Director, Data Science
(GenAI Platform Lead, MLOps Lead)
JOB DESCRIPTION
Position Summary
As a Director, Data Science - Indigo AI Innovation Lab, you will play a pivotal role in the advancement of machine learning and AI capabilities across the Alkermes enterprise. As our Generative AI leader you will lead the development and scaling of generative AI and ML products within Alkermes. Your role will involve driving innovation in generative models, designing scalable ML/AI solutions, and collaborating with diverse teams. By architecting and delivering ML and AI products across the enterprise, you will ensure Alkermes' investments in these technologies translate into versatile capabilities for various business needs. Additionally, you will work with senior leadership to shape Alkermes' AI strategy and technical investments, while contributing to best practices in software engineering and product management. You will help to shape the strategic direction of the AI Innovation Lab and Alkermes’ enterprise data science strategy, and contribute to the development of best practices, standards, and frameworks for data science within the organization. This will be located in Waltham and work a hybrid office schedule.
Responsibilities
RESPONSIBILITIES
Essential Areas of Responsibility Product Architecture and Scalable Software Delivery: Develop and maintain the software architectural design for AI Lab products, ensuring that they meet both current and future business needs, support large-scale data and model training, and maintain performance Oversee the organization, structure, and quality of AI Lab codebase, implementing quality standards and best practices for version control, code reviews, CI/CD, and documentation Ensure that AI Lab products and product operations are scalable, performant, and secure, and manage technical debt Develop and manage patterns for developing “last mile” data pipelines and maintain data products that feed AI Lab tools Stay up to date with the latest industry trends and technologies, integrating new tools and methodologies to enhance the development process Product Oversight: Work closely with product managers, PMs, development teams, and stakeholders to align technical solutions with business objectives Work with cross-functional teams to integrate data and AI solutions into user-facing products Develop initial processes and practices for ongoing product management and ensuring that developed tools continue to meet the needs of end users Team Leadership: Provide guidance and mentorship to development teams, improving overall team capability with respect to software engineering, data engineering, and generative AI application development Manage and mentor evolving (future) team of product managers and ML engineers Contribute to a culture of belonging, respect, team-focus, individual ownership, and performance within innovation lab Strategic Innovation: Work with senior leadership to shape the strategic direction of the AI Innovation Lab Contribute to shaping Alkermes’ enterprise viewpoint on AI, strategic roadmap, and alignment of data science activities with corporate strategy Qualifications QUALIFICATIONS Basic Qualifications: Minimum Education & Experience Requirements: MS, PhD, or equivalent degree in related field with minimum 10y of work experience in Data Science / Machine Learning – OR – BS or equivalent degree in related field with minimum 15y or work experience in Data Science or Machine Learning Related degree fields include Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Physical Sciences Experience in the Life Sciences industry highly preferred Technical Knowledge/Skills: Expert-level proficiency in Python, including production software development Experience developing deploying and maintaining production software and data products using tools in orchestration (e.g. Airflow, Prefect), version control (e.g. Gitlab), CI/CD (e.g. CircleCI), artifact management (e.g. Artifactory), and observability (e.g. DataDog) Proficiency in working with common Generative AI frameworks and related tools including LangChain, Pydantic, FastAPI, Dify, Snowflake Cortex, and related Knowledge of OLAP-style columnar SQL databases (i.e. Snowflake) and data models. Understanding of data pipeline, ETL processes and technologies (e.g. DBT). Experience with distributed big-data frameworks such as Spark are a plus Familiarity with the AWS ecosystem, and comfort managing and working with remote environments Experience with claims, EMR, -omics, patent, and other life-science oriented data modalities is a plus Competencies: Experience in product management user feedback and product discovery techniques, and ability to rapidly translate user feedback into technical features for development Experience in senior business-stakeholder management, and ability to rapidly translate between technical requirements and domain-specific terminology, influence functional policies and approaches Ability to work in cross-functional teams and influence outcomes Effective in accomplishing multi-quarter and multi-year goals by working through others Experience influencing and mentoring junior team members as an informal technical leader Preferred Qualifications: Personal Attributes: Self-starter with the ability to work with minimum supervision Business engagement experience with the ability to manage evolving business priorities and demands Ability to multitask – effectively manage simultaneous work requests across departments, IT, and other cross-functional organizations Willingness to learn new applications, tools, and approaches as additional needs arise Strong work ethic, with a proven track record in successfully achieving goals Proactive communication style Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present to and interact with a diverse group of executives, managers, and subject matter experts Ability to work 2-3 days a week in our Waltham office. #LI-TS1 About Us Why join Team Alkermes? Alkermes applies its deep neuroscience expertise to develop medicines designed to help people living with complex and difficult-to-treat psychiatric and neurological disorders. A fully-integrated, global biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Ireland with U.S. locations in Massachusetts and Ohio, we are committed to pursuing great science, driven by deep compassion to make a real impact in the lives of patients. Alkermes has a portfolio of proprietary commercial products for the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder, and a pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates in development for various neurological disorders, including narcolepsy. Beyond our important mission of developing medicines to address unmet patient needs, we actively seek to foster a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging throughout our business. We strive to ensure that all voices are respected and valued, recognizing that our diversity of thought, background and perspective makes us stronger. We are proud to have been recognized as an employer of choice by many national organizations, including being certified as a Great Place to Work in the U.S. in 2024, honored as a Healthiest Employer in both Ohio and Massachusetts in 2023, a Best Place for Working Parents in 2023, and to have received the Bell Seal at the Platinum level for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America for three consecutive years (2021-2023). Alkermes, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any qualified applicant or employee because of race, creed, color, age, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression and identity, disability, genetic information, veteran status, military status, application for military service or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law. Alkermes also complies with all work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Alkermes is an E-Verify employer.
