Director, PX & Office of CEO Forward Deployed Engineer

Role Summary

The Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is a hands-on technologist and trusted innovation partner to People Experience (PX), Global Workspace Experience (GWE), Global Security (GS) and the Office of the CEO. Embedded at the intersection of global business processes, transactional data and enterprise technology, this role translates bold ideas into working AI and data-driven prototypes that accelerate discovery, development, and delivery of innovative solutions. The role operates within Pfizer Digital & Technology’s Enabling Functions Forward Impact Engineering team, collaborating in small, mission-focused pods to co-own a domain’s innovation backlog—from idea intake through proof-of-concept delivery to enterprise-scale transition. The ideal candidate combines engineering depth, creative problem solving, and business fluency, writing code, influencing senior leaders, and connecting across organizational boundaries to drive measurable impact through technology that advances science.

Responsibilities

• Prototype & Deliver Innovation
  • Rapidly design and build AI- and data-driven prototypes addressing high-value PX, GWE, GS and Office of CEO use cases (e.g., predictive modeling, scientific data integration, knowledge assistants, document intelligence, or lab automation).
  • Collaborate with enterprise data, platform, and engineering teams to ensure scalability and secure handoff of validated solutions.
  • Apply best practices in software development, data science, and MLOps to deliver maintainable, well-documented prototypes.
• Partner with PX, GWE, GS and Office of CEO Leadership
  • Serve as the primary AI and technology thought partner for senior leaders (VP/SVP level).
  • Translate scientific and operational pain points into technical opportunities with clear business value.
  • Influence decision-makers through demonstrations, storytelling, and measurable outcomes.
• Shape the Innovation Backlog
  • Work with Product Managers to source, assess, and prioritize ideas in the PX, GWE, GS and Office of CEO Innovation Backlog.
  • Conduct feasibility assessments and align solutions to enterprise architecture, data governance, and AI safety standards.
  • Help define success metrics, business cases, and transition plans for scaled adoption.
• Enable Collaboration Across Digital & Technology & PX, GWE, GS and Office of CEO
  • Build bridges between research scientists, enterprise Digital & Technology, data engineering, and AI platform teams.
  • Share learnings and reusable assets across Pods to accelerate innovation velocity.
  • Mentor emerging technical talent and help establish the culture of AI in service of science.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related technical field (PhD or Master’s preferred) or equivalent professional experience.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, data science, or applied AI, including 3+ years in a lead technical or product innovation role.
• Proven ability to build working prototypes and AI applications using modern languages and frameworks (e.g., Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, FastAPI).
• Deep understanding of data platforms, APIs, and cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Strong grasp of machine learning and generative AI concepts, including LLMs, NLP, and multimodal systems.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills; capable of translating complex ideas to non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated success influencing senior stakeholders and driving alignment in a matrixed, global organization.

Preferred

• Experience in pharma, people experience, global workspace, global security, corporate affairs computing environments.
• Familiarity with regulated domains (e.g., GxP, SOX).
• Track record of leading cross-functional innovation initiatives from ideation to adoption.
• Contributions to open-source projects, technical publications, or patents in AI/ML.

Education

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related technical field (PhD or Master’s preferred) or equivalent professional experience.