Associate Director – Senior AI Engineer

*NOTE: This is a Hybrid position based out of Princeton NJ*

We are seeking a hands on Sr. AI Platform Engineer (Associate Director) to collaborate and drive platform aligned AI outcomes across the enterprise. The role provides engineering leadership and AI solution architecture oversight for platform and framework deliverables - reference patterns and guardrails, CI/CD & IaC blueprints, governance by design controls, observability, and cost/performance posture - delivered on approved platforms (Dataiku, Azure AI, AWS Bedrock/AgentCore, Snowflake Cortex). Operating in a regulated pharmaceutical environment, you will lead small delivery teams and collaborate with Data Science, Cloud/Infrastructure, and IT to guide use cases onto secure, reliable, compliant production pathways, while building reusable components and agentic enablement patterns adopted across domains.

• Design and Engineer reusable Agentic AI components and multi‑agent workflows for planning, reasoning, memory, and tool orchestration using LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, and Semantic Kernel.
• Apply emerging AI interaction standards including Model Context Protocol (MCP) and A2A (Agent‑to‑Agent) communication to support scalable multi‑agent systems.
• Lead small platform/ partner teams to deliver framework components: CI/CD blueprints, IaC modules, prompt/model versioning, evaluation harnesses, policy‑as‑code, observability dashboards (telemetry/drift/safety), and incident runbooks.
• Help and drive enablement of the Agentic AI C4E by creating practitioner knowledge articles, supporting and leading office hours, and engaging on project scoping, architecture reviews, and governance alignment.
• Contribute and operationalize enterprise AI reference architectures, standards, and guardrails to align teams on consistent patterns and quality.
• Implement evaluation frameworks for LLMs, prompts, safety/guardrails, hallucination risk, and performance metrics; de‑emphasize RAG where not required.
• Contribute to enhancing internal AI frameworks, orchestration templates, and reusable components to improve scalability and delivery consistency.
• Collaborate with Platform Engineering to align deployments with enterprise CI/CD, observability, governance, and operational standards; advance reliability for AI workloads (SLOs, telemetry, incident prevention) with SRE/SecOps.
• Ensure solutions follow Responsible AI practices, security requirements, privacy‑by‑design, and pharma regulatory controls (GxP, 21 CFR Part 11); embed security‑by‑design and policy enforcement with documentation and traceability.
• Influence technical priorities, sequencing, and trade‑offs across partner teams; provide inputs to vendor selection and adoption decisions where relevant.
• Guide solution teams onto approved platform pathways (Dataiku automation, Azure/AWS AI services, Snowflake Cortex), ensuring scalability, reliability (SLOs), security, and governed delivery in a regulated setting.
• Influence priorities and sequencing, unblock delivery risks, and communicate progress, risks, and value to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 10–12+ years of hands‑on experience in Platform Engineering, AI/ML, LLMOps/MLOps, DevOps with a proven track record of building and deploying production‑grade AI systems.
• Depth with cloud AI platform services on Azure (OpenAI, Azure AI/ML, Cognitive Search) and AWS (Bedrock, AgentCore, Comprehend, SageMaker), with sound build‑vs‑buy judgment.
• Strong Python engineering skills and proficiency with FastAPI or Flask for building AI‑powered services.
• Hands‑on with Dataiku for workflow orchestration, automation scenarios, model integration, or plugin‑based extensions.
• Deep familiarity with Agentic AI frameworks - LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, Semantic Kernel - with demonstrated experience building multi‑agent workflows, autonomous task orchestration, and tool‑enabled agent systems. (RAG familiarity is valued but not the primary emphasis.)
• Experience with prompt engineering and iterative prompt refinement for internal LLM use cases.
• Working knowledge of containerization (Docker), CI/CD tooling, and vector database integrations (e.g., OpenSearch, Pinecone).
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work closely with data scientists, engineers, security/compliance partners, and business stakeholders in a regulated environment.
• Effective communication, technical storytelling, and problem‑solving skills; able to influence technical direction across teams.
• Self‑motivated, hands‑on, and results‑oriented, with continuous learning in GenAI, Agentic AI, and modern orchestration patterns.

Educational Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• Preferred Certifications (nice to have):

• Cloud/GenAI: AWS or Azure AI / AWS or Azure Developer / AWS Solutions Architect; AWS Bedrock or Generative AI, Machine Learning Specialty.
• Agentic/AI Tooling: LangChain / Semantic Kernel badges or equivalent micro‑credentials.

Competencies
Accountability for Results - Stay focused on key strategic objectives, be accountable for high standards of performance, and take an active role in leading change.
Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving - Make decisions considering the long-term impact to customers, patients, employees, and the business.
Patient & Customer Centricity - Maintain an ongoing focus on the needs of our customers and/or key stakeholders.
Impactful Communication - Communicate with logic, clarity, and respect. Influence at all levels to achieve the best results for Otsuka.
Respectful Collaboration - Seek and value others’ perspectives and strive for diverse partnerships to enhance work toward common goals.
Empowered Development - Play an active role in professional development as a business imperative.

Minimum $169,222.00 - Maximum $253,000.00, plus incentive opportunity: The range shown represents a typical pay range or starting pay for individuals who are hired in the role to perform in the United States. Other elements may be used to determine actual pay such as the candidate’s job experience, specific skills, and comparison to internal incumbents currently in role. Typically, actual pay will be positioned within the established range, rather than at its minimum or maximum. This information is provided to applicants in accordance with states and local laws.

Company benefits:  Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, company provided basic life, accidental death & dismemberment, short-term and long-term disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, student loan assistance, a generous 401(k) match, flexible time off, paid holidays, and paid leave programs as well as other company provided benefits.

Come discover more about Otsuka and our benefit offerings; https://ah-prod.com/multi/videoplayer/player.html?v=6385356920112.

Join Our Talent Community: Stay connected with Otsuka by joining our Talent Community. Tell us about your interests, and we’ll notify you about future opportunities that align with your background. https://community.hireez.com/cielo-otsuka/82cb3591

Disclaimer: 

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the people assigned to this position. It is not intended to include every job duty and responsibility specific to the position. Otsuka reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs as necessary. 

Otsuka is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will be given consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, national origin, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristic.   

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation, if you are unable or limited in your ability to apply to this job opening as a result of your disability.  You can request reasonable accommodations by contacting [email protected]. 

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