Global pharmaceutical R&D and innovative medicines
AstraZeneca Success Story
With over 60,000 employees, AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused pharmaceutical company, with an emphasis on creating genuinely innovative medicines and improving access to them.
Key Results
14
Data Science & ML Roles Filled
66%
Submission-to-Interview Rate
1:9
Submission-to-Offer Ratio
We stepped up to the challenge in 2018, placing eight lead and principal Data Scientists out of ten open requisitions within six months—an 80% fill rate in a highly specialized and competitive market.
During our second engagement in 2020, we submitted 122 candidates, of which 81 completed at least one round of interviews. This gave us a submission-to-interview ratio of over 66%, demonstrating our ability to identify and present highly qualified candidates that meet AstraZeneca's rigorous standards.
This exceptional interview rate resulted in six additional placements, bringing our total to 14 Data Science and ML professionals successfully placed across AstraZeneca's global R&D operations.
The History
In 2018-2019, we engaged with AstraZeneca, through a direct referral and recommendation from Faisal Khan. After resigning from his role at Aetna, Faisal took the executive director role at AstraZeneca.
Faisal had become familiar with our work during his previous position at Aetna, where we had placed multiple candidates under his supervision. Faisal's team at AstraZeneca was part of their global R&D team that harnesses Data, ML, and AI technologies to minimize time for drug discovery and development.
Key Challenges
Global expansion under tight timeframes
When we engaged with AstraZeneca, Faisal had a budget of $300 million, with a desire to rapidly expand his teams in three different locations: Washington D.C. USA, Cambridge, UK, and Gothenburg, Sweden. Our ability to work under pressure and time constraints is something that sets us apart from other recruiters in our industry.
High-caliber talent for pharmaceutical R&D
Finding lead and principal-level Data Scientists with both technical expertise and domain knowledge in pharmaceutical research required deep industry connections and understanding of the unique requirements of global R&D operations.
Our Approach
We leveraged our established relationship with Faisal Khan and deep understanding of his hiring needs from our previous collaboration at Aetna. This allowed us to hit the ground running with a clear understanding of the technical requirements and cultural fit needed for AstraZeneca's global R&D initiatives.
Our international recruiting capabilities enabled us to source qualified candidates across multiple geographies, ensuring we could support the expansion across Washington D.C., Cambridge, and Gothenburg simultaneously while maintaining consistent quality standards.
Performance Metrics
Our engagement with AstraZeneca spanned two distinct phases, demonstrating consistent quality and efficiency in our recruitment process across both engagements.
| Period | Submissions | Tech Interviews | Onsite Interviews | Offers | Hires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 - Phase 1 | 45 | 32 | 18 | 10 | 8 |
| 2020 - Phase 2 | 122 | 81 | 42 | 14 | 6 |
"I've used HopHR's recruitment services as a hiring manager in two different companies. In my career, I've worked with a number of recruiters, but HopHR is in a class of its own when it comes to partnering in the process. They just 'get it' and have consistently identified excellent global candidates for my positions worldwide and have assisted in filling multiple roles at all levels of experience."
Faisal Khan
Executive Director, Data Science, AstraZeneca
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