Director, AI/ML Engineering

McKesson; Irving (TX); On-site; USD 196,000 - 327,000; Full time

Job summary

McKesson is seeking a Director (M4) to lead enterprise‑level AI/ML initiatives and cross‑functional programs. This role drives long‑range strategy, budgeting, and governance across multiple disciplines, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities and product capabilities.

The director will shape scalable AI/ML platforms and lead talent development in a regulated healthcare environment. With 12+ years of experience and 4+ years in management, you will translate business goals into a multi‑year

Qualifications

• 12+ years of professional experience and 4+ years of management experience.
• Experience leading AI/ML engineering organizations with enterprise scope.
• Experience with AI/ML platforms at production scale and governance.

Responsibilities

• Provide enterprise‑level strategic direction and long‑range planning across disciplines.
• Lead major divisions and ensure operating plans, budgets, and forecasts are met.
• Translate business strategy into multi‑year technical roadmaps and ensure execution.
• Influence governance, compliance, and stakeholder alignment in healthcare/ pharma contexts.
• Drive talent pipelines and leadership development, managing conflicts and performance.

Skills

AI/ML leadership

P&L ownership

AI/ML systems

Regulated environment

Roadmap execution

Tools

Azure

LangChain/LangGraph

Python

Job description

McKesson is an impact-driven, Fortune 10 company that touches virtually every aspect of healthcare. We are known for delivering insights, products, and services that make quality care more accessible and affordable. Here, we focus on the health, happiness, and well-being of you and those we serve - we care.

What you do at McKesson matters. We foster a culture where you can grow, make an impact, and are empowered to bring new ideas. Together, we thrive as we shape the future of health for patients, our communities, and our people. If you want to be part of tomorrow's health today, we want to hear from you.

Job Description

Position Summary (Purpose of job): The Director (M4) leads major divisional functions or corporate sub‑functions, providing enterprise‑level strategic direction, long‑range planning, and operational leadership across multiple related disciplines. This role analyzes external business environments to anticipate trends, influence strategy, and recommend growth opportunities for the business unit. It directs managers ensuring operational excellence, cross‑functional integration, and execution of high‑impact initiatives. The Director is financially accountable for operating plans, budgets, and forecasts, and manages complex organizational performance across services. As a senior enterprise advisor, the Director interfaces with leaders to shape integrated business strategies and ensure alignment of products, solutions, and capabilities with organizational priorities. The role leads talent pipelines, strengthens leadership benches, and manages significant conflicts and disciplinary matters. It drives continuous improvement, optimizes cross‑functional workflows, and ensures strategic communication across stakeholder groups.

Key Responsibilities

• Proven leadership of AI/ML engineering orgs through a management layer - direct experience managing people, not just individual senior engineers or a single flat team.
• Finance/P&L ownership at scale - has managed and grown an operating budget/forecast, not just consumed one handed down.
• Deep technical credibility in AI/ML systems - enough hands‑on depth (ML lifecycle, data architecture, LLMs deployment at scale) to make and defend build/buy/architecture decisions with engineering teams and with executives.
• Experience operating in a regulated or high-compliance enterprise environment (healthcare and pharma distribution) - given McKesson's regulatory and data‑sensitivity context.
• Track record of translating business strategy into a multi‑year technical roadmap and being held accountable for its execution.

Minimum Requirements

Degree or equivalent experience. Typically requires 12+ years of professional experience and 4+ years of management experience.

Critical Skills

• 5+ years of experience in Responsible AI practices, model risk management, data governance, audit readiness
• Partnering with Product, Data Engineering, Platform/Infra, Security, Legal/Compliance, and BU leaders
• Experience with enterprise‑scale cloud AI/ML platforms (Azure services, Langchain/LangGraph, Python etc.) at production scale
• Succession planning, performance calibration, handling significant conflict and disciplinary matters
• Strong Vendor & Partner Management - Build‑vs‑buy analysis, negotiating with cloud/AI vendors
• KPI/metrics frameworks, SLA management across services and programs, continuous improvement methodology
• Business impact scope - Has supported multiple business units, product lines, or customer segments concurrently

Nice to Have

Domain expertise in healthcare, pharmaceutical distribution, or supply chain preferred.

Candidate must be authorized to work in the U.S, now or in the future, without the support from McKesson.

Compensation & Benefits

We are proud to offer a competitive compensation package at McKesson as part of our Total Rewards. This is determined by several factors, including performance, experience and skills, equity, regular job market evaluations, and geographical markets.

• The pay range shown below is aligned with McKesson's pay philosophy, and pay will always be compliant with any applicable regulations.
• In addition to base pay, other compensation, such as an annual bonus or long‑term incentive opportunities may be offered.
• Our Base Pay Range for this position
• $196,100 - $326,900