Senior Director, Data and AI Engineer

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A global pharmaceutical company in Princeton seeks a Senior Director for AI and Data Engineering. This leadership role requires overseeing the design, development, and deployment of scalable data solutions for AI applications, focusing on R&D. The ideal candidate will have over 12 years of progressive experience in data engineering and AI/ML, with 5 years in a senior leadership capacity, particularly within the pharmaceutical sector. The position emphasizes collaboration, strategic problem-solving, and accountability for impactful results, fostering innovation in healthcare solutions.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in data engineering, AI, and machine learning.
• 5+ years in senior technical leadership or management roles.
• Strong experience in pharmaceutical or life sciences R&D.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and deployment of data engineering for AI applications.
• Oversee AI use case implementation from ideation to production.
• Champion engineering best practices in AI.
• Drive awareness of AI applications across the organization.

Skills

Leadership

Data engineering

AI and machine learning

Project management

Problem solving

Job description

* Lead and deliver the design, development, and deployment of extensible and scalable data engineering for complex R&D Data, pipelines, and architecture for AI applications to support all R&D data AI needs, including structured, unstructured (text, imaging, and data from sensors, medical devices, and digital apps), and real-time data.* Oversee the implementation of AI and Gen AI use cases from ideation to production deployment, and application life cycle management. Hands on experience in architecting engineering foundation for a diverse set of AI solutions.* Lead and deliver data processing, representations, and AI engineering in R&D for applications ranging across: clinical trial optimization, patient recruitment, content authoring automation, asset management, pharmacovigilance, quality, regulatory, and enterprise functions, Real-World Data, sensor and medical device data, omics data, .* Champion engineering best practices, review AI solution architectures, and data & AI observability to ensure technical consistency, scalability, and effective governance of AI engineering across the portfolio of oversight.* Architect and scale MLOps practices for in house applications to support the entire model lifecycle—from experimentation and deployment to monitoring and retraining—while ensuring automation and reproducibility.* Drive awareness of AI/ML applications and the importance of strong Data and AI engineering foundation across the organization* Provide technical and engineering support for Data and Information Governance, quality, and FAIR data* Expertise in real-world data assets and using them to generate scientific evidence and guide operational effectiveness and efficiencies.* Deep expertise across data engineering, representation, Gen AI, AI and machine learning techniques and experience in architecting and delivering AI/ML use cases.* Strong team leadership, internal and cross-functional collaboration, project management skills with a focus on delivering impactful initiatives.* 12+ years of progressive leadership experience in data engineering, AI/ML, and Gen AI with at least 5 years in senior technical leadership or management roles.* Strong and demonstrated experience in architecting, building and maintaining large-scale data and AI solutions in a scientific, regulated, or research-heavy environment.* Strong experience working within the pharmaceutical, biotech, or life sciences industry, particularly within R&D, is highly desirable along with a deep understanding of AI and Machine Learning and its applications in Pharma.* Proven track record of implementing and deploying Gen AI and large language model (LLM) applications in production environments.* Creative problem solving using responsible use of technology.**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.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.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 Driven by our purpose to defy limitation, so that others can too, we have an unwavering belief in doing more and transcending expectations. In going above and beyond—under any circumstances—for patients, families, providers, and for each other. It’s this deep-rooted dedication that drives us to uncover answers to complex, underserved medical needs, so that patients can push past the limitations of their disease and achieve more than they thought was possible each and every day.