Director and Group Head, Applied AI

Novartis • Cambridge, MA

2d • $194,600 - $361,400 • Hybrid

About The Position

Novartis is undergoing a significant digital transformation to become an industry leader by adopting digital technologies to accelerate drug discovery and development. This involves using internal and external R&D data with data science, predictive models, generative AI, and machine learning to identify new targets, create effective therapeutic molecules, predict pharmacokinetics and safety risks, refine clinical trial design, and shorten development cycles. The AI4R team within Biomedical Research (BR) focuses on exploring and applying advanced AI and ML methodologies to generate novel drug discovery insights and improve efficiency, always with a patient-centric approach. This leadership role within the Applied AI group of AI4R requires strong technical, team, and project leadership. The individual will collaborate with biomedical subject matter experts to understand ML opportunities in drug discovery, assess the model landscape, lead model benchmarking, and apply the right AI approaches, algorithms, models, and workflows to maximize impact on key biomedical research areas, ultimately aiming to develop better drugs faster.

Requirements

• Demonstrated experience in leading core machine learning capability development initiatives across drug discovery teams and use cases.
• Proven experience with foundation model benchmarking in drug discovery applications.
• Hands-on experience applying machine learning to core drug discovery areas such as target identification or computational chemistry.
• Strong experience in large-scale model training, distributed computation, model adaptation, and deployment within machine learning operations frameworks.
• Deep curiosity and passion for biomedical sciences and therapeutic discovery, with ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly.
• Minimum of 12+ years of experience in innovation, development, deployment, and continuous support of machine learning and modeling solutions.
• Strong coding proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks, with experience using version control systems such as Git.
• Ability to manage complexity, balance priorities, and drive outcomes effectively within matrixed environments using a proactive mindset.

Nice To Haves

• Publications, patents, or open-source contributions demonstrating machine learning innovation and domain expertise.
• Strong curiosity for emerging technologies with pragmatic ability to apply them to real-world business challenges.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the applied artificial intelligence strategy and multi-year roadmap across drug discovery research.
• Align priorities with portfolio needs, scientific opportunities, and measurable business and research impact.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams to identify, prototype, benchmark, and deploy fit-for-purpose artificial intelligence solutions.
• Govern an applied artificial intelligence portfolio with clear intake, prioritization, resourcing, delivery oversight, and success metrics.
• Establish best practices for problem framing, data readiness, benchmarking, evaluation design, and reproducible model development.
• Drive benchmarking of foundation and task-specific models, enabling transparent trade-offs and informed adoption decisions.
• Partner with engineering teams to scale solutions and embed them into day-to-day scientific decision making.
• Define rigorous evaluation metrics linking model performance to downstream decisions and experimental outcomes.
• Build a culture of scientific rigor, rapid iteration, mentorship, and practical impact across teams.
• Forge strategic academic and industry collaborations to accelerate innovation, benchmarking, and technology transfer.

Benefits

• health coverage
• life coverage
• disability coverage
• 401(k) plan with company contribution and matching
• generous time-off package, including vacation, personal days, holidays, and other leave options

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed