Associate Director Data Science & AI

Summary The Associate Director, Data Science will lead the design, development, and enterprise scale deployment of advanced AI and Generative AI solutions across P&O and Corporate Functions at Novartis. The role focuses on building intelligent, agentic, and knowledge augmented AI systems, applying unconventional problem-solving techniques, and shaping ambiguous challenges into clear end to end AI solutions that deliver measurable business value and strong enterprise adoption. The leader will deeply understand complex business problems across multiple stakeholders and domains, formulate integrated analytical and AI approaches to mine diverse data sources, apply advanced statistical and ML techniques to generate actionable insights, and solve business problems and also automate repetitive processes to drive efficiency at scale. This position demands strong foundations in statistics, machine learning, algorithmic thinking, solution design, and the full data science lifecycle. It also requires exceptional storytelling skills, smart visualization techniques, and the ability to see the big picture, translate analytical output into clear and impactful business narratives for senior leaders. The role needs an engineering driven mindset for MLOps, CI and CD, reusable AI asset creation, and scalable architectures, along with high agility to operate across diverse business domains. The ideal candidate embraces both low code and pro code paradigms, leverages productivity accelerators such as vibe coding, works confidently in demanding and fast paced environments, and demonstrates a continuous learning mindset. As a people leader, the Associate Director independently sets strategy, manages budgets and resources, coordinates complex multi team projects, and empowers teams through guidance, coaching, and supportive leadership with minimal oversight from senior management.

About The Role Key Responsibilities Location – Hyderabad Hybrid

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of enterprise-wide AI and GenAI solutions, including problem framing, PoV execution, experimentation, model design, reusable asset creation, industrialization, and production deployment.
• Architect advanced agentic AI ecosystems such as multi actor orchestration frameworks, Agentic RAG systems, hybrid retrieval architectures, multimodal AI systems, fine tune LLM models when required, and interoperable AI agents using MCP or A2A standards.
• Build knowledge augmented generation systems using graph-based AI and Neo4j to enrich contextual reasoning and maximize the reuse of enterprise knowledge assets.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise data governance, lifecycle management, data quality, lineage, and AI compliance frameworks.
• Apply strong foundations in statistics, ML theory, algorithmic design, and unconventional problem solving to craft innovative AI solutions beyond standard approaches.
• Translate complex insights using clear storytelling, visualization, and business context for senior leaders and non-technical stakeholders.
• Apply strong engineering practices including Python development, modular coding, version control, CI or CD, MLOps, model monitoring, and observability frameworks.
• Partner with senior business leaders, architects, data teams, and technology stakeholders to align AI roadmaps with strategic priorities and accelerate adoption across functions.
• Proactively plan resources, manage risks, set accurate stakeholder expectations, and drive operational excellence in large scale AI programs.
• Define and track KPIs, adoption metrics, governance endorsements, and measurable business value for all deployed AI systems.
• Mentor and develop data scientists and engineers through hands on guidance, reviews, career support, and the creation of a psychologically safe and growth focused environment.

Essential Requirements

• Minimum 10 years of experience in Data Science, AI, or Applied Machine Learning, with 3 years in Generative AI and LLM based solutions.
• Proven success leading enterprise scale AI programs with measurable outcomes.
• Expertise in LangGraph (and other agent orchestration frameworks), LangChain/Llama Index, Agentic RAG, graph-based AI, Neo4j, Azure AI, AWS, Databricks.
• Strong Python programming skills and deep learning expertise using PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Experience with statistical analysis, ML algorithms, traditional ML workflows, and optimization.
• Familiarity with big data ecosystems like Apache Spar…