AstraZeneca

Associate Director, Automation & Innovation

AstraZeneca$125K — $164K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Advanced degree in Computer/Data/AI/Engineering or related quantitative field; Bachelor's with equivalent experience considered.
  • 6+ years of hands-on experience with AI/ML/NLP and analytics including model development and deployment.
  • Experience delivering AI strategies at scale in regulated environments, preferably in pharma/healthcare, with a focus on project portfolio management (PPM).
  • Demonstrated leadership of global teams with strong business acumen and stakeholder management skills.
  • Deep understanding of data governance, privacy, and ethics with familiarity of GDPR, HIPAA, and EMA guidance.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, able to present insights to senior leadership.
  • Customer-focused, adaptable, and results-driven; effective both independently and in teams.

Responsibilities

  • Define and communicate an actionable AI strategy aligned with business objectives.
  • Identify high-impact AI use cases to translate pain points into solution roadmaps.
  • Lead design and deployment of AI solutions from pilots to enterprise adoption.
  • Establish metrics and dashboards to track performance, adoption, and ROI.
  • Embed privacy, security, ethics, and regulatory compliance into AI solution design.
  • Foster cross-functional collaboration with IT, data science, and business units.
  • Champion innovation and change management to enhance AI adoption across teams.

Benefits

  • Competitive Flex Benefits & Retirement Savings Program.
  • 4 weeks paid vacation and annual Personal Days.
  • Variable Pay Bonus/Short Term Incentive opportunities.
  • Eligibility for equity-based long-term incentive program (if applicable).
  • Comprehensive benefits offered for permanent roles.
Full Job Description

Are you ready to harness AI to reshape how a portfolio of life-changing medicines is delivered to patients? Do you see yourself translating the latest advances in AI, machine learning and NLP into decisions that accelerate development and sharpen our strategic focus across a global R&D portfolio?

In this role, you will set direction and drive adoption of enterprise AI initiatives that unlock value in project and portfolio management, decision support, capacity planning and governance. You will join a high-performing team that connects data, processes and technology to reveal new insights, reduce cycle times and improve the way critical portfolio decisions are made—always with patient impact in mind.

Working alongside product, data, IT, compliance and business leaders, you will move from pilots to scaled capabilities that are ethical, secure and compliant, ensuring AI becomes a trusted, measurable accelerator for our pipeline and operations.

Accountabilities:

  • AI Strategy Leadership: Define and communicate an actionable AI strategy aligned to business objectives, setting clear priorities and success measures across portfolio, functional and tactical levels.
  • Opportunity Discovery: Identify high-impact AI use cases in project management, portfolio analytics and decision support, capacity management and governance, translating pain points into solution roadmaps.
  • Roadmap and Delivery: Lead design, pilots and scaled deployments of AI solutions; sequence investments, manage risks and ensure delivery excellence from proof of concept to enterprise adoption.
  • Value Realization and KPIs: Establish metrics, dashboards and review cadences to track performance, adoption and ROI; course-correct to maximize impact on cycle time, quality and decision speed.
  • Responsible AI and Compliance: Embed privacy, security, ethics and regulatory requirements in solution design and operations; ensure alignment with standards such as GDPR, HIPAA and EMA guidance.
  • Partnership Building: Orchestrate cross-functional collaboration with IT, data science, business units, legal and compliance; manage external relationships with vendors, academia and industry consortia.
  • Change Leadership and Adoption: Champion innovation and knowledge sharing; enable training, communications and change management that build trust and scale new ways of working.
  • Modern Data and Architecture: Guide choices on data pipelines, model lifecycle management and governance to ensure solutions are robust, reusable and resilient.
  • External Representation: Stay ahead of industry trends; represent the organization in forums and communities to bring back insights and influence best practice.
  • Progressive Impact: Deliver early wins in priority domains, then scale patterns across the platform to improve portfolio delivery, strengthen decision-making and contribute to faster patient impact.

Essential Skills/Experience:

  • Advanced degree in Computer/Data/AI/Engineering or a related quantitative field; Bachelor’s with equivalent experience considered. Minimum 6+ years experience, with strong knowledge of the drug development process.
  • Extensive hands-on experience with AI/ML/NLP and analytics, including model development, deployment and lifecycle management; familiarity with modern data architecture and governance.
  • Proven delivery of AI strategies and solutions at scale in regulated environments (pharma/healthcare preferred), translating digital technologies into measurable business impact; PPM experience in Life Sciences is mandatory.
  • Demonstrated leadership of cross-functional, global teams and complex programs; strong business acumen, stakeholder management and communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences; evidence of thought leadership in AI/innovation.
  • Deep understanding of data governance, privacy and ethics with working familiarity of GDPR, HIPAA and EMA guidance.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, able to synthesize complex data and present clear insights to senior leadership
  • Customer-focused, adaptable and results-driven; self-starter who works effectively both independently and in global, cross-functional settings

Desirable Skills/Experience:

  • Certifications in AI, data science, or project management (such as Certified Data Professional, PMP, or equivalent)

Great People want to Work with us! Find out why:

Are you interested in working at AZ, apply today!

Annual base salary for this position ranges from 125,007.20 to 164,071.95.

AstraZeneca is committed to providing fair and equitable compensation opportunities to all colleagues. Our compensation policies and practices have been designed to allow colleagues to progress through the salary range over time as they progress in their role. The range provided in this posting represents an offer pay range used in a majority of situations. The base pay offered will vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including the candidate's skills and experience, job-related knowledge, and other specific business and organizational needs. In some cases, offers outside the range may also be considered to address unique circumstances.

In addition, our permanent positions offer an annual Variable Pay Bonus/Short Term Incentive opportunity as well as eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (if applicable to role).  Benefits offered for permanent roles include a competitive Flex Benefits & Retirement Savings Program, 4 weeks’ paid vacation, and annual Personal Days. Fixed Term Contract/Temporary positions (excluding students) are offered a Contract Benefits Program.

We are using AI as part of the recruitment process.

This advertisement relates to a current vacancy.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development, and manufacturing of prescription drugs. The company was formed in 1999 through the merger of Astra AB and Zeneca Group plc. AstraZeneca's products are used to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes. The company has operations in over 100 countries and employs more than 76,000 people worldwide. AstraZeneca is committed to developing innovative medicines that improve the health and well-being of people around the world.
Learn more about AstraZeneca
Size
83,100 employees
Market Cap
$211.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
$3.1 billion
Founded
1999
5 Year Trend
+10.2%
Revenue
$26.6 billion
NASDAQ

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