Senior Director Commercial Advanced Analytics & Data Strategy at Acadia
**Who this is for** This role is for a strategic leader passionate about leveraging data and advanced analytics to drive commercial decision-making in the pharm
Work type: hybrid
Location: San Diego, California, United States
Salary: $234,000 – $292,000/yr
Type: Full-time
Summary
**Who this is for** This role is for a strategic leader passionate about leveraging data and advanced analytics to drive commercial decision-making in the pharmaceutical industry. You will be instrumental in shaping Acadia's data strategy and building sophisticated analytics capabilities.
**Key highlights** You will lead the definition, development, and scaling of analytics and data strategy, ensuring high-quality data and AI-driven insights are integrated into commercial planning and execution. This position offers the opportunity to build and mature advanced analytics capabilities and serve as a trusted advisor to leadership.
**You might be a good fit if you...**
- Have a proven track record in defining and leading advanced analytics projects and AI/ML solutions.
- Possess strong experience in developing commercial data strategies and enabling scalable data platforms.
- Can translate complex business needs into actionable analytics use cases and decision frameworks.
- Are adept at partnering cross-functionally and influencing business leaders with data-driven insights.
Job Description
About Acadia Pharmaceuticals
Acadia is committed to turning scientific promise into meaningful innovation that makes the difference for underserved neurological and rare disease communities around the world. Our commercial portfolio includes the first and only FDA-approved treatments for Parkinson’s disease psychosis and Rett syndrome. We are developing the next wave of therapeutic advancements with a robust and diverse pipeline that includes mid- to late-stage programs in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and Lewy body dementia psychosis, along with earlier-stage programs that address other underserved patient needs. At Acadia, we’re here to be their difference.
Please note that this position can be based in Princeton, NJ, San Diego, CA, or San Francisco, CA. Acadia's hybrid model requires this role to work in our office three days per week on average.Position Summary
The Sr. Director, Commercial Advanced Analytics & Data Strategy is a strategic leadership role responsible for defining, building, and scaling the analytics capabilities, data strategy, and governance frameworks that enable commercial decision-making across the organization. This role ensures that high quality data, advanced analytics, and AI enabled insights are seamlessly integrated into commercial strategy, planning, launch execution, and in market optimization. The Sr. Director serves as a strategic partner cross-functionally, translating business priorities into scalable analytics products and platforms while ensuring governance, compliance, and measurable business impact.
Over time, this role will build and mature commercial advanced analytics and data capabilities, establish fit‑for‑purpose operating models, and define future talent and capability needs to support the evolving business. The role will work closely with Acadia’s AI team, which provides shared AI expertise across Commercial and R&D, as well as with IT teams responsible for enterprise data, infrastructure, and platform enablement.
Primary ResponsibilitiesCommercial Analytics Strategy & Leadership
- Partner with Commercial leadership to define the advance analytics vision, strategy and initiatives that enables the development of scalable analytics and decision-support capabilities that drive business outcomes
- Lead and govern advanced analytics projects, predictive analytics, and AI/machine learning solutions supporting brand strategy, launch planning, patient support, segmentation, targeting, omnichannel optimization, and sales effectiveness.
- Enable AI-driven commercial use cases such as next-best-action, customer engagement optimization, automated forecasting, and scenario planning.
- Balance innovation with rigor by ensuring analytics solutions are interpretable, validated, and compliant with internal and external requirements including privacy laws
- Translate commercial business questions into analytics use cases, models, and decision frameworks.
- Ensure analytics outputs and insights are actionable, adopted, and embedded into commercial planning, existing workflows, processes, systems and demonstrate measurable outcomes.
- Act as a trusted advisor to Commercial leadership, influencing decisions through data-driven insights
- Partner with the Enterprise AI team to identify, prioritize, and scale high-value AI and advanced analytic capabilities, solutions and governance.
Data Strategy, Governance and Cross-Functional Enablement Leadership- Establish commercial data strategy to support the organization in achieving its business objectives. This includes leading the acquisition, implementation, and evolution of the commercial data assets, including syndicated claims, EMR, prescription, HUB/SP/Partner, promotional, and digital data.
- Partner cross-functionally with Enterprise Data, IT, and infrastructure teams to enable scalable data platforms, data pipelines, and tools that support analytics, AI, and self-service insights.
- Oversee vendor selection and management for data sources, analytics tools, and platforms.
- Establish governance frameworks for data access, analytics validation, and model lifecycle management.
- Collaborate with legal/compliance teams to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, and internal data privacy and security policies.
- Partner with IT data and infrastructure teams to align commercial analytics needs with enterprise architecture, platform standards, security requirements, and long-term data strategy.
Leadership & Communication- Serve as a bridge between business stakeholders and technical teams, ensuring clarity of requirements and outcomes.
- Influence senior executives through concise storytelling, visualization, and business impact measurement.
- Build, lead, retain and mentor a high-performing team and capability in support of advanced analytics, data acquisition, and data governance, while fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and innovation.
- Assess and evolve organizational capabilities, talent, and ways of working needed to scale commercial advanced analytics over time.
- Other responsibilities as assigned.
Education/Experience/SkillsBachelor’s degree in data science, statistics, engineering, computer science, or a related field; Advanced degree (MS, PhD, or MBA) preferred. Targeting 12 years of progressively responsible experience in commercial analytics, data science, or data infrastructure data strategy, or related functions, with significant experience in biotech or pharmaceutical organizations. An equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be considered.
Key Skills:
- Advanced analytics, modeling, and visualization tool experience (AI/ML, predictive analytics (Python), SQL, R and PowerBI).
- Experience working with modern data platforms and cloud technologies (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks, DataRobot, Dataiku, AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Deep experience and understanding of commercial datasets, data environments, and data vendors (including Hub, Specialty Pharmacy, patient services, Veeva CRM, syndicated claims, prescriptions, payer, social media/website, Google, Facebook etc.).
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional AI/ML and Analytical initiatives and influence senior stakeholders and to drive adoption of analytic solutions.
- Solid understanding of pharmaceutical commercialization concepts including launches, brand planning, and lifecycle management.
- Demonstrated experience in leading data governance initiatives and processes.
- Demonstrated ability to design and communicate complex systems and analytical solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences, aligning resources and execution to achieve functional and enterprise goals.
- Proven abilities with executive-level communication, data storytelling, and change leadership.
- Demonstrated impact of analytics on commercial strategy, decision making, performance, and ROI.
- Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop talent while building organizational capability in a fast-evolving environment.
- Experience partnering effectively with cross-functional partners and business stakeholders to deliver scalable analytics solutions.
- Ability to balance strategic vision with hands-on prioritization and execution in fast past environment.
Physical RequirementsThis role involves regular standing, walking, sitting, and the use of hands for handling or operating equipment. The employee may also need to reach, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and maintain visual, verbal, and auditory communication in a standard office environment and while working independently from remote locations. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. This position requires the ability to travel independently overnight and/or work after hours as required by travel schedules or business needs.
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In addition to a competitive base salary, this position is also eligible for discretionary bonus and equity awards based on factors such as individual and organizational performance. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance, and location.
Salary Range
$234,000—$292,000 USD
What we offer US-based Employees:
- Competitive base, bonus, new hire and ongoing equity packages
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Employer-paid life, disability, business travel and EAP coverage
- 401(k) Plan with a fully vested company match 1:1 up to 5%
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 2-year purchase price lock-in
- 13 -15 paid holidays, including office closure between December 24th and January 1st
- 10 days of paid sick time
- Paid parental leave benefit
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