Director, Data Science & AI

About the role

AstraZeneca is looking for a Director, Data Science & AI to lead enterprise-scale AI that accelerates decisions and productivity across Late Stage Development, CMC and Supply Chain. The role builds a connected, end-to-end Enterprise AI engine and can be based in Gothenburg (Sweden), Macclesfield (UK) or Barcelona (Spain). It focuses on Machine Learning, Foundation Models and Agentic AI, with success measured by adoption, impact and scale.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of Data Scientists, Product Managers and Agentic AI specialists, promoting technical excellence and continuous learning.
• Apply machine learning, multi-agentic LLM, deep learning and foundation model techniques to solve problems in Late Stage Development, CMC and Supply Chain.
• Lead the development, adaptation, fine-tuning and training of ML, LLM and foundation models, selecting methods proportionate to business need and suitable for regulated environments.
• Design evaluation frameworks covering performance, reliability, fairness, explainability and usability, and validate that solutions are fit for purpose.
• Steer delivery from problem definition and data exploration through prototyping, validation, deployment and continuous improvement, ensuring robust, secure and maintainable solutions.
• Establish an AI Product Management and MLOps operating model with Operations IT for rapid iteration and reliable cloud deployment.
• Work with customers and subject-matter experts to turn business questions into analytical problems, and partner with CMC, Supply Chain, Operations IT and others to embed AI in business processes.
• Define best practices, validation standards and compliant deployment processes, and set up cross-company networks to share methods, platforms and data products.
• Track adoption, model performance, user experience and business impact, and build partnerships with academia and technology providers.

Required profile

• Minimum master's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Computational Chemistry/Biology, Engineering or a related field.
• Extensive data science experience (10+ years) with considerable time in a leadership role, preferably in pharma, biotech or healthcare.
• Proven experience in machine learning, deep learning, foundation model delivery and multi-agent (LLM) systems.
• Experience establishing AI Product Management organisations and partnering with IT on MLOps / AIOps.
• Experience deploying AI and ML in Pharmaceutical CMC and Supply Chain Management organisations.
• Desirable: PhD or equivalent, published research on Foundation Models, LLMs or Agentic AI, and experience in regulated industries with GDPR and EU AI Act awareness.

Required skills

• Strong programming skills in ML, foundation model and agentic development and deployment frameworks.
• Excellent leadership, team management, communication and stakeholder management skills.

Working is on average a minimum of three days per week from the office, with flexibility.