Associate Director, Data Science & AI Solutions

Job Description

The mission of the Analytics & Technology Systems QA group is to provide the foundation to identify, explore, and efficiently develop solutions to enhance our quality oversight activities.

Under the direction of the Senior Director, Analytics & Technology Systems of our Research & Development Division QA, we are seeking an Associate Director, Data Science & AI Solutions, to join our R&D Quality Assurance Analytics & Tech Systems team. In this role, you will bridge the gap between hands-on advanced software development and strategic business partnership. You will lead the design, deployment, and long-term lifecycle of our next-generation AI and data science solutions—ranging from traditional machine learning and simulations to custom generative AI applications (such as RAG and agentic workflows).

As a technical and strategic leader, you will collaborate with business stakeholders to identify high-value opportunities, translate complex technical concepts for different audiences, and partner with governance bodies to ensure all advanced analytics tools are robust, compliant, and scalable.

Key Responsibilities

1. AI Development & System Lifecycle

• Technical Delivery: Build, deploy, and maintain advanced AI applications (including custom RAG pipelines and agentic systems) alongside traditional analytics solutions (forecasts, simulations, and optimizations) to solve critical research & development quality business challenges.
• Environment Management: Work within enterprise analytics platforms (e.g., Dataiku, Posit Workbench) to monitor, enhance, and scale existing operational analytics systems.

2. GxP AI Governance & Compliance

• Regulatory Alignment: Collaborate with the GxP AI Governance Program to develop frameworks that ensure AI solutions adhere to regulatory requirements, validation playbooks, and standardized monitoring protocols.

3. Business Partnership & Technical Translation

• Translational Communication: Act as the primary technical translator, explaining complex AI algorithms, models, and limitations to non-technical stakeholders and leadership in a clear, business-friendly manner.
• Demand Intake: Collaborate with business leaders to identify operational challenges and propose high-value data science and AI use cases.
• Business Acumen: Demonstrates a strong willingness to learn and understand business processes, priorities, and stakeholder’s needs to drive meaningful outcomes.

4. Leadership & Upskilling

• Team Mentorship: Educate and upskill QA team members on modern tech stacks, Large Language Models (LLMs), and general data literacy.
• External Representation: Represent our company in cross-functional forums, such as IMPALA (Intercompany Quality Analytics).

Required Qualifications

• Educations/Experience:  BS/BA degree in relevant area and 5+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech or technology related industry.
• Analytical & Programming Core: Minimum 5 years of professional experience using Python, R, and advanced SQL to design and deploy machine learning, forecasting, or optimization models.
• Modern AI Engineering: Hands-on experience developing custom RAG architectures, working with LLM APIs, and utilizing core MLOps practices (version control/Git, monitoring, and model maintenance).
• Data Engineering & Visualization: Proficiency in designing user-friendly dashboards (PowerBI or Spotfire) and a foundational understanding of Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) pipelines and data structures.
• Cloud & Architecture: Familiarity with hosting and deploying AI solutions or agentic pipelines in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Regulated Industry Experience: Prior experience in a regulated pharmaceutical (GxP) environment, with exposure to software validation or AI governance frameworks.
• Communication & Influence: Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to distill complex technical terminology into actionable insights for non-technical business partners.
• Global Collaboration: Experience working with and supporting different, cross-functional teams in a global, matrixed organization.
• Passionate Learner: Continuously explores emerging technologies, including generative AI, and identifies opportunities to apply them to drive innovation and business value.

Required Skills:

AI Programming, Audience View, Biopharmaceutical Industry, Business Acumen, Business Intelligence (BI), Business Processes, Business Process Modeling, Database Design, Data Engineering, Data Literacy, Data Modeling, Data Science, Data Visualization, Extract Transform Load (ETL), Generative AI, Git Version Control System, Large Language Models (LLMs), Machine Learning (ML), Python (Programming Language), Software Development, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Version Control

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$156,900.00 - $247,000.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

08/19/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.