Associate Director, Senior AI Engineer

Biopharma Careers; United States; Hybrid; USD 169,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401(k) match

Paid time off

Job summary

Otsuka invites a Sr. AI Platform Engineer (Associate Director) to lead platform engineering for enterprise AI.

You will oversee AI solution architecture, guide multi‑agent systems with LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, and Semantic Kernel, and deliver CI/CD, IaC, governance, and observability across Dataiku, Azure AI, and Snowflake Cortex in a regulated pharma setting. You will shepherd small delivery teams with Data Science, Cloud/Infra, and IT, ensuring secure, compliant production pathways and

Qualifications

• 10–12+ years in Platform Eng, AI/ML, or related fields.
• Strong cloud AI platform experience (Azure/AWS).
• Proficient Python with FastAPI/Flask.
• Hands-on with Dataiku workflow orchestration.
• Deep knowledge of Agentic AI: LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, Semantic Kernel.
• Experience building multi-agent workflows and tool orchestration.
• Prompt engineering and iterative refinement for internal LLM use cases.
• Containerization, CI/CD tooling, and vector DBs (OpenSearch/Pinecone).
• Collaborates with data scientists, security/compliance in regulated settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead platform and partner teams to deliver framework components.
• Design reusable Agentic AI components and multi-agent workflows.
• Develop CI/CD, IaC modules, prompt/versioning, evaluation harnesses.
• Establish governance, observability dashboards, and incident runbooks.
• Support Responsible AI, security-by-design, and pharma regulatory controls.
• Guide solution teams to approved platform pathways and scalable deployments.
• Provide architecture reviews, scoping, and governance alignment.

Skills

10+ years Platform Eng

AI/ML & LLMOps

Cloud AI: Azure AWS

Python

Dataiku

LangChain/LangGraph

AutoGen

Semantic Kernel

Docker

CI/CD & IaC

Observability & SRE

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT/Engineering

Tools

Dataiku

Azure AI

AWS Bedrock

Snowflake Cortex

OpenSearch/Pinecone

Job description

*NOTE: This is a Hybrid position based out of Princeton NJ*

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 Platform Engineering, AI/ML, 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 sound build‑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

• 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.

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.

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

Benefits

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.

Come discover more about Otsuka and our benefit offerings; https://ah-prod.com/multi/videoplayer/player.html?v=6385356920112 .