Director, AI Product Management

Introduction to role:The AI Product Management Director leads the strategy, roadmap and delivery of enterprise AI products, platforms and services, turning ambition into high quality execution that delivers measurable value. This senior leadership role combines strong product management expertise with proven ability to lead complex technology delivery programmes across a large and matrixed environment. The Director owns the vision and investment priorities for the AI product landscape, balancing innovation, value delivery, technical feasibility, governance and long-term sustainability, and partners with business, engineering, data and compliance teams to deliver secure, scalable capabilities that are adopted across the enterprise. The role owns delivery decisions within its portfolio, with clear escalation for enterprise-level prioritisation and cross-platform trade-offs. Ready to shape how AI powers the next generation of medicines?

Accountabilities:

• Define and communicate the vision, strategy and roadmap for AI products, platforms and services, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities and business needs. Lead product lifecycle management from early concept and discovery through delivery, adoption, optimisation and ongoing evolution, translating business needs into clear product priorities, requirements and implementation plans. Own the development of roadmaps and investment priorities, balancing innovation, value delivery, technical feasibility, governance requirements and long-term sustainability.
• Lead complex delivery programmes associated with AI products and platforms, ensuring delivery to agreed scope, timelines, budget, quality and outcomes. Establish and maintain governance structures that support effective delivery oversight, risk management, decision-making and stakeholder alignment, embedding “compliance by design” in partnership with Compliance, Data Privacy, Quality and GxP where applicable, and ensuring delivery adheres to AstraZeneca standards and relevant external regulations. Manage interdependencies across multiple teams, initiatives, technologies and suppliers, maintaining risk, issue and change logs, driving resolution and escalating material items promptly.
• Provide strategic leadership by translating enterprise strategy into executable delivery plans with codified stage and quality gates. Prepare directional proposals and business cases with clear benefits hypotheses, resource needs and milestones for governance approval. Build and manage detailed workplans, budgets, critical paths and release calendars; track progress; manage variance; and implement recovery plans where needed. Chair working-level governance forums and prepare content for senior governance, ensuring artefacts are audit ready and decisions and actions are documented.
• Own financial oversight across the product and delivery portfolio, including budgeting, forecasting, accruals and investment alignment, working with Finance to plan and track budgets and benefits and to provide clear reporting and forecasts to governance forums. Define and track measures of success, including business value, adoption, performance and operational outcomes, and trigger course corrections where needed. Ensure appropriate controls are in place across security, compliance, data, quality and the responsible use of AI.
• Build strong relationships with senior business and IT stakeholders and act as a trusted leader across the AI product landscape. Lead and develop cross-functional teams of product managers, engineers, business analysts, product owners and delivery specialists, creating a collaborative, high-performing and outcome-focused environment. Manage strategic supplier relationships and integrated plans, ensuring external partners deliver effectively against agreed performance, commercial and quality expectations.

Essential Skills/Experience:•    Degree in Business, Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.•    Significant experience in product management, digital product leadership, programme delivery or technology transformation within a complex, global and matrixed enterprise environment.•    Proven track record of defining and delivering product strategies, roadmaps and measurable business outcomes for large-scale technology products, platforms or services.•    Demonstrated experience leading complex, high-risk or business-critical programmes with accountability for budget, scope, timelines, governance and outcomes, delivering to time, cost and quality.•    Strong programme governance discipline (planning, stage/quality gates, risk/issue/dependency management, change control) with audit-ready artefacts.•    Benefits-led delivery: ability to define success metrics and track benefits from pilot through scale in partnership with Finance and Change.•    Strong stakeholder management and influencing across functions and levels, including experience preparing materials for senior governance and managing escalations.•    Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams across product, engineering, delivery, architecture, data and business domains, and to coordinate vendor partners to agreed performance and commercial terms.•    Strong financial management capability, including budget ownership, forecasting, accruals and investment oversight.•    Strong understanding of Agile, product-led delivery and enterprise governance disciplines.•    Ability to translate complex technical topics into clear business language for senior audiences, with excellent communication, negotiation, facilitation and decision-making skills.•    Understanding of responsible AI, AI governance, information security, data privacy and compliance considerations (including GxP where applicable).

Desirable Skills/Experience•    Experience with AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, automation or data platforms in an enterprise setting.•    Experience in a global organisation with complex stakeholder and delivery environments, ideally in pharmaceutical R&D or other highly regulated industries.•    Formal qualification in Product Management, Project Management, Programme Management, Agile, Scrum or SAFe.•    Experience managing strategic vendors and delivery partners.•    Familiarity with service management and platform operating models, and with change frameworks that drive adoption and sustained use of new capabilities.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn’t mean we’re not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

AstraZeneca offers the chance to disrupt an industry while working on technology that directly supports life-changing medicines. Here data, analytics, AI and modern engineering come together with science to unlock new possibilities for patients. The environment is dynamic and hands-on: experiment with leading-edge platforms, shape new ways of working at scale, learn continuously through collaboration with diverse experts, hackathons and external partnerships, and see the impact of decisions across a truly global enterprise backed by strong investment in digital transformation.

If this role matches your experience and ambition, apply now to help lead the next wave of AI-driven transformation at AstraZeneca.

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AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.