Director, AI & Machine Learning

Introduction to role

Are you ready to be part of the future of healthcare? Can you think big, be bold, and harness the power of data and AI to tackle longstanding life sciences challenges? Then Evinova, a new health tech business part of the AstraZeneca Group might be for you! The Human-centered AI team at Evinova aims to transform the patient experience and clinical trial process by embedding data science and AI in digital solutions serving clinical trials. We are looking for dedicated individuals to develop ideas into impactful product capabilities that make a difference to patients.

Accountabilities

Evinova delivers market-leading digital health solutions that are science-based, evidence-led, and human experience-driven. Thoughtful risks and quick decisions come together to accelerate innovation across the life sciences sector. Be part of a diverse team that pushes the boundaries of science by digitally empowering a deeper understanding of the patients we help. Launch pioneering digital solutions that improve the patients’ experience and deliver better health outcomes. Together, we have the opportunity to combine deep scientific expertise with digital and artificial intelligence to serve the wider healthcare community and create new standards across the sector.

The team is looking for a Director of Data Science to lead machine learning and genAI projects, and develop innovative cross-product AI capabilities. The role is a technical expert driving hands-on development from prototyping to supporting production systems. The role will focus on the design of complex AI agents, communication architectures for agents, and developing automated techniques for designing and evaluating agentic systems. The role will interact with product, design, engineering, MLops, and domain experts and partners.

Typical Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of sophisticated agentic AI applications tailored to life sciences/health tech challenges.
• Develop automated techniques for designing and evaluating agentic systems.
• Ideate, develop, and evaluate different tools for agents (e.g., search, memory, context compression, communication architectures for agents).
• Design specialized agent/LLM observability pipelines for prototypes and production systems.
• Mentor and develop the technical capabilities of the AI team, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous learning.
• Lead a portfolio of high-impact AI projects. Drive technical and project-level architecture decisions, guiding multi-functional teams through stages of the AI lifecycle.
• Collaborate in a multidisciplinary environment to align AI initiatives with business objectives and drive digital transformation.
• Represent the company's AI expertise at conferences, publications, and industry events.

Essential Skills/Experience

• Ph.D. or equivalent experience in a relevant field (such as mathematics, computer science, data science).
• 6+ years of proven experience in applied machine learning, with a strong focus on deep learning, NLP, and generative AI.
• Proven track record of developing creative and novel AI solutions that have driven significant business impact.
• Extensive prior experience exploring and testing language model behavior, prompting and building products with language models.
• Expert knowledge of Python and advanced ML/LLM frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, LangChain, LlamaIndex).
• Extensive experience with AWS services (e.g., SageMaker, Bedrock, MSK, EKS, OpenSearch).
• Deep understanding of agentic AI concepts and frameworks (e.g., agentic design patterns, multi-agent systems, reinforcement learning) and their applications in healthcare.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience presenting to executive leadership and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire multi-functional teams.

Desirable Skills/Experience

• Demonstrated technical leadership experience, including successful delivery of large-scale AI projects.
• Experience designing and implementing novel AI architectures or algorithms in real-world products.
• Experience with low-level languages used for implementing high-performance ML code (C/C++, Rust, CUDA, etc.).
• Contributions to open-source AI projects or development of proprietary AI frameworks.
• Expertise in areas such as few-shot learning, meta-learning, explainable AI.
• Experience with regulatory environments in healthcare and life sciences.
• Experience with AI ethics, responsible AI practices in the life sciences industry.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

AstraZeneca is where you can connect across the whole business to power each function to better influence patient outcomes and improve their lives. Here you will play an increasingly crucial role in driving exciting transformation on our journey to becoming a digital and data-led enterprise. Work alongside leading experts using pioneering techniques to create novel solutions that have a large-scale impact on patients' lives.

Ready to make a difference? Apply now!

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