Amgen Limited Posted October 30, 2026

Senior Director Observational Research

Cambridge, United Kingdom Full time
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Amgen Limited is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Career Category

Clinical

Job Description

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients   

At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission, to serve patients living with serious illnesses, drives all that we do.

Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline and portfolio of medicines to treat heart disease, obesity and obesity-related conditions, rare diseases, inflammatory conditions and cancer.  As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives.

Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

SENIOR DIRECTOR OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH 

What you will do 

Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role, you will provide global strategic leadership for Amgen’s Observational Research Clinical Operations function within Clinical Program Strategy & Operations (CPSO), driving the strategy and execution of observational studies, pragmatic clinical trials, and innovative real-world evidence generation approaches. You will shape the function’s operating model, capabilities, and portfolio priorities, ensuring high-quality, efficient, and compliant delivery of evidence that supports product development and patient outcomes.

Lead the global clinical operational strategy, planning, and execution of the Observational Research portfolio, aligning delivery with product development and evidence generation objectives.

Translate innovative evidence generation strategies into scalable and effective operational delivery models, including observational research and pragmatic clinical trials.

Set portfolio priorities and oversee operational governance, resource allocation, budgets, vendor strategies, risk management, and performance.

Establish strategic partnerships with Product Teams, the Center for Observational Research (CfOR), Global Development Operations (GDO), and other cross-functional stakeholders to ensure successful portfolio execution.

Lead and develop the Observational Research function, shaping organizational capabilities, workforce planning, talent development, and succession strategies.

Drive operational excellence, quality, and compliance through standardized processes, inspection readiness, continuous improvement, and innovative technologies.

Represent the function in senior leadership and governance forums, influencing strategic decisions and advancing future evidence generation capabilities.

What we expect of you 

We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. What we seek in you as an experienced  professional, are these qualifications and skills:

Degree educated

Extensive experience in clinical research, clinical operations, and/or real-world evidence generation, including significant experience within the biopharmaceutical industry.

Proven leadership of global clinical operations, complex programs, and evidence generation portfolios, particularly observational research and pragmatic clinical trials.

Strong business acumen and strategic thinking, with the ability to translate broader organizational objectives and innovative real-world evidence strategies into actionable clinical operational plans.

Demonstrated people leadership experience, including building and developing high-performing global teams, workforce planning, and talent development.

Strong understanding of global clinical development, evidence generation, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and applicable regulatory and quality standards.

Experience overseeing portfolio planning, budgets, resource allocation, operational governance, and external partnerships, including CROs and service providers.

Proven ability to lead organizational transformation, drive innovation, and implement continuous improvement initiatives.

Strong executive presence, communication, and influencing skills, with the ability to engage senior leadership and navigate complex, global matrix organizations.

Strategic decision-making and problem-solving capabilities, with a focus on operational excellence, risk management, and successful portfolio delivery.

What you can expect of us 

As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, we’ll support your journey every step of the way.

In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers competitive and comprehensive Total Rewards Plans that are aligned with local industry standards.

Apply now and make a lasting impact with the Amgen team.   

 

careers.amgen.com  

As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities, consistent with legal requirements. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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Job details

Seniority
Senior Director
Function
Clinical Development
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Clinical Development role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 328 comparable Senior Director Clinical Development roles across 59 biopharma companies.

328Comparable roles tracked
299Currently active
59Companies hiring similar roles
14Countries represented

Salary context

159 of 328 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Patient Safety, Medical Director · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Peer group range $0 – $468,000 (median $291,983)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 328 comparable roles

United States280
United Kingdom21
India6
Switzerland5
France3
Spain3

+ 8 more countries

Seniority mix

328 of 328 peers have a known seniority level

Director236
Senior Director62
Executive/VP30

Therapeutic area mix

112 of 328 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology50
Immunology22
Neuroscience20
Cardiovascular / CVRM8
Respiratory4
Vaccines & Infectious Disease3
Rare Disease2
Gastroenterology1
Ophthalmology1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Mylan Pharma UK Limited Sandwich, United Kingdom Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. Uxbridge, United Kingdom Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
BMS Business Services Ltd Uxbridge, United Kingdom Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Amgen Limited Cambridge, United Kingdom Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
BMS Business Services Ltd Uxbridge, United Kingdom Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
50%similar
Astellas Pharma Addlestone, United Kingdom Director
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Clinical Development job in the United Kingdom, and choose locations and companies.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
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Mylan Pharma UK Limited · Sandwich, United Kingdom · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Director, Clinical Risk & Insights
Amgen Limited · Cambridge, United Kingdom · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
50%
Director, Global Clinical Physician Late HOCT - GI Oncology
BMS Business Services Ltd · Uxbridge, United Kingdom · Director
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
50%
Exec Director, Clinical Development (MD)
Gilead Sciences Europe Ltd. · Uxbridge, United Kingdom · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.