| Location | Newark, CA |
| Salary | $170,000–$210,000 Per Year |
IT Lead - R&D Informatics
Position Type: Contract (9-months)
About Us
Protagonist Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company built on a proprietary peptide technology platform that has now produced two FDA-approved, first-in-class medicines, generating royalties and milestones from global commercial partnerships with Johnson and Johnson and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. ICOTYDE (icotrokinra), licensed to Johnson & Johnson company Janssen Biotech, Inc., is the first and only targeted oral peptide that precisely blocks the Interleukin-23 receptor. ICOTYDE was launched in the U.S. in March 2026 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age or older and is in Phase 3 development for psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn''s disease. ICOTYDE was jointly discovered by Protagonist and Johnson & Johnson scientists, with Protagonist having primary responsibility for the development of ICOTYDE through Phase 1, and Johnson & Johnson assuming responsibility for further clinical and regulatory development and commercialization. Protagonist also discovered and led research and development through Phase 3 for MIMRYLO (rusfertide), a first-in-class hepcidin mimetic peptide licensed to Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited for worldwide commercialization. MIMRYLO is approved in the U.S. for the treatment of erythrocytosis in adults with PV. The Company also has a number of clinical and preclinical programs based on clinically and commercially validated targets and addressing unmet medical needs, including an oral IL-17 antagonist peptide, anti-obesity dual and triple agonists, an oral hepcidin functional mimetic, and the recently announced IL-4 and amylin discovery programs.
More information on Protagonist, its pipeline drug candidates, and clinical studies can be found on the Company''s website at https://www.protagonist-inc.com.
Position Summary
We are seeking a hands-on R&D Informatics Lead to own and continuously improve Protagonist's R&D Informatics capabilities supporting our lab functions. This role will serve as the business-facing IT system owner and technical lead for R&D Informatics and Discovery lab systems, with primary ownership of Thermo Fisher Scientific - Labguru across ELN, SDMS, and LIMS capabilities. The successful candidate will partner closely with Discovery scientists, IT, Quality, lab operations, and external vendors to translate scientific workflows into scalable, secure, well-governed, and user-friendly digital research solutions.
This role combines strategic roadmap ownership with practical system administration, configuration, support, implementation delivery, user enablement, data governance, integrations, reporting readiness, and AI/ML-ready scientific data foundations. The ideal candidate brings Discovery science domain understanding, R&D Informatics ownership, Labguru expertise, technical delivery capability, and strong cross-functional stakeholder leadership.
We are committed to a thriving in-office culture. This role requires being on-site at our office in Newark, CA 4 days a week.
Key Responsibilities
administration, lifecycle management, and continuous improvement of Labguru and related lab
informatics solutions (including AI/ML solutions).
to convert current-state workflows into standardized, scalable, secure, and supportable digital processes.
access management, configuration updates, issue triage, enhancement requests, release assessments,
vendor escalations, and production readiness.
scientific requirements into scalable, well-engineered secured platform solutions.
enhancement backlog, prioritization framework, stakeholder communication, and governance cadence.
future-state processes, identify informatics opportunities, and recommend scalable digital solutions.
file/data transfer workflows, APIs or interfaces, scientific data repositories, reporting tools, and adjacent
applications.
reporting, archival, reuse, security, and AI/ML-ready research data foundations.
requests, validation or testing support, change control inputs, and production readiness activities.
support, usage monitoring, feedback loops, adoption metrics, risk tracking, and executive-ready status
updates.
Required Qualifications
Biology, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
pharmaceutical, or life sciences organizations.
administrator, or technical lead for R&D Informatics platforms such as ELN, SDMS, LIMS, sample
management, inventory, chromatography, reporting tools, or scientific data systems.
inventory management, assay workflows, instrument-generated data, and scientific research data lifecycle
needs.
interfaces, permissions, security controls, backup/recovery concepts, reporting enablement, and data
governance practices.
stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Discovery science discipline, with progression into R&D Informatics, IT systems, software implementation,
platform ownership, or data engineering.
chromatography data systems, LIMS, automation platforms, data lakes, scientific data warehouses, AI
solutions or reporting tools.
scientific data foundations.
change control, compliant documentation, and regulated research or quality environments.
backlogs, support tickets, SLA expectations, production support practices, and system governance forums.
documents, business cases, and implementation roadmaps for R&D Informatics or lab transformation
initiatives.
Pay Range
The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $170,000 and $210,000/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
Benefits
A top priority for Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. is to provide a robust and comprehensive health and wellness program for our employees and their families. We offer a variety of high-quality coverage and benefit options.