Associate Director- Data Strategy and Operations

550 Eli Lilly Services India Pvt Ltd; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 5,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Lilly is seeking a GOSO Data Strategy & Governance Lead to define and operationalize GOSO’s centralized data strategy. You will lead a small team, drive governance standards, and partner with Tech@Lilly and cross-functional teams to enable a trusted data spine across programs.

The role emphasizes AI-ready data structures on AWS/Databricks, data quality, lineage, metadata, and scalable implementations, with a focus on reducing silos and accelerating analytics and automation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field.
• 10+ years in pharmaceutical data engineering, platforms, and analytics.
• Strong data governance and cloud-based data architecture experience.
• Proficiency in SQL and Python/R.
• Experience with Databricks and AWS services.

Responsibilities

• Define and operationalize GOSO data strategy with cross-functional teams.
• Establish data governance standards to ensure high-integrity data.
• Translate requirements into scalable Data Spine implementations.
• Build AI-ready, governed data structures on AWS/Databricks.
• Mentor a small team of analysts/engineers for capability development.

Skills

Databricks

AWS

SQL

Python/R

Data governance

Data management

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

AWS services (S3, EC2, Redshift)

Databricks

AWS Glue

SQL-based ETL/ELT tools

Job description

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.

Position: GOSO Data Strategy & Governance Lead (P3 – Lead Consultant/Associate Director)

Company Overview

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our 39,000 employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve disease management, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We bring our best to our work—and we put people first. We’re looking for individuals who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Responsibilities The GOSO Data Strategy & Governance Lead will report to the GOSO DSO Lead and will play a critical role in defining and operationalizing GOSO’s centralized data strategy. This role will ensure strong governance, enable One Data Spine expansion, and support high-quality, trusted data for downstream analytics, insights, and AI-driven capabilities across GOSO. This role will also lead and mentor a small team, providing coaching, guidance, and skill development to strengthen the overall Data Spine organization.

Key Accountabilities

• Define and operationalize the GOSO-wide data strategy in partnership with Tech@Lilly, GOSO Functional Team (SFO, IC, DT, IBU, Medical) ensuring GOSO Data Platform supports all major GOSO data operational programs
• Establish and enforce data governance standards (quality rules, lineage, metadata, access controls) to reduce data silos and ensure consistent, high-integrity data across functions.
• Translate functional and business requirements into scalable, governed Data Spine implementations that support cross-functional analytics and insight-generation.
• Build and maintain AI-ready, governed data structures on AWS/Databricks to improve data consistency, availability, and readiness for advanced analytics.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for T@L on all data-related/tech initiatives, ensuring aligned priorities, transparent execution, and unified roadmap planning.
• Strengthen stakeholder alignment across GOSO Functions, T@L, and Enterprise Data teams to ensure predictable onboarding of new processes, tools, and data assets into GOSO Data Ecosystem.
• Identify opportunities to enhance data quality, streamline governance workflows, and reduce manual interventions through standardization and automation.
• Develop, mentor, and coach a small team of analysts/engineers, ensuring capability development, role clarity, and succession readiness.

Expected Business Outcomes

• Delivery of high-integrity, well-governed data that supports consistent analyses across IC, SFO, DT, IBU, Medical, and other functional teams.
• Increased readiness and availability of standardized datasets required for advanced analytics and automation initiatives.
• Significant reduction in manual operational effort through governance-led centralization, improved mastering, and process simplification.
• Strong cross-team alignment between GOSO Functional teams, T@L, and Enterprise team, enabling smoother One Data Spine expansion and more predictable project delivery

Basic Qualifications / Technical Skills

• Bachelor’s Degree (preferably in Computer Science, Engineering, Data /AI related fields).
• 10+ years of experience in pharmaceutical commercial data engineering, data platforms and analytics ecosystem
• Strong understanding of data management, data governance, and cloud-based data architectures and pharma commercial ecosystems
• Practical experience with Databricks and AWS services (S3, EC2, RDS, Redshift), Databricks, and data engineering/AI best practices.
• Expertise in SQL and proficiency in R/Python
• Strong understanding of ETL/ELT processes and experience with tools such as AWS Glue/Databricks
• Ability to quickly assess upstream/downstream impacts for data and system changes
• Strong stakeholder management and prior experience operating in a matrixed global environment

Additional Skills/Preferences

• Strong learning agility and strategic thinking.
• Ability to influence without authority and navigate complex stakeholder landscapes.
• Experience leading small teams or mentoring junior resources.
• High motivation with a strong desire to drive quality, standardization, and operational excellence

Equal Opportunity Employer Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response. Lilly does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

#WeAreLilly

At Lilly we strive to ensure our employees are part of a team that cares about them and our shared purpose of making life better for those around the world. How do we do this? We continue to look for ways to include, innovate, accelerate and deliver while maintaining integrity, excellence and respect for people. We hope that you seek to join us on our journey as we create medicine and deliver improved outcomes for patients across the globe!