Director of AI Engineering Pfizer R&D

Pfizer•La Jolla, MA

12h•Hybrid

About The Position

Where frontier AI meets world-class science to accelerate medicines to patients Pfizer is building an AI-first R&D engine—one where AI is not a support function, but a core scientific capability shaping how medicines are discovered, developed, and delivered. We are recruiting AI Engineers to be embedded into the various scientific disciplines of R&D including, Target Discovery, Medicinal and Biomedicine Design, ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion), Translational & Genomics Medicine, Clinical Manufacturing, Preclinical Toxicology, Clinical Trial Design & Execution, Medical Functions, Real World Experience, Global Regulatory functions, Safety and Pharmacovigilance. You will help drive the discovery and development of Pfizer’s next generation of breakthrough medicines. As a Director of AI Engineering, embedded within one of our core scientific disciplines, you’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with leading scientists and clinicians to translate complex biology into new therapies, supported by AI models. Your models won’t live in notebooks—they’ll influence molecules selected, studies designed, and patients treated. If you’re a rising AI technical leader (2–5 years post-graduate training) from a top research environment who thrives at the intersection of AI, biology, and real-world impact, this is an opportunity to help define how AI is applied and practiced in modern medicine, potentially impacting the lives’ of patients globally.

Requirements

PhD or Master’s in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Computational Biology, Software Engineering, AI, or a related discipline.
AI native 2–5 years of applied AI/ML experience.
Comfort operating across disciplines—chemistry, biology, pharmacology, statistics—with the ability to ground models in biological and clinical reality.
Demonstrated expertise in predictive modeling, generative AI, and ML system design.
Strong programming skills in Python and modern ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow), plus experience scaling models in cloud and/or HPC environments.
Proven ability to collaborate with other scientists, and could include laboratory bench researchers, clinicians, product teams, and business leaders.
Clear scientific communication, intellectual curiosity, and a mission-driven mindset focused on improving patient outcomes.

Nice To Haves

Experience in life sciences preferred, but not required (pharma, biotech, or health tech).
A working understanding of R&D workflows is preferred but not required, across target identification, lead optimization, translational science, clinical design, operations forecasting, or portfolio analytics.

Responsibilities

Build AI that directly shapes R&D decisions
Design, develop, and scale production-grade AI systems embedded in drug discovery and development programs—where model outputs inform choices on molecules, experiments, trials, and patient access to clinical trials.
Own foundational and predictive modeling end-to-end
From molecular optimization and experimental design to clinical trial simulation, patient stratification, and operational forecasting—take ideas from concept through validation, deployment, and measurable value.
Advance generative AI for drug design
Apply state-of-the-art generative approaches to molecular and protein engineering. Prototype quickly, evaluate rigorously, and deploy responsibly in high-stakes scientific contexts.
Engineer elegant, reliable ML systems
Architect robust pipelines with modern MLOps: cloud and HPC environments, distributed training, reproducibility, governance, and observability—designed for scientific credibility and operational scale.
Automate and standardize the entire lifecycle of ML systems, from initial development to long-term production maintenance, providing compliance and an audit trails.
Decode high-dimensional biology
Integrate multimodal data—omics, imaging, real-world evidence, and scientific literature—into representations that surface biological insight and guide experimental and clinical strategy.
Influence portfolio and strategy decisions
Partner with scientific and strategy leaders to model uncertainty, run scenario analyses, and optimize resource allocation across a complex R&D portfolio.
Stay at the frontier
Continuously assess emerging AI methods and tools, translating advances into practical, defensible applications for a specific R&D discipline
Raise AI fluency across the organization
Mentor scientists and engineers, foster hands-on curiosity, and help build a culture where rigorous experimentation and learning are the norm.
Represent the science externally
Publish, present, and engage with the broader AI and life-sciences community at leading conferences and forums.