Director - AI Engineering Lead

Role Title: Director - AI Engineering Lead

Location: Chennai/Bengaluru - India

We are one purpose-led global organisation. The enablers and innovators, ensuring that we can fulfil our mission to push the boundaries of science and discover and develop life-changing medicines. We take pride in working close to the cause, opening the locks to save lives, ultimately making a massive difference to the outside world.

AstraZeneca (AZ) is in a period of strong growth and our employees have a united purpose to make a difference to patients around the world who need both our medicines and the ongoing developments from our science. In this journey AZ must continue to work across borders and with partners and new colleagues in a fast and seamless way. The ambition, size and complexity of the organisation, coupled with the opportunities afforded by new technology, has led the Board to approve a large-scale transformation programme – Axial.

The Axial Programme will be powered by S/4HANA a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system which will be implemented right across the organisation and will provide our business with standardised processes, enhanced financial management, common data and real time reporting, transforming the way we work through our entire supply chain - from bench to patient.

The new system will be used by more than 20,000 employees daily, is foundational to all AZ entities and is central to most core business processes. This is a once in a generation programme for AstraZeneca and will shape our ways of working globally for many years to come.

The Axial programme needs the best talent to work in it. Whether it’s the technical skills, business understanding or change leadership, we want to ensure we have the strongest team deployed throughout. We are aiming to deliver a world class change programme that leaves all employees with a fuller understanding of their role in the end-to-end nature of our global company. This programme will provide AZ with a competitive edge, to the benefit of our employees, customers and patients.

The AI Engineering Lead will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of AI and machine learning solutions that drive business value. This role requires a strategic thinker with a strong technical background in AI technologies, data analytics, and a proven ability to manage cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in AI, machine learning, and natural language processing, coupled with hands-on experience in Python programming.

What you’ll do

• Lead a focused team to explore and harness the Generative AI capabilities.
• Design and execute Proof of Concepts (PoCs) to validate AI use cases.
• Develop and implement initial use cases that leverage Generative AI and Machine Learning technologies.
• Establish and oversee governance frameworks for AI applications to ensure compliance and ethical use.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to define the AI operating model and strategic direction.
• Foster a culture of ideation and innovation within the Axial team, encouraging exploration of new innovative technologies and methodologies.
• Architect and implement generative AI models tailored to produce structured outputs such as text or images.
• Research and apply advanced machine learning algorithms to improve model efficiency and accuracy.
• Create user-friendly applications using Streamlit
• Handle large datasets, perform data cleaning, and apply feature engineering to prepare data for model training.
• Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to understand requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
• Optimize and fine-tune GPT models to improve output quality and efficiency.
• Conduct research and stay up to date with the latest advancements in AI, machine learning, and NLP to integrate new methodologies into existing processes.
• Debug and resolve issues in AI models and the associated infrastructure.
• Document technical specifications and processes to support ongoing development and enhancements.
• Support the deployment and integration of AI solutions into existing systems.

Essential for the role

• At least 5 years’ experience demonstrating technical skills in one or more of the following areas: Generative AI, machine learning, recommendation systems, pattern recognition, natural language vision or computer vision.
• Proficiency in using Streamlit to create interactive and visually appealing web applications.
• Extensive experience in software development including full SDLC
• Experience of developing and integrating applications using APIs
• Solid understanding of natural language processing (NLP) techniques and applications.
• Experience using computer vision techniques
• Experience with machine learning frameworks and libraries (TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc.).
• Strong software development skills, including python and scala. Experience with automation strategies (CI/CD etc) and containerisation (Kubernetes, Docker) is key.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, business analysis, and consultancy skills

Desirable for the role

• Prior experience in Azure AI stack
• Knowledge of large language models like GPT, Claude, Gemini.
• Experience with version control systems like Git.
• Knowledge of agents and multi-agent systems, including agent-based modelling and simulation.
• Familiarity with decision-making algorithms and systems that exhibit goal-directed behaviour.
• Strong foundation in linear algebra, calculus, probability, and statistics.
• Ability to apply mathematical concepts to optimize models and interpret results
• Experience of multi-cloud cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP) is an advantage. Azure as primary experience
• Proficient working in high performance computing or cloud environment
• Experience in translating requirements into fit for purpose models, processing designs, data mappings and data profile reports
• Experience in working relevant domains e.g. Pharma, R&D, Manufacturing, Commercial, Finance, HR, Legal, Facilities etc.

Why AstraZeneca?

At Astrazeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration, and always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development. We’re on an exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare.

So, what’s next?

• Are you already imaging yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you.
• Are you ready to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to the table? Brilliant! We have one seat available and hope its yours
• If you’re curious to know more then we welcome your application no later than

Where can I find out more?

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