Executive Director of Applied AI

Novartis • Cambridge, MA

3d • $225,400 - $418,600 • Hybrid

About The Position

Novartis is making a significant long-term investment in becoming an AI-first organization, with sponsorship at the highest levels of the company. This is a rare opportunity to shape how generative AI and agentic systems are engineered, deployed and adopted across a global enterprise whose work ultimately supports patients and healthcare systems worldwide. As Executive Director of Applied AI, you will combine technical depth, product thinking and enterprise influence to turn high-value business challenges into secure, scalable AI products and intelligent workflows. You will lead a small, globally distributed team of applied AI engineers and work directly with senior business and technology leaders to deliver measurable value at scale.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, data science or a related field.
• At least 15 years of progressive experience in technology leadership, enterprise AI transformation or complex solution delivery, including leadership of senior technical and cross-functional teams.
• Deep, hands-on expertise in applied AI delivery, including taking machine learning, generative AI and agentic solutions from concept through production and enterprise-scale adoption.
• Strong software and product engineering grounding, with experience integrating AI into complex enterprise platforms, data environments and operational workflows.
• Hands-on proficiency with modern AI engineering stacks, including Python, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS), LLM orchestration frameworks, vector databases, MLOps/LLMOps and software delivery practices.
• Demonstrated success defining and scaling enterprise-level AI initiatives, with measurable business value, automation or performance outcomes.
• Experience leading forward deployed, solutions engineering or technical consulting teams, translating ambiguous business problems into production-grade software systems in enterprise environments.
• Consulting or professional-services experience partnering with senior technology and business leaders on enterprise transformation, operating models or technology strategy.
• Proven people leadership and organizational development capability, including building high-performing teams, developing leaders and establishing effective governance.
• Strong executive communication and cross-functional influence skills, with the ability to align priorities, investment decisions and delivery across a complex matrixed organization.

Nice To Haves

• Master of Science, engineering postgraduate degree or MBA.
• Experience delivering AI solutions in healthcare, life sciences or another complex regulated environment, or prior zero-to-one startup experience.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the applied AI deployment strategy, execution roadmap and business integration model across enterprise business units.
• Act as a forward-deployed AI engineering leader, partnering directly with business teams to translate strategic priorities into deployable products, intelligent workflows and redesigned processes.
• Lead technical solution architecture for complex AI deployments, making hands-on decisions on application architecture, system integration patterns, model orchestration, APIs, security controls and production infrastructure.
• Lead end-to-end implementation, customization, integration and scaling of generative AI, agentic systems and workflow automation solutions in production environments.
• Build, lead and coach a small, globally distributed team of forward deployed AI engineers, establishing engineering excellence through technical review processes, coding standards and career development while actively guiding delivery on critical engagements.
• Establish delivery frameworks and engineering standards that support scalability, reliability, security, maintainability and sustained operational adoption.
• Create reusable AI services, accelerators, evaluation frameworks, blueprints and integration patterns that reduce time to value across business domains.
• Partner with data, infrastructure, information security, architecture, compliance and business teams to align solutions with enterprise priorities and regulated-environment requirements.
• Track solution performance, adoption and business value through monitoring, feedback loops, user analysis and continuous service optimization.
• Guide modernization of existing systems and processes so they can integrate with agentic AI products, applied AI models and enterprise technology platforms.
• Communicate business impact, technical transformation vision, delivery progress, risks and investment needs to senior executives and key stakeholders.

Benefits

• The salary for this position is expected to range between $225,400.00 - $418,600.00 per year.
• Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards.
• US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits.
• In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive