DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, DCRI

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Research Technology Officer (CRTO), the Director of IT Technology Solutions is responsible for the leadership, planning, and management of information technology services supporting DCRI’s research and administrative missions. This role provides broad functional oversight across multiple IT domains and leads associate directors, managers and senior professionals to deliver secure, reliable, and effective technology solutions aligned with organizational strategy, regulatory requirements, and operational objectives. The Director partners with DCRI leadership, Duke Health Technology Solutions (DHTS), Duke Office of Information Technology (OIT) and external vendors to ensure high‑quality service delivery, sound governance, and continuous improvement of technology capabilities.

** NOTE: This position may have an opportunity to work remotely.  All Duke University and Duke Health remote workers must reside in one of the following states or districts:  Arizona; California; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Illinois; Maryland; Massachusetts; Montana; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Virginia or Washington, DC., Washington (State), Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, Maine, Ohio, New Hampshire, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oregon, Iowa, Missouri, Delaware, and Connecticut

Primary Responsibilities and Task

Leadership and Strategic Direction

• Partner with the Chief Research Technology Officer (CRTO) to define and execute the strategic vision for the technology solutions department.
• Align technology priorities, investments, and roadmaps with DCRI leadership, enterprise stakeholders, and institutional partners.
• Develop and maintain multi-year roadmaps supporting operational excellence, application modernization, and scalable digital platforms.
• Establish and monitor KPIs and service metrics to ensure performance, reliability, security, and continuous improvement.
• Monitor emerging technologies and industry trends to drive innovation and maintain organizational competitiveness.

Collaboration and Governance

• Lead or support cross-organizational initiatives, governance forums, and strategic committees in collaboration with directors and senior leaders.
• Partner with Duke Health Technology Services (DHTS) and the Duke Office of Information Technology to leverage shared services while ensuring DCRI-specific requirements are met.
• Establish enterprise IT standards, governance models, and best practices across applications, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and operations.
• Represent the organization externally on technology matters and interface with key customers and federal agencies on project specific and potential business development activities.

Technology Operations and Delivery

• Oversee enterprise systems and clinical research platforms, ensuring availability, integration, lifecycle management and technical support.
• Direct application development and delivery using Agile and Plan-Build-Run models with clear accountability for internal and external teams.
• Lead Azure cloud, infrastructure, and IT operations including service continuity, disaster recovery, resiliency and data integrity.
• Provide oversight for technical project management, development, testing, training, DevOps, CI/ CD pipelines, release management and monitoring.
• Ensure effective system integrations and data flows across clinical research, administrative and enterprise platforms.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex technical issues, leading incident response, problem management, and service recovery efforts.

Financial and Vendor Management 

• Manage annual operating and capital budgets for DCRI’ technology in partnership with the CRTO and Finance team including multi-year financial planning.
• Track forecast, identify risks, and proactively adjust plans to meet financial targets and delivery commitments.
• Ensure effective utilization of internal and external resources.
• Oversee vendor and third-party relationships, including contracts, performance management, technical review, cost effectiveness, and solution delivery.

Personnel Management 

• Partner with the CRTO, Director of Data and Digital Health, and HR to build a future-ready technology workforce aligned with DCRI’ mission.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, development, mentoring and retention of technology solutions staff, including contractors.
• Manage performance through clear role definitions, goal setting, coaching, feedback and career development planning. 
• Oversee multiple functional teams through associate directors and managers, fostering accountability, innovation and collaboration.
• Ensure consistent people practices, expectations and employee experience across the TDHS department.
• Communicate vision, priorities, policies, and progress clearly and consistently to staff.

Cybersecurity, Privacy and Regulatory Compliance

• Provide oversight for cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance programs, ensuring implementation of risk-based controls, vulnerability management and continuous monitoring.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations and standards, including HIPAA, GDPR, GxP, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171.
• Partner with internal and external auditors to manage or support technical assessments, audits, CAPA and inspections.
• Stay current with evolving regulatory requirements and ensure timely alignment of IT services and applications.
• Promote ethical, secure, and compliant handling of sensitive research and clinical data.

Other Duties

Performs other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

Required Qualifications

Education/Training:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive IT leadership experience within contract research, pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology, or academic research organization.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

• Experience in enterprise applications, database systems, analytics platforms, and clinical research systems.
• Strong knowledge of Agile, SDLC, ITIL, infrastructure operations, and DevOps practices, and platforms like Atlassian or ServiceNow.
• Proven experience with cloud platforms (Azure preferred, AWS & GCP acceptable), CI/CD pipelines, and modern architecture.
• Experience leading cybersecurity, risk management, and compliance programs in regulated environments.
• Understanding of Generative AI, agentic workflows, LLMs, and process automation.
• Experience working within shared-service models and managing external IT partners.
• Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and executive presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead distributed, cross-functional, and cross-cultural teams.

Preferred Registration, Certification or Licensure: 

• PMP, ITIL, Agile or relevant cloud certifications (e.g., Azure Administrator) preferred but not required. 

Work Environment:

• Hybrid work environment with occasional travel required for meetings or on-site support.     

Minimum Qualifications

Education

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Experience

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Degrees, Licensures, Certifications

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