Associate Director, AI Engineering Manager

Summary As Associate Director, BR Data & Digital Software & Workflows AI Engineering Manager, you will lead a team of internal and external AI engineers to deliver initiative aligned production grade AI solutions (agents, models), ensuring reliable, scalable, secure, and high quality outcomes. The role ensures a strong execution discipline, modern MLOps and AgentOps practices, and alignment with enterprise architecture, security, compliance, and AI governance, while building a high performing team that rapidly delivers measurable business value.

About The Role Purpose of the Role

As Associate Director, BR Data & Digital Software & Workflows AI Engineering Manager, you will lead a team of internal and external AI engineers to deliver initiative‑aligned production‑grade AI solutions (agents, models), ensuring reliable, scalable, secure, and high‑quality outcomes. The role ensures a strong execution discipline, modern MLOps and AgentOps practices, and alignment with enterprise architecture, security, compliance, and AI governance, while building a high‑performing team that rapidly delivers measurable business value.

Major Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and develop a high‑performing team of internal and external AI engineers by setting clear priorities, cultivating skills, and ensuring consistent excellence in building, scaling, releasing, and sustaining AI solutions, including long‑term quality and operational ownership.
• Partner closely across BR Data & Digital as well as corporate functions to collaborate and align AI engineering execution with organizational objectives and initiative timelines.
• Translate use‑case, software, and initiative requirements into robust AI technical designs and implementation plans, including integration and embedding of AI solutions into existing software applications and workflows.
• Manage effective, predictable, and high-quality engineering delivery of AI solutions and components across time‑bound initiatives, ensuring alignment with enterprise platforms, architectural standards, compliance, and AI governance requirements.
• Oversee deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management of AI solutions, including performance optimization, cost optimization, and operational readiness.
• Foster a “team before self” culture rooted in urgency, clarity, trust, and shared ownership.

What you will bring to the role

About You are passionate about and experienced in leading and inspiring people and helping them reach their potential. You have an intrinsic drive to transform scientific research with AI by overseeing and elevating AI solution delivery excellence for a broad portfolio. You thrive on working collaboratively in a complex life science environment. You have:

• Expertise and experience in people leadership with demonstrated ability to set direction, align teams, develop talent, and continuously improve productivity.
• Excellent skills in communicating and translating complex AI technical concepts for varied audiences.
• Proven experience in building strong relationships across organizational and divisional boundaries.
• Deep expertise in architecting and implementing AI agents and models using modern engineering practices, and in integrating AI components into production applications and workflows.
• Experience with deployment, monitoring, automation, and lifecycle practices for AI solutions, including performance optimization, cost management, and operational readiness as well as governance and compliance.

In addition, you bring many of the following capabilities and the drive to grow into the rest:

• Ability to create cultures of empowerment, learning, and mutual support.
• Creativity and courage to challenge the status quo, encourage innovation, and take smart risks.

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.

Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)