Executive Director of Applied AI
Job Location:
East Hanover, NJ - USA
Yearly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
Band
Level 7Job Description Summary
Location: Cambridge or East Hanover#LI-Hybrid 3 days/week in office
Internal Job Title: The Executive Director Applied AI Lead
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.
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 forspecificcomplex AI deploymentspartnering with IT tomakehands-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 engineersestablishingengineering excellence.
Establish delivery frameworks and engineering standards that support scalability reliability securitymaintainabilityand sustained operational adoption in partnership with IT.
Create reusable AI services accelerators evaluation frameworksblueprintsand integration patterns that reduce time to value across business domains.
Partner with data infrastructure information security architecturecomplianceand 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
Bachelors 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 deliveryincluding 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 databasesMLOps/LLMOpsand software delivery practices.
Demonstrated success defining and scaling enterprise-level AI initiatives with measurable business valueautomationor 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$225400.00 - $418600.00 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 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.
EEO Statement:
The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers. We do not discriminate in recruitment hiring training promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race color religion gender national origin age sexual orientation gender identity or expression marital or veteran status disability or any other legally protected status. We strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.
Accessibility and reasonable accommodations
The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If because of a medical condition or disability you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process or in order to perform the essential functions of a position please send an e-mail to call 1 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.
Range
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 AnalysisRequired Experience:
Director
About Company
Novartis is a global healthcare company based in Switzerland that provides solutions to the evolving needs of patients worldwide.
