Data & AI Excellence Lead - RDT Data Management & Governance

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

About Roche Digital Technology (RDT)

Roche Digital Technology (RDT) is where innovation meets purpose. As a global team at the heart of Roche, we are a community of business-minded technologists committed to helping shape tomorrow's digital future of healthcare. Our mission is to power Roche through cutting-edge digital technologies, harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence, data, and scalable tech innovations. Driven by purpose and passion, we're building a future where digital is a core strength across all of Roche, enabling smarter ways of working, unlocking human potential, and driving breakthroughs that truly matter for millions of patients around the world.

Description of the area:

The Data & AI Excellence Lead is a pivotal global individual contributor role within the Data & AI Governance and Excellence team. The role is responsible for driving Data and AI excellence, policy adoption, and a sustainable cultural shift toward a Data- and AI-driven mindset throughout the organization. Reporting directly to the Head of Data & AI Governance with a dotted line to the Chief Data & AI Officer (CDAO), this strategic role serves as the primary engine for translating Group Data & AI policies, AI ethics guidelines, and governance frameworks into tangible, enterprise-wide practices.

Because Data Governance and AI Governance are intrinsically linked, this role is explicitly designed to bridge the two domains to ensure that trusted data foundations directly enable responsible, high-impact AI adoption across the enterprise. Serving as an enterprise data and AI ambassador, the role is accountable for accelerating the understanding and compliant adoption of core concepts, including data mesh, data products, responsible AI consumption, model governance, and AI ethics across all functions and federated domains.

As a senior individual contributor, this role operates without direct reports, leveraging matrix leadership, orchestration, and influencing skills across federated domain teams. A critical requirement for this role is exceptional audience agility combined with a solid foundation in AI governance: the ability to seamlessly flip between high-stakes strategic discussions on AI/Data policies with senior executives and hands-on, practical engagement with ground-level executors. By bridging the gap between corporate vision and operational AI/data workflows, flattening the learning curve for emerging technologies, and deploying scalable change management frameworks, this role elevates enterprise-wide Data & AI excellence and ensures compliant, measurable value generation.

The Opportunity:

• Scope / Data & AI Excellence Leadership: Champions Data and AI excellence, literacy, and policy adoption across the enterprise. Serves as the key connective tissue between Data Governance and AI Governance, driving the unified adoption of Group Data & AI Strategy policies, standards, ethical guidelines, and compliance frameworks across all functional domains.
• Stakeholder Management & Audience Agility: Demonstrates high-bandwidth versatility by switching communication modes, presenting high-stakes strategic topics, AI risk/opportunity frameworks, and decision-ready materials to C-level executives while directly engaging hands-on contributors to drive practical, compliant AI and data usage.
• Accountability / Strategy Execution: Translates complex Data and AI governance policies, model governance requirements, AI ethics guidelines, data mesh architectures, and data product methodologies into clear, digestible, and actionable standards for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Impact / Change Management: Provides input to  enterprise-wide Organizational Change Management (OCM) strategies dedicated to both Data and AI adoption. Ensures smooth transition, policy adherence, and widespread adoption of AI/data governance tools, responsible AI practices, and data management frameworks without relying on formal authority.
• Complexity / Performance Measurement: Establishes combined Data & AI excellence metrics, cultural maturity indicators, and value frameworks to measure policy compliance, AI/data adoption rates, and business impact, providing executive updates to senior leadership.
• Business / Technical Ability: Applies a customer success mindset to enable domain teams and end-users in safely leveraging AI and data. Combines solid AI literacy and governance experience with data management principles to design scalable "train-the-trainer" models and build an active enterprise network of Data & AI champions.
• Matrix Leadership & Influencing: Drives cross-functional alignment and execution across federated domains without formal direct reports, serving as the central advisor and bridge connecting AI practitioners, data stewards, tech, legal, and business teams.
• Enterprise Communications Support: Supports enterprise communication efforts led by Group Communications, contributing to strategy development, media and public relations alignment, content oversight, cross-functional collaboration, and performance tracking to boost Data & AI visibility across the organization in- and externally..

Who you are:

Education / Experience

• University degree (Bachelor's degree) preferably in a digital technology, AI/data science, business, or related field.
• 10+ years of direct experience leading data and/or AI culture, change management, governance, or digital transformation within a complex, global matrix organization.
• Proven track record as a high-impact individual contributor or matrix leader capable of driving large-scale initiatives without direct formal authority.
• Demonstrated experience operationalizing enterprise Data and AI strategy and policies, AI ethics guidelines, model governance, and responsible AI frameworks.

Technical / Business Skills

• Solid background and practical skills in AI Governance (e.g., responsible AI principles, AI risk assessment, model lifecycle governance, Generative AI guidelines) combined with core Data Governance principles (data products, data mesh, data quality, privacy).
• Strong ability to connect technical AI/Data concepts with business strategy, ensuring AI adoption is grounded in robust, compliant data management foundations.
• Customer-success approach to enablement, focusing on removing friction for grassroots executors while ensuring strict regulatory and policy compliance.
• Mastery in defining adoption metrics, maturity models, and executive reporting frameworks.

Additional Qualifications

• Ability to rapidly shift between high-level strategic alignment and hands-on tactical coaching across all organizational levels.
• Strong background in organizational change management (OCM), AI/data literacy programs, and champion network development.
• Proactive, energetic, and highly collaborative approach to influencing across functions and inspiring an enterprise-wide culture of Data & AI excellence.
• Capable of sharing knowledge and inspiring innovation across the enterprise.

Additional Details

• Relocation: Relocation benefits are not available for this position.

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.