Associate Director, IT Senior Engineer

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 169,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision

401(k) match

Paid holidays and paid leave

Job summary

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. seeks a Sr. AI Platform Engineer (Associate Director) to lead enterprise-scale AI platform initiatives in a regulated pharmaceutical setting.

You will architect and deliver reusable agentic components, multi-agent orchestration, and governance-aligned patterns across Dataiku, Azure AI, AWS Bedrock, and Snowflake Cortex. You will guide platform and partner teams, ensure SRE/SecOps alignment, and drive scalable, secure AI production pathways with strong

Qualifications

• 10–12+ years of hands-on experience in AI/ML Platform Engineering, LLMOps/MLOps, DevOps with a proven track record.
• Strong Python engineering skills and FastAPI/Flask experience.
• Experience with Dataiku for workflow orchestration and plugin extensions.
• Deep familiarity with LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, Semantic Kernel.

Responsibilities

• Design and engineer reusable Agentic AI components and multi-agent workflows.
• Lead platform/partner teams to deliver framework components such as CI/CD blueprints and IaC modules.
• Guide solution teams onto approved platform pathways (Dataiku, Azure/AWS AI services).
• Ensure security, compliance, and governance in a regulated pharmaceutical environment.
• Build reusable components and enablement patterns across domains.

Job description

We are seeking a hands on Sr. AI Platform Engineer (Associate Director) to collaborate and drive platform aligned AI outcomes across the enterprise. The role provides engineering leadership and AI solution architecture oversight for platform and framework deliverables - reference patterns and guardrails, CI/CD & IaC blueprints, governance by design controls, observability, and cost/performance posture - delivered on approved platforms (Dataiku, Azure AI, AWS Bedrock/AgentCore, Snowflake Cortex). Operating in a regulated pharmaceutical environment, you will lead small delivery teams and collaborate with Data Science, Cloud/Infrastructure, and IT to guide use cases onto secure, reliable, compliant production pathways, while building reusable components and agentic enablement patterns adopted across domains.

• Design and Engineer reusable Agentic AI components and multi‑agent workflows for planning, reasoning, memory, and tool orchestration using LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, and Semantic Kernel.
• Apply emerging AI interaction standards including Model Context Protocol (MCP) and A2A (Agent‑to‑Agent) communication to support scalable multi‑agent systems.
• Lead small platform/ partner teams to deliver framework components : CI/CD blueprints, IaC modules, prompt/model versioning, evaluation harnesses, policy‑as‑code, observability dashboards (telemetry/drift/safety), and incident runbooks.
• Help and drive enablement of the Agentic AI C4E by creating practitioner knowledge articles, supporting and leading office hours, and engaging on project scoping, architecture reviews, and governance alignment.
• Contribute and operationalize enterprise AI reference architectures, standards, and guardrails to align teams on consistent patterns and quality.
• Implement evaluation frameworks for LLMs, prompts, safety/guardrails, hallucination risk, and performance metrics; de‑emphasize RAG where not required.
• Contribute to enhancing internal AI frameworks, orchestration templates, and reusable components to improve scalability and delivery consistency.
• Collaborate with Platform Engineering to align deployments with enterprise CI/CD, observability, governance, and operational standards; advance reliability for AI workloads (SLOs, telemetry, incident prevention) with SRE/SecOps.
• Ensure solutions follow Responsible AI practices, security requirements, privacy‑by‑design, and pharma regulatory controls (GxP, 21 CFR Part 11); embed security‑by‑design and policy enforcement with documentation and traceability.
• Influence technical priorities, sequencing, and trade‑offs across partner teams; provide inputs to vendor selection and adoption decisions where relevant.
• Guide solution teams onto approved platform pathways (Dataiku automation, Azure/AWS AI services, Snowflake Cortex), ensuring scalability, reliability (SLOs), security, and governed delivery in a regulated setting.
• Influence priorities and sequencing , unblock delivery risks, and communicate progress, risks, and value to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 10–12+ years of hands‑on experience in AI/ML Platform Engineering, LLMOps/MLOps, DevOps with a proven track record of building and deploying production‑grade AI systems.
• Depth with cloud AI platform services on Azure (OpenAI, Azure AI/ML, Cognitive Search) and AWS (Bedrock, AgentCore, Comprehend, SageMaker), with soundbuild‑vs‑buy** judgment.
• Strong Python engineering skills and proficiency with FastAPI or Flask for building AI‑powered services.
• Hands‑on with Dataiku for workflow orchestration, automation scenarios, model integration, or plugin‑based extensions.
• Deep familiarity with Agentic AI frameworks - LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, Semantic Kernel - with demonstrated experience building multi‑agent workflows, autonomous task orchestration, and tool‑enabled agent systems. (RAG familiarity is valued but not the primary emphasis.)
• Experience with prompt engineering and iterative prompt refinement for internal LLM use cases.
• Working knowledge of containerization (Docker), CI/CD tooling, and vector database integrations (e.g., OpenSearch, Pinecone).
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work closely with data scientists, engineers, security/compliance partners, and business stakeholders in a regulated environment.
• Effective communication, technical storytelling, and problem‑solving skills; able to influence technical direction across teams.
• Self‑motivated, hands‑on, and results‑oriented, with continuous learning in GenAI, Agentic AI, and modern orchestration patterns.

