Data Engineering Lead (Pharma OR LifeScience), 100% Remote

Data Engineering Lead (Pharma OR LifeScience),

100% Remote

12-24+ Months

Zoom or WebEx

 

I need a highly technical person for this role. someone who can be hands on but also speak to customers/stakeholders. They must have experience with databricks, CTMS, GxP, 21 CFR Part 11 and a strong overall background in the life sciences and biopharma space. They need to have a project manager mindset as they will be client-facing. They don’t need to be experts in site payments, just the info I mentioned above.

 

Job Description:  

Client is seeking a Technical Lead / Solution Architect to lead the design and delivery of a next-generation Site Payments and Investigator Fee Management data platform for a leading global biopharmaceutical organization.

 

This role sits at the intersection of clinical operations, finance, and data engineering, driving transformation across Integrated Site Payments, payment reconciliation, accruals, and contract budget analytics (FMV). The ideal candidate brings deep life sciences domain expertise in site payments combined with strong data architecture, modeling, and integration experience.

 

You will lead the architecture and implementation of end-to-end site payment data products, enabling transparency from clinical activity → budget → invoice → payment, while ensuring alignment across systems such as CTMS, EDC, SAP, and payment platforms.

 

This is a high-impact role focused on replacing fragmented, manual financial workflows with harmonized data models, scalable pipelines, and analytically ready payment layers, enabling better financial control, auditability, and decision-making across clinical trials.

 

Responsibilities:

 

2.  Data Architecture & Modeling

• Define and own the canonical site payments data model 
• Design scalable data models across: 
  • Payment analytics (foundation layer) 
  • Accruals and payable items 
  • Reconciliation datasets 
  • Budget and contract structures 
• Establish: 
  • Harmonized Silver/Gold data layers 
  • Standardized financial measures and currency handling 
  • Data lineage from source → transformation → consumption 
• Lead development of Source-to-Target Mapping (STM) across all payment-related systems 

 

3. System Integration Architecture

• Architect integrations across key platforms: 
  • CTMS 
  • EDC 
  • SAP / ERP systems 
  • Payment platforms (e.g., ICON, Ledger Run, DrugDev) 
  • Contracting tools (e.g., Agiloft, Ariba, CPP, BEST) 
  • Databricks or other big data platforms
• Define: 
  • End-to-end procure-to-pay lifecycle data flows 
  • Alignment of identifiers (PO, PR, Payee, Site, Study) 
  • Data synchronization and reconciliation strategies 
• Ensure integration supports Financial accuracy, Auditability, Regulatory compliance 

 

 

 

7. Technical Leadership & Delivery

• Lead cross-functional teams including Data engineers, Data analysts, Business analysts, SMEs in clinical and finance domains 
• Translate complex business requirements into scalable data architectures & clear technical designs 
• Drive Agile delivery, Iterative design reviews, Stakeholder alignment 

 

8. Governance, Compliance & Best Practices

• Ensure adherence to: 
  • GxP requirements 
  • 21 CFR Part 11 considerations 
  • Data governance and audit standards 
• Define best practices for: 
  • Data quality 
  • Financial controls 
  • Traceability and lineage 

 

Qualifications:

 

Domain Expertise (Must-Have)

• Deep experience in Life Sciences Site Payments / Investigator Fee Management 
• Strong understanding of: 
  • Clinical trial payment processes 
  • Site budgeting and contract negotiations 
  • Payment reconciliation and accruals 
  • Integrated Site Payments (ISP) models 
• Familiarity with: 
  • CTMS, EDC, and clinical workflows 
  • Financial systems (SAP or equivalent) 
• 10–15+ years in solution architecture / technical leadership 
• Strong experience in: 
  • Data modeling (canonical, relational, analytical) 
  • Source-to-Target Mapping (STM) 
  • Data pipelines and transformation layers 
• Experience integrating enterprise systems via: 
  • APIs / services 
  • Data pipelines / ETL 
• Knowledge of: 
  • Data warehousing (Databricks, Snowflake, Azure, etc. preferred) 
  • Financial data structures and reporting models 
  • GxP regulated system delivery
  • 21 CFR Part 11 compliance considerations

 

Integration & Systems

• Hands-on experience integrating: 
  • CTMS, EDC, ERP (SAP), and payment platforms 
• Strong understanding of: 
  • Procure-to-pay lifecycle 
  • Financial data flows 
  • Cross-system reconciliation 

 

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strong stakeholder management across: Clinical teams, Finance teams, IT / Data teams 
• Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions and lead workshops and architecture discussions 
• Excellent communication and documentation skills