Gilead Sciences Inc

Associate Director, AI & ML Ops Lead -- Kite Commercial

Gilead Sciences Inc$168K — $218K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree with 10+ years or Master's with 8+ years or PhD with 2+ years of experience
  • Proficiency in ML tools and frameworks like SageMaker and Databricks
  • Experience with CI/CD tools and containerization technologies
  • Solid programming skills in Python and SQL; familiarity with TypeScript/JavaScript
  • Experience with data privacy and security in healthcare, especially HIPAA compliance
  • Domain expertise in pharmaceutical commercial analytics and epidemiology

Responsibilities

  • Develop and manage ML model pipelines from experimentation to production
  • Design and implement batch and streaming data pipelines for AI/ML
  • Monitor ML systems for performance, data quality, and reliability
  • Collaborate on agent workflows to support complex commercial strategies
  • Create and manage prompt architectures and coding instruction for AI agents
  • Optimize AI systems for performance and cost efficiency
  • Ensure compliance and governance for data, models, and AI outputs

Benefits

  • Company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans
  • Eligibility for discretionary annual bonuses
  • Opportunity to participate in stock-based long-term incentives
  • Paid time off for work-life balance
  • Professional development opportunities
Full Job Description
Job Description
The AI & MLOps Lead for Kite IT Sales & Digital is an incredible opportunity within the IT Data & AI CoE team to support the transformation of AI/ML for Kite’s Commercial line of business. This role focuses on designing, developing, and deploying data science solutions that drive impact for patients. It operates at the intersection of traditional ML engineering and autonomous AI, involving the development, deployment, and management of both classical machine learning systems and AI workflows that improve commercial efficiency across the global CGT portfolio.

The primary focus will be collaborating with data scientists and GDDI teams to build production-grade analytics infrastructure on AWS and Databricks—from predictive patient identification models and field force alert engines to agentic workflows that autonomously surface insights and recommend actions. This position ensures that ML models and AI agent systems are reproducible, compliant, performant, and scalable throughout their lifecycle. A strong emphasis is placed on data quality, monitoring, governance, and agent-executable system design. This role will sit in Raleigh, NC.

Responsibilities:

ML & Data Engineering

  • Model Lifecycle Management: Develop and maintain pipelines to transition models from experimentation to production, including packaging, CI/CD, automated testing, and deployment. Support model serving for patient identification, alignment prediction, next-best-action engines, and competitive intelligence models.

  • Data Pipeline Development: Design robust batch and streaming data workflows; integrate, define, and manage feature sets, lineage, and reuse to support AI/ML initiatives.

  • Production Operations & Monitoring: Ensure reliability and scalability of ML systems; implement effective logging, tracing, and alerting. Establish monitoring for model performance, data drift, bias, and service health. Monitor data quality across rare disease data feeds, where small population sizes amplify the impact of anomalies.

Agentic AI & Agent Systems Engineering

  • Agent Workflow Development: Collaborate with data scientists and commercial stakeholders to decompose complex business workflows into agent-executable workstreams. Define boundaries between agent execution and human data science judgment.

  • Instruction Architecture & Prompt Engineering: Design and maintain prompt architectures, agent skills, memories, and context injection patterns. Author structured coding instructions that translate commercial analytics requirements into precise agent directives with clear acceptance criteria.

  • Build agentic AI systems that autonomously detect anomalies in commercial data, such as competitive switching, patient discontinuation signals, and payer access changes. These systems generate hypotheses and push recommended actions to stakeholders and CRM systems.

  • Token Economics & Cost Optimization: Optimize agent execution for cost efficiency—manage context window utilization, minimize token consumption, and design instruction patterns that reduce iteration cycles. Monitor token economics per workstream to balance capability with budget.

Governance, Security & Compliance

  • Model, Agent & Data Governance: Implement version control, approvals, documentation, and audit trails for datasets, code, models, and agent instructions. Ensure all AI/ML outputs are explainable, auditable, and compliant with HIPAA/PHI, GDPR, FDA promotional regulations, and REMS requirements. Enforce secrets management, role-based access control, network policies, and data protection for agents operating on sensitive healthcare and commercial data within the enterprise perimeter.

Collaboration & Enablement

  • Cross-functional Partnership: Work closely with data scientists, commercial analysts, and stakeholders across Brand, Market Access, Patient Services, and Field teams. Provide frameworks, templates, and guardrails that accelerate analytics delivery.

  • Testing & Validation: Demonstrate a strong focus on testing by setting up frameworks for both traditional ML models and agent-generated code. Design validation pipelines with automated quality gates, including type checking, linting, integration tests, and contract tests.

  • Documentation & Release Management: Develop clear, detailed guides, operational playbooks, and user instructions. Coordinate releases with commercial operations and IT; maintain runbooks, rollback strategies, and change tickets.

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree and Ten Years’ Experience

OR

Masters' Degree and Eight Years’ Experience

OR

PhD and Two Years’ Experience

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

  • Experience: 3–6+ years in MLOps, Data Engineering, or ML platform roles, with a proven track record of deploying ML solutions at scale. At least 2+ years building complex data science or large-scale analytics solutions.

  • Programming: Proficiency in Python and SQL; familiarity with TypeScript/JavaScript or a systems language (Go, Rust). Experience with TDD, CI/CD pipelines, and code quality standards.

  • CI/CD & Infrastructure: Experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., GitHub Actions), containerization (Docker), and cloud infrastructure concepts.

