Senior Director, Head of Engineering

Role Summary

Senior Director, Head of Engineering to lead Pfizer Digital & Technology’s R&D Forward Impact Engineering & Engagement Team (FIEET). The role focuses on transforming how AI, data, and digital technologies are designed, built, and delivered in partnership with the broader organization. You will lead a global team of Forward Deployed Engineers, Full-Stack Developers, Data Engineers, and AI Engineers who co-create solutions that help R&D scientists, clinicians, and operations teams harness the power of AI and data. You will ensure rapid prototyping and enterprise delivery stay in sync, balancing innovation velocity with integration, governance, and operational excellence, partnering with R&D leaders, Enterprise Architecture, Creation Centers, Platform Engineering, and Data Management teams to ensure prototypes and MVPs contribute to a sustainable, scalable digital ecosystem. Your mandate is to accelerate experimentation without fragmentation, ensuring the Forward Deployed Engineering model works with existing R&D and Digital & Technology teams—to deliver business value and advance science.

Responsibilities

• Lead a global team of Forward Deployed Engineers, Full-Stack Developers, Data Engineers, and AI Engineers who co-create solutions for R&D scientists, clinicians, and operations teams.
• Ensure rapid prototyping and enterprise delivery move in sync while balancing innovation velocity with governance and operational excellence.
• Partner with R&D leaders, Enterprise Architecture, Creation Centers, Platform Engineering, and Data Management teams to ensure every prototype and MVP contributes to a sustainable, scalable digital ecosystem.
• Accelerate experimentation without creating fragmentation, ensuring the Forward Deployed Engineering model works with existing R&D and Digital & Technology teams‚Äîto deliver business value and advance science.

Qualifications

• Enterprise-Scale Leadership: 12+ years leading large, distributed software, data, or AI engineering teams; experience in a matrixed, global environment required.
• Bachelor‚Äôs degree in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Data Science, Bioinformatics, Engineering, or related discipline).
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to align innovation teams with enterprise architecture, platform, and application groups to deliver cohesive solutions.
• Technical Credibility: Strong grounding in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), data pipelines, AI/ML architectures, and modern application frameworks. Capable of engaging deeply with technical teams while operating at an executive level.
• AI and Data Fluency: Understanding of machine learning, large language models, NLP, and generative AI, with the ability to translate these technologies into practical R&D use cases.
• Operational Maturity: Appreciation for production systems‚Äîsecurity, scalability, maintainability‚Äîand experience guiding prototypes into sustainable enterprise solutions.
• Strategic Communication: Exceptional ability to convey technical vision to R&D and business executives; skilled at aligning stakeholders with differing incentives.
• Talent Development: Demonstrated success building high-performing, inclusive teams and developing next-generation engineering leaders.
• Business Orientation: Track record of delivering measurable business outcomes‚Äîcycle-time reduction, insight acceleration, or cost optimization‚Äîthrough digital solutions.
• Preferred: Experience within pharma, biotech, or life sciences R&D, with familiarity in regulated environments (GxP, clinical, regulatory).

Skills

• Integrator: Bridges innovation and operations, ensuring R&D and Digital move in rhythm.
• Architect of Trust: Builds shared frameworks that allow multiple teams to innovate confidently together.
• Strategic Technologist: Combines deep engineering acumen with vision for how AI and data transform science.
• Servant Leader: Elevates others through empowerment, empathy, and clarity of purpose.
• Outcome Catalyst: Defines success in terms of impact on science, patients, and the enterprise.

Education

• Bachelor‚Äôs degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Bioinformatics, Engineering, or related discipline.

Additional Requirements

• Work Location Assignment: Hybrid