Executive Director, Information Technology

Reporting to the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, the Executive Director of Information Systems, Technology & Security Services provides strategic and operational leadership for the Institute’s enterprise technology organization. The Executive Director oversees information technology infrastructure, enterprise applications, cybersecurity, scientific computing, cloud services, data management, and technology planning in support of Salk’s scientific, administrative, and operational mission.

The Executive Director leads a department of approximately 17 staff. This position partners closely with Salk administration and faculty to develop technology strategies that strengthen research capabilities, improve institutional operations, mitigate risk, and align technology investments with Salk’s strategic priorities.

Who We Are

The Salk Institute is an internationally renowned research institution that values all members of our scientific community. We seek bold and interactive leaders passionate about exploring new frontiers in science. Our collaborative community embraces perspectives across discipline, professional acumen, and unique life experiences, fostering innovation, and a sense of belonging. Together, we strive to improve the wellbeing of humanity through groundbreaking research.

Founded by Jonas Salk, developer of the first safe and effective polio vaccine, the Institute is an independent, nonprofit research organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature, and fearless in the face of any challenge. Salk's vibrant community has many talented individuals from varied backgrounds, each playing a crucial role in driving our mission forward. From visionary leaders to dedicated administrators and brilliant faculty members, the Institute is united by a shared passion for scientific exploration and innovation. 

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the Institute's enterprise technology strategy in alignment with Salk's Strategic Plan.
• Provide visionary leadership for Information Technology, Information Systems, Scientific Computing, and Cybersecurity Services.
• Establish enterprise technology governance, ensuring technology priorities align with institutional goals and operational needs.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, including enterprise and administrative uses of artificial intelligence and cloud computing, to improve research capabilities and administrative operations.
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer service throughout the technology organization.
• Partners with stakeholders to develop and execute Salk’s artificial intelligence strategy for administrative operations, ensuring AI investments align with institutional priorities, improve organizational effectiveness, and are implemented with appropriate governance, security, and accountability.

Technology Operations & Risk

• Direct all enterprise technology operations, including infrastructure, networking, cloud services, storage, virtualization, endpoint computing, identity management, enterprise applications, and service management.
• Ensure the availability, reliability, scalability, and security of enterprise technology systems supporting research and administrative operations.
• Lead institutional cybersecurity strategy, incident response, business continuity, disaster recovery, and enterprise risk management.
• Oversee enterprise application platforms supporting Finance, Human Resources, Research Administration, identity management, reporting, analytics, and institutional operations.
• Ensure technology architecture, integrations, and data governance support long-term institutional objectives

Scientific Computing & Research

• Provide strategic oversight of research cloud services, high-performance computing resources, scientific data storage, research networking, and shared computational infrastructure.
• Partner with faculty and research leadership to advance scientific computing capabilities that support computational biology, genomics, imaging, AI, machine learning, and data-intensive research.
• Support technology initiatives that accelerate scientific discovery while balancing performance, cost, security, and sustainability.

Operational Management