  • ML Tools: Hands-on experience with model packaging and serving frameworks (e.g., SageMaker, Databricks MLflow), experiment tracking, and model registry tools.

  • Data Technologies: Proficiency with Databricks distributed processing (Spark), data orchestration (Airflow), MLflow, etc.

  • AI/Agent Tools: Hands-on experience with AI coding tools (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or equivalent) and Cortex AI or comparable LLM serving platforms. Working understanding of how LLMs reason about code and familiarity with prompt engineering as an engineering discipline.

  • Security & Compliance: Understanding of data privacy and security in healthcare; experience with secrets management, audit controls, and compliance frameworks (HIPAA, SOC 2, 21 CFR Part 11).

  • Systems Thinking: Ability to design systems that scale across both

  • Domain Experience: Knowledge of pharmaceutical commercial analytics in CGT or specialty pharma—HCP/HCO profiling and targeting, patient identification, call planning, demand forecasting, specialty pharmacy data, and omnichannel measurement.

  • CGT Data Expertise: Experience with IQVIA (LAAD, Symphony, NPA), Veeva CRM, MMIT, Model N, specialty pharmacy dispense data, claims/RWD, and high-value-per-patient environments.

  • Agent System Design: Experience designing multi-agent workflows, orchestration patterns, and autonomous systems for enterprise applications. Familiarity with MCP (Model Context Protocol) and agent interoperability frameworks.

  • Performance & Scalability: Experience with high-throughput inference, batch scoring at scale, low-latency APIs, and horizontally scalable agent workloads.

  • Enterprise Integration: Experience integrating with Veeva, Salesforce, Microsoft 365, and ServiceNow APIs for end-to-end automation.

  • Communication & Collaboration: Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to present complex findings to both technical and non-technical audiences, with a strong orientation toward teamwork in a fast-paced, regulated environment.

People Leader Accountabilities

  • Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modeling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.

  • Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations, and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop, and realize their purpose.

  • Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, and organizational objectives and holding them to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem.

The salary range for this position is: $168,980.00 - $218,680.00. Gilead considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

About Gilead Sciences Inc

Gilead Sciences is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet need. With each new discovery and experimental drug candidate, they seek to improve the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. Gilead's primary areas of focus include HIV/AIDS, liver disease, and serious cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.

Gilead Sciences Inc Careers

Join the vibrant team at Gilead Sciences Inc, a leader in the biopharmaceutical industry known for its innovative approach to healthcare. At Gilead, we are committed to advancing the care of patients around the globe through rigorous science and research.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career journey with Gilead Sciences Inc, where job opportunities abound in a variety of fields, from scientific research to marketing and sales. Our team is dedicated to fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion, where every employee can thrive.

Innovate and Lead

At Gilead, innovation is at the core of everything we do. Join us and contribute to our mission of saving lives through advanced treatments and cutting-edge medicine. Our leadership is committed to nurturing professional growth, making Gilead an ideal place for those who aim to lead and innovate in the healthcare industry.

Grow Your Career

Gilead Sciences Inc offers a wealth of career advancement opportunities. With personalized career development programs, employees are encouraged to pursue their professional interests and expand their skills. Whether through on-the-job learning, formal training, or leadership development, we provide the tools necessary for long-term career growth.

Be Part of Our Team

Our team at Gilead Sciences Inc is composed of passionate, curious, and solution-driven professionals. By joining us, you’ll collaborate with some of the brightest minds in the industry. Our culture promotes teamwork and an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving, making our workplace dynamic and innovative.

Internship and Employment Opportunities

Start your career with Gilead through our internship programs, which offer hands-on experience in biopharmaceutical development and business operations. For seasoned professionals, our employment opportunities span across various disciplines, inviting you to bring your valuable skills to our team.

Benefits and Culture

Gilead Sciences Inc is not only a great place to work but also offers competitive benefits designed to support the health, well-being, and financial security of our employees and their families. From health insurance to retirement plans and wellness programs, we ensure our team members are taken care of.

Networking and Professional Development

We emphasize the importance of networking and professional development within the company. Regular workshops, seminars, and training sessions are held to enhance your skills and knowledge. Additionally, Gilead’s strong emphasis on internal networking allows for cross-departmental collaboration and innovation.

Join Our Hiring Events

Stay connected with Gilead by joining our hiring events and exploring open positions that match your skills and interests. We are always on the lookout for dedicated, creative, and driven team players. Prepare your resume, ace the interview, and take the first step towards a fulfilling career at Gilead Sciences Inc.

Explore Jobs at Gilead Sciences Inc

Discover the exciting career opportunities waiting for you at Gilead Sciences Inc. Visit our careers page to search for open positions, read about our company culture, and learn how you can make a difference in the global healthcare landscape.

Stay Up to Date

Keep informed with the latest company news, career tips, and industry insights—all from the people who work at Gilead Sciences Inc. Subscribe to our job alert emails and personalize your experience to receive updates that align with your career preferences. Join Gilead Sciences Inc today and be part of a team that values innovation, leadership, and a commitment to diversity and employee growth.
Learn more about Gilead Sciences Inc
Size
14,400 employees
Market Cap
$107.2 billion
Industry
Net Income
$123 million
Founded
1987
5 Year Trend
-2.1%
Revenue
$24.6 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Gilead Sciences Inc

More Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Jobs

Find similar Associate Director, AI & ML Ops Lead -- Kite Commercial jobs: