Senior Director, Head of Application Engineering and Productionization

Pfizer • Cambridge, MA

22h • Hybrid

About The Position

ROLE SUMMARY The AI Acceleration (AIA) function within the Chief Marketing Office (CMO) is the business-led team that owns the design, delivery, and scale-up of priority AI capabilities across Commercial. AIA works in tight collaboration with various Pfizer functions to deploy and maintain production-grade AI solutions that simplify how we work and drive measurable value across all processes. The Senior Director of Application Engineering & Productionization is responsible for translating strategic priorities into the delivery of scalable, secure, enterprise‑grade applications and AI/ML solutions. This role leads large, multi‑disciplinary technology teams to design, and build high‑quality systems with a strong emphasis on execution, reliability, and continuous improvement. The leader establishes robust engineering standards—including architecture, CI/CD, testing, and observability—to ensure consistent delivery and production excellence. Success in this role requires guiding teams through ambiguity, developing senior engineering talent, and partnering closely with product, platform, data, and operations stakeholders to align technical decisions with business outcomes while effectively communicating trade‑offs and progress to senior leadership. ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES Strategy & architecture Define the overall strategy and governance model for application engineering and productionization, establishing frameworks, patterns, and standards for how AI and digital products are built, deployed, and maintained Make architectural decisions on front-end, full-stack, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), and CI/CD pipelines, to ensure scalability, performance, and security Partner with the Heads of Agent Product Management, Data Engineering, and Data Strategy to maintain consistent architecture, shared infrastructure, and unified engineering standards across AIA Build & ship (governance level) Oversee the design, development, and rollout of applications and tools used across AIA pods, with a focus on reuse and maintainability Lead front-end and full-stack development teams in implementing secure, scalable interfaces and integrations with enterprise systems and APIs Establish and govern CI/CD pipelines, release management, and environment configuration for applications and maintain alignment with security and quality standards Collaborate with agent and AI/ML engineering teams to move AI/ML models into production with strong deployment, versioning, and monitoring practices Quality & reliability Define quality standards and performance metrics for applications covering uptime, latency, reliability, and user experience Oversee the implementation of automated testing, logging, and observability platforms to ensure operational excellence Establish mechanisms for proactive issue detection, incident response, and continuous improvement of application stability and security Team & culture Build and lead a high-performing engineering organization (~30 FTEs, hundreds of contractors) across front-end, full-stack, DevOps, and architecture disciplines Set strong technical direction, review design and code, and mentor senior engineers and engineering managers to raise the organizational engineering bar Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous learning, emphasizing reusable components, automation, and engineering rigor Cross-functional impact Partner with Data Engineering, Product, Agent Product Management, and Platform Ops teams to ensure seamless integration of applications with data pipelines, APIs, and orchestration frameworks Work with the Data Strategy & Performance team to align engineering practices with enterprise governance, security, and compliance requirements Maintain close feedback loops with users and stakeholders to shape application roadmaps based on adoption, performance, and business impact Communicate technical decisions, trade-offs, and implications clearly to senior leadership, connecting architecture and engineering choices to business outcomes Innovation & best practices Promote adoption of modern software development methodologies and tooling, including agile delivery, DevOps, and continuous delivery frameworks Stay current on emerging trends in application engineering, AI integration, and cloud infrastructure, applying these insights to strengthen engineering practices and drive innovation

Requirements

• Candidate demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field required; Master’s degree strongly preferred.
• 12+ years of relevant professional experience.
• Proven people‑leadership experience, with a track record of building and developing high‑performing teams.
• Experience working within regulated industries (e.g., pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance).
• Demonstrated ability to navigate and influence within large, complex organizations.
• Strong stakeholder‑management capabilities, with success driving alignment across diverse functions and seniority levels.
• Recognized industry thought leader with enterprise‑wide strategic impact.
• Demonstrated program and operations management expertise, particularly within large, regulated environments.
• Proven success managing quality standards, leading efficient development teams, and optimizing complex staffing and resource allocation models.
• Deep expertise in cross‑functional integration and operational effectiveness within a large corporate ecosystem.
• Ability to travel based on business needs
• Candidates must be authorized to be employed in the U.S. by any employer.
• U.S. work visa sponsorship (such as TN, O-1, H-1B, etc.) is not available for this role now or in the future.

Responsibilities

• Define the overall strategy and governance model for application engineering and productionization, establishing frameworks, patterns, and standards for how AI and digital products are built, deployed, and maintained
• Make architectural decisions on front-end, full-stack, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), and CI/CD pipelines, to ensure scalability, performance, and security
• Partner with the Heads of Agent Product Management, Data Engineering, and Data Strategy to maintain consistent architecture, shared infrastructure, and unified engineering standards across AIA
• Oversee the design, development, and rollout of applications and tools used across AIA pods, with a focus on reuse and maintainability
• Lead front-end and full-stack development teams in implementing secure, scalable interfaces and integrations with enterprise systems and APIs
• Establish and govern CI/CD pipelines, release management, and environment configuration for applications and maintain alignment with security and quality standards
• Collaborate with agent and AI/ML engineering teams to move AI/ML models into production with strong deployment, versioning, and monitoring practices
• Define quality standards and performance metrics for applications covering uptime, latency, reliability, and user experience
• Oversee the implementation of automated testing, logging, and observability platforms to ensure operational excellence
• Establish mechanisms for proactive issue detection, incident response, and continuous improvement of application stability and security
• Build and lead a high-performing engineering organization (~30 FTEs, hundreds of contractors) across front-end, full-stack, DevOps, and architecture disciplines
• Set strong technical direction, review design and code, and mentor senior engineers and engineering managers to raise the organizational engineering bar
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous learning, emphasizing reusable components, automation, and engineering rigor
• Partner with Data Engineering, Product, Agent Product Management, and Platform Ops teams to ensure seamless integration of applications with data pipelines, APIs, and orchestration frameworks
• Work with the Data Strategy & Performance team to align engineering practices with enterprise governance, security, and compliance requirements
• Maintain close feedback loops with users and stakeholders to shape application roadmaps based on adoption, performance, and business impact
• Communicate technical decisions, trade-offs, and implications clearly to senior leadership, connecting architecture and engineering choices to business outcomes
• Promote adoption of modern software development methodologies and tooling, including agile delivery, DevOps, and continuous delivery frameworks
• Stay current on emerging trends in application engineering, AI integration, and cloud infrastructure, applying these insights to strengthen engineering practices and drive innovation

Benefits

• participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 22.5% of the base salary
• eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program
• 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
• health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees