healthcare using cutting-edge technology. Whether you join us in Madrid or Barcelona, you can make a tangible impact within a global biopharmaceutical company that invests in your future. Join a talented global team that's powering AstraZeneca to better serve patients every day.
Success Profile
Ready to make an impact in your career? If you're passionate, growth-orientated and a true team player, we'll help you succeed. Here are some of the skills and capabilities we look for.
Diverse collaborators
This is a speak-up culture that values collaboration. You’ll proactively bring your unique perspectives, experiences and skills to the table and seek the same from others. With our international team composition and the need for fast-paced collaboration, you’ll always be building new connections with colleagues.
Cutting-edge innovators
When you join us, you’ll be part of a team that embraces digital technology and data to transform the way we work and the work we do. Every day, you’ll help make history, empowered to ignite your creativity and build something enduring.
Resilient trailblazers
Here, the answers aren’t always available. So, you’ll need to bring a fearless, self-starter mindset to navigate uncharted territories. You’ll harness your ceaseless energy to discover and make the necessary connections with colleagues to shape the future and achieve maximum impact.
Agile movers
Seize ownership and excel with autonomy to enjoy the constant rush of ground-breaking discovery. Your ability to anticipate sudden shifts and adapt swiftly will prove critical as you make your mark in an environment that rewards initiative and resilience.
Responsibilities
At AstraZeneca, this is where bold science meetsrealworld impact. In Vaccines & Immune Therapies, we turncuttingedgeideas into transformative medicines for some of the world’s most complex diseases.We directlyimpactthe lives of populations around the world, by turning our ambition to prevent disease intoa reality. With an agile mindset and the strength of a global brand, wechallengeand change how things are done.
We’rebuilding anorganisationthat resets expectations of what a biopharmaceutical company can be—opening new ways to work, pioneering novel methods, and bringing unexpected teams together.
Our Clinical Data Science team partners directly with clinical, biometrics and science teamsacrossresearch anddevelopment. We apply machine learning,large language models,predictivemodellingand advancedvisualisationsto acceleratedevelopment end to end. Now,we’relooking for aHead of Data Scienceto lead this team and the TherapeuticAreadata sciencestrategy.
Accountabilities:
AsHead ofData Science for V&I, you will define the data sciencestrategy for the TA and lead delivery of ahighimpact portfolio spanning clinical and operational/business data. You will set direction, inspire and develop a team of data scientists, and act as the TA’s senior spokesperson for data science—advising leaders, shaping investments, and ensuring our work translates into clear, actionable insights for the business and for patients.
You will cultivate strong partnerships acrossResearch & Development, IT,Medicaland Commercialas well as other data science groups, and manage external collaborations with vendors and academic partners.You’llalso champion scientificaccuracyand software engineering best practices to ensure robust, reproducible, and scalable delivery.
Whatyou’lldo
Set the TA strategy: Define and deliver the V&I data science strategy across clinical and operational/business domains, aligning to TA goals and strategy.
Grow impact and pipeline:Identifyandprioritisenew applications of data science in V&I; translate business problems into analytics questions and deliver solutions that inform decisions and predict outcomes.
Lead a highperforming team: Line manage and provide inspirational leadership to data scientists at varied career stages; cultivate an inclusive,learningorientedculture.
Be the TA’s data science voice: Serve as key expert and spokesperson; advise senior stakeholders on innovative analytics, generative AI, and related technologies, clearly communicating insights, uncertainty, and limitations.
Elevate standards: Drive adoption of best practices in model development,MLOps, validation, documentation, and data governance; define and implementTAspecifictraining.
Partner and influence: Build effective collaborations across internal data science groups; shape and manage external partnerships and vendors to deliver value at speed and scale.
Steer investments: Influence budgets and resourcing tomaximiseportfolio outcomes; contribute to and lead strategic initiatives across the TA.
Represent the function: Share AZ’s work at internal forums and external conferences, strengthening our scientific presence.
Essentialrequirements
PhD or MSc in a relevant discipline (e.g., statistics, computer science, mathematics, engineering, physics) or equivalent experience.
Proven data science leadership with endtoend delivery: data collection and preprocessing, modelling for business and clinical problems, anddecisionorienteddatavisualisation.
Significant experiencein drawing conclusions from analysis and presenting analysis results in a succinct fashion to senior stakeholders, along with recommended actions
Knowledge of data analytic and visualization tools such as R, Python, Spotfire or Tableau.
Experience working with database systems (egSQL, NoSQL, graph)
Proven experience in leading and managing colleagues
Experience in influencing and controlling budgets
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Desirablerequirements
Master’s degree ina quantitative fieldsuch as mathematics, computer science, engineering, physics, statistics, or economics.
Life sciences or healthcare experience, especially within clinical development or biometrics.
Experienceoperatingin highperformance computing or cloud environments.
Success in a complex, global organisation.
Experience in data mining, machine learning,large languagemodelsand/or operations research; strong fundamentals in statistics and algebra.
Demonstrated problemsolving aptitude and bias to action.
Why AstraZeneca
At AstraZenecawe’rededicated to being an excellent Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your ambitious spirit.There’sno better place to make a differencetomedicine,patientsand society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration, andalwayscommitted to lifelong learning,growthand development.We’reon an exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare.
When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash ambitious thinking with the power to encourage life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace, and challenge perceptions.
That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our outstanding and ambitious world.
What’snext
Ready to lead the data science agenda for Vaccines & Immune Therapies? Imagine the breakthroughs we can deliver together.We’reexcited to hear from you.
Date Posted
02-jan.-2026Closing Date
25-jan.-2026AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.
Reasons to Join
Thomas Mathisen
There are many things I enjoy when working at AstraZeneca, mainly the Speak up culture, the great colleagues that are in my teams, the great products that AstraZeneca provides to our patients and the challenging conversations I have around our medicines.
Christine Recchio
Working at AstraZeneca has impacted my life in such a positive way. I now have an improved work-life balance through creating my own schedule and time management, I feel a balance that I didn’t have before.
Stephanie Ling
There are a lot of reasons why I enjoy working in AstraZeneca, my colleagues being one of them. My team members and the managers have provided a great deal of guidance in helping me to be more confident in my daily work.
What we offer
We're driven by our shared values of serving people, society and the planet. Our people make this possible, which is why we prioritise diversity, inclusivity, balance and sustainability. Discover what a career at AstraZeneca could mean for you.
An award-winning company
We're passionate about being a great place to work, and 84% of our employees would recommend us as an employer. We've been recognised as a Top Employer in Spain, an EFR Family Responsible Business, and we achieved third place in Forbes Spain's Top 50 Best Places to Work list.
Inclusive environment
Diversity and inclusion are embedded in everything we do, and our different views, experiences and strengths enrich our culture. There's no salary gap at AstraZeneca, and the number of female employees has increased by four per cent over the last three years. We've also made all positions fully accessible.
Work-life balance
Your wellbeing means a lot to us, and we're here to support you through all of life's ups and downs. That's why we offer an unpaid leave policy, annual leave, reduced-hours timetables and a host of benefits, including a retirement plan, long service award, and health and travel insurance.
Sustainability initiatives
We're committed to harnessing the power of science to become a more sustainable business. We've reduced our carbon footprint by over 9,000 kg of CO2 over the last two years, and we lead the European GoGreen Project, which aims to introduce environmentally friendly options in our fleet of corporate vehicles.
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