Alcon

Executive Director of Applied AI

Alcon$225K — $418K *
Enterprise Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, data science, or a related field.
  • 15+ years of technology leadership and enterprise AI transformation experience.
  • Hands-on expertise in applied AI delivery and scaling.
  • Strong grounding in software and product engineering for complex platforms.
  • Proficiency with modern AI engineering stacks including Python and cloud platforms.
  • Experience leading technical teams in enterprise environments.
  • Demonstrated success in defining and scaling enterprise AI initiatives.

Responsibilities

  • Define and lead the applied AI deployment strategy and execution roadmap.
  • Act as a forward-deployed AI engineering leader, translating business priorities into deployable solutions.
  • Lead technical solution architecture for complex AI deployments.
  • Oversee implementation and scaling of generative AI and workflow automation.
  • Build and coach a globally distributed team of AI engineers.
  • Establish engineering standards for scalability, reliability, and security.
  • Track solution performance and optimize for business value.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health, life, and disability benefits.
  • 401(k) with company contribution and match.
  • Generous time off package, including vacation and personal days.
  • Performance-based cash incentive and eligibility for equity awards.
Full Job Description

Band

Level 7

Job Description Summary

Location: Cambridge or East Hanover
#LI-Hybrid 3 days/week in office
Internal Job Title: The Executive Director, Applied AI Lead

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.


Job Description

Key Responsibilities

  • Define and lead the applied AI deployment strategy, executionroadmapand 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, intelligentworkflowsand redesigned processes.

  • Lead technical solution architecture for complex AI deployments, making hands-on decisions on application architecture, system integration patterns, model orchestration, APIs, securitycontrolsand production infrastructure.

  • Lead end-to-end implementation, customization, integration and scaling of generative AI, agenticsystemsand workflow automation solutions in production environments.

  • Build, lead and coach a small, globally distributed team of forward deployed AI engineers,establishingengineering excellence through technical review processes, codingstandardsand career development while actively guiding delivery on critical engagements.

  • Establish delivery frameworks and engineering standards that support scalability, reliability, security,maintainabilityand sustained operational adoption.

  • Create reusable AI services, accelerators, evaluation frameworks,blueprintsand integration patterns that reduce time to value across business domains.

  • Partner with data, infrastructure, information security, architecture,complianceand business teams to align solutions with enterprise priorities andregulated-environmentrequirements.

  • Track solution performance, adoption and business value through monitoring, feedback loops, useranalysisand continuous service optimization.

  • Guidemodernization 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.

Essential Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, datascienceora relatedfield.

  • At least 15 years of progressive experience in technology leadership, enterprise AItransformationor complex solution delivery, including leadership of senior technical and cross-functional teams.

  • Deep, hands-onexpertisein applied AI delivery,including takingmachine learning, generativeAIand agentic solutions from concept through production and enterprise-scale adoption.

  • Strong software and product engineering grounding, with experience integrating AI into complex enterprise platforms, dataenvironmentsand operational workflows.

  • Hands-onproficiencywith modern AI engineering stacks, including Python, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS), LLM orchestration frameworks, vector databases,MLOps/LLMOpsand software delivery practices.

  • Demonstrated success defining and scaling enterprise-level AI initiatives, with measurable business value,automationor 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 orprofessional-servicesexperience partnering with senior technology and business leaders on enterprise transformation, operatingmodelsor technology strategy.

  • Provenpeopleleadership and organizational development capability, including building high-performing teams, developingleadersandestablishingeffective governance.

  • Strong executive communication and cross-functional influence skills, with the ability to align priorities, investmentdecisionsand delivery across a complex matrixed organization.

Desirable Requirements

  • Master of Science, engineering postgraduate degree or MBA.

  • Experience delivering AI solutions in healthcare, life sciences or another complex regulated environment, or priorzero-to-one startup experience.

Benefits & Rewards

The salary for this position is expected to range between$225,400.00 - $418,600.00 per year.

The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors.

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.

To learn more about the culture, rewards and benefits we offer our people clickhere.


Salary Range

$225,400.00 - $418,600.00


Skills Desired

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business Value Creation, Change Management, Curious Mindset, Data Governance, Data Literacy, Data Management, Data Quality, Data Science, Data Visualization, Deep Learning, Learning Agility, Machine Learning (ML), Machine Learning Algorithms, Mentorship, Stakeholder Engagement, Statistical Analysis, Time Series Analysis

About Alcon

Alcon is a global medical company specializing in eye care products and services. The company's products include surgical equipment, contact lenses, and eye drops. Alcon was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. The company operates in over 70 countries and has over 20,000 employees. In 2019, Alcon became an independent publicly traded company after being spun off from Novartis.
Learn more about Alcon
Size
24,389 employees
Market Cap
$33.3 billion
Industry
Founded
1945
NASDAQ

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