Educational Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• Preferred Certifications (nice to have):

• Cloud/GenAI: AWS or Azure AI / AWS or Azure Developer / AWS Solutions Architect; AWS Bedrock or Generative AI , Machine Learning Specialty.

• Agentic/AI Tooling: LangChain / Semantic Kernel badges or equivalent micro‑credentials.

Competencies

• Accountability for Results - Stay focused on key strategic objectives, be accountable for high standards of performance, and take an active role in leading change.
• Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving - Make decisions considering the long‑term impact to customers, patients, employees, and the business.
• Patient & Customer Centricity - Maintain an ongoing focus on the needs of our customers and/or key stakeholders.
• Impactful Communication - Communicate with logic, clarity, and respect. Influence at all levels to achieve the best results for Otsuka.
• Respectful Collaboration - Seek and value others’ perspectives and strive for diverse partnerships to enhance work toward common goals.
• Empowered Development - Play an active role in professional development as a business imperative.

Application Deadline

This will be posted for a minimum of 5 business days.

Company benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, company provided basic life, accidental death & dismemberment, short-term and long-term disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, student loan assistance, a generous 401(k) match, flexible time off, paid holidays, and paid leave programs as well as other company provided benefits.

Disclaimer

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the people assigned to this position. It is not intended to include every job duty and responsibility specific to the position. Otsuka reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

Otsuka is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will be given consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, national origin, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation, if you are unable or limited in your ability to apply to this job opening as a result of your disability. You can request reasonable accommodations by contacting [e-mail].

Statement Regarding Job Recruiting Fraud Scams

At Otsuka we take security and protection of your personal information very seriously. Please be aware individuals may approach you and falsely present themselves as our employees or representatives. They may use this false pretense to try to gain access to your personal information or acquire money from you by offering fictitious employment opportunities purportedly on our behalf.

Please understand, Otsuka will never ask for financial information of any kind or for payment of money during the job application process. We do not require any financial, credit card or bank account information and/or any payment of any kind to be considered for employment. We will also not offer you money to buy equipment, software, or for any other purpose during the job application process. If you are being asked to pay or offered money for equipment fees or some other application processing fee, even if claimed you will be reimbursed, this is not Otsuka. These claims are fraudulent and you are strongly advised to exercise caution when you receive such an offer of employment.

Otsuka will also never ask you to download a third‑party application in order to communicate about a legitimate job opportunity. Scammers may also send offers or claims from a fake email address or from Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc, and not from an official Otsuka email address. Please take extra caution while examining such an email address, as the scammers may misspell an official Otsuka email address and use a slightly modified version duplicating letters.

To ensure that you are communicating about a legitimate job opportunity at Otsuka, please only deal directly with Otsuka through its official Otsuka Career website https://vhr-otsuka.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External.

Otsuka will not be held liable or responsible for any claims, losses, damages or expenses resulting from job recruiting scams. If you suspect a position is fraudulent, please contact Otsuka’s call center at: 800-363-5670. If you believe you are the victim of fraud resulting from a job recruiting scam, please contact the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at: https://www.ic3.gov, or your local authorities.

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc., and Otsuka Precision Health, Inc. (“Otsuka”) does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs/resumes submitted by search firms to any Otsuka employee directly or through Otsuka’s application portal without a valid written search agreement in place for the position will be considered Otsuka’s sole property. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired by Otsuka as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Minimum $169,222.00 - Maximum $253,000.00, plus incentive opportunity: The range shown represents a typical pay range or starting pay for individuals who are hired in the role to perform in the United States. Other elements may be used to determine actual pay such as the candidate’s job experience, specific skills, and comparison to internal incumbents currently in role. Typically, actual pay will be positioned within the established range, rather than at its minimum or maximum. This information is provided to applicants in accordance with states and local laws.