Director of AI Engineering – Vaccine R&D Operations Enablement

Pfizer • Pearl River, NY

35d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking to identify a Director of AI Engineering to lead AI-driven transformation across Vaccine R&D Operations. You will focus on applying AI automation, and advanced analytics in process-intensive, highly regulated environments, spanning laboratory operations, development execution, quality systems, business processes, and external partner engagement. Embedded within Vaccines R&D, you’ll partner with scientific, development, quality, informatics, finance, and operational leaders to translate real‑world operational complexity into scalable, production‑grade AI systems that improve execution speed, decision quality, compliance readiness, and overall R&D experience.

Requirements

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, Software Engineering, AI, or a related discipline and a minimum of 5 years of applied analytical experience with demonstrated impact in operations, automation, business analytics, or decision support OR Master’s in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, Software Engineering, AI, or a related discipline and a minimum of 7 years of applied analytical experience with demonstrated impact in operations, automation, business analytics, or decision support
• Minimum 2 years of AI/ML experience in a relevant domain
• Strong understanding of process-heavy environments, ideally within R&D, clinical operations or large-scale regulated organizations
• Expertise in predictive modeling, optimization, automation, 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.
• Experience collaborating across scientific, operational, quality, and business teams, translating complex needs into practical AI solutions.
• Clear communication skills
• This position requires permanent work authorization in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in life sciences, pharma, R&D, clinical operations, or other regulated industries.
• Financial and business experience supporting budgets, forecasting, vendor management, or portfolio analytics.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI enablement of Vaccine R&D operations
• Define and deliver AI solutions that support process-heavy lab and office workflows, including experiment tracking, documentation, handoffs, and operational reporting.
• Drive automation of manual and repetitive activities to improve speed, quality, consistency, and compliance across vaccine development.
• Strengthen operational decision-making
• Develop predictive, optimization, and scenario-based models to support resource planning, capacity management, timeline forecasting, and risk trade-offs.
• Develop dashboards and decision-support tools that translate complex operational data into actionable insights for R&D and leadership teams.
• Enable regulated, inspection-ready AI systems
• Design AI solutions aligned with GxP expectations, data integrity standards, and inspection readiness, supporting deviation monitoring, CAPA trending, documentation completeness, data genealogy, and audit preparedness.
• Establish governance models covering model validation, versioning, explainability, monitoring, and lifecycle management in regulated environments.
• Optimize development planning execution
• Build AI‑enabled capabilities for development planning, milestone tracking, dependency management, and execution risk forecasting across the vaccine development lifecycle
• Lead process optimization and reengineering initiatives, using AI, automation, and data-driven methods to simplify workflows and reduce cycle times.
• Engineer and scale production-grade AI platforms
• Architect and deploy robust, production-ready ML and analytics pipelines with appropriate governance, reproducibility, and monitoring.
• Scale AI solutions in cloud and/or High-Performance Computing environments, ensuring reliability, security, and seamless integration with existing R&D, financial, and operational systems.
• Partner and lead across disciplines
• Act as a strategic bridge between technical teams and scientific, operational, quality, and business stakeholders to ensure adoption and measurable value.
• Mentor engineers and operational partners, raising AI and data literacy across vaccine R&D.
• Champion best practices in MLOps, software engineering, and AI system lifecycle management.

Benefits

• this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 20.0% of the base salary and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program
• We offer comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support each of life’s moments.
• Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage.
• Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree