Director, Enterprise AI Engineering at AstraZeneca

Gothenburg, Västra Götaland County, Sweden -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

19 Jul, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

20 Apr, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Python, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, System Design, Leadership, Algorithm Design, Cloud Platforms, API Design, SQL, NoSQL, Graph Databases, CI/CD, Unit Testing, Object-Oriented Programming

Industry

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Description

Introduction: AstraZeneca is seeking a Director, Enterprise AI Engineering with exceptional depth in modern AI. We require someone who understands how models work at a fundamental level, not just how to apply them, but why they behave the way they do, where they fail, and how to design something better. Someone whose knowledge of the field is deep enough to distinguish genuine advances from incremental work, and current enough to know where the boundaries are. This person must also ship. We need a leader who translates that depth into production-grade AI systems at pace, leading a team of specialist engineers to solve, build, and deploy solutions on complex, high-impact problems. Research depth and engineering rigor in the same individual. This is a hybrid role based in Gothenburg, you will lead a team of AI Engineers and serve as a member of the AI Engineering Leadership Team. Candidates will be assessed on both their technical and leadership abilities, as a portfolio delivery lead, and a practicing engineer who raises engineering standards and leads by example. You will collaborate with product, architecture, and platform teams, designers, and leaders to deliver production-grade AI services and assets. Technical depth is equally critical to this role as leadership and delivery. We require someone who operates at the level of the mathematics, the algorithms, and the code — daily — while leading others to do the same. Our AI Engineering team is a focused incubator of deep technical talent. We build high-impact, reusable, scalable, production-grade AI assets and incubated products across five thematic areas: Systems Intelligence — Systematically uncover, encode, and exploit what makes AstraZeneca unique Systems Optimization — Move AstraZeneca AI from predictive to prescriptive across all core areas of business operations and decision-making Applied Deep Learning — Deep learning expertise deployed on multi-modal, imaging, and foundational modelling initiatives Engineering Foundations — Cultivate and strengthen foundational engineering capabilities, cross-deployed and forward-deployed across the portfolio Product Incubation — Incubate and scale solutions prior to hand-off to enterprise product run teams Key Responsibilities: Lead and develop AI Engineers with PhDs and significant industry backgrounds, setting and holding an exceptional technical standard Contribute hands-on to large, shared production codebases alongside your team Provide deep technical guidance on AI system design — architecture, training, evaluation, orchestration, and deployment — with demonstrable depth in one or more AI sub-domains Define and implement golden-path standards for AI product development, software engineering, and applied ML research Drive operational excellence in production ML systems: reliability, observability, failure handling, monitoring, incident response Maintain deep, current knowledge of the research landscape; critically evaluate and integrate methods with genuine production applicability Curate the strategic backlog as a Leadership Team member, focusing on highest-impact problems Partner with other engineering directors across the broader AI engineering landscape Translate customer and business demands into clear, actionable software requirements Essential Skills/Experience: Significant industry experience delivering production AI systems in large, complex organisations — able to raise the technical bar under real portfolio constraints and enterprise governance Deep expertise in the internals of modern AI systems; able to reason about model behaviour from first principles, not only empirically Demonstrable depth in at least one AI sub-domain (e.g., optimization, language, multi-modal, foundational models, agentic systems) Current grasp of the research landscape; able to critically assess and apply work from leading academic venues Experience designing and delivering multi-component AI systems and services BSc/MSc/PhD in Computer Science or related quantitative field Proven leadership of engineers with PhDs and significant industry backgrounds Active contributor to large-scale production codebases, shared libraries, or SDKs Advanced Python; familiarity database solutions (SQL, NoSQL, graph) Strong software engineering practice: architecture, CI/CD, unit testing, OOP, Git Algorithm design, optimisation, and scaling from first principles Cloud platform experience for ML development, API design, and deployment Able to engage senior business and technical stakeholders with equal credibility Experience in regulated or compliance-sensitive environments What We Offer: A high-impact AI engineering team solving consequential problems in healthcare A Leadership Team seat with real influence over strategic and technical direction Access to cutting-edge AI technologies and uniquely valuable data Professional growth in a company committed to turning ideas into life-changing medicines Competitive compensation and benefits Date Posted 19-apr.-2026 Closing Date 03-maj-2026 Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form. AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company. We focus on discovering, developing and commercialising prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we are more than one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science, challenge convention and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. To embrace differences and take bold actions to drive the change needed to meet global healthcare and sustainability challenges. There is no better place to make a difference in medicine, patients, and society. An inclusive culture where you will connect different thinking to generate new and valuable opportunities. Where you will find a commitment to lifelong learning, growth and development for all. Our Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) mission is to create an inclusive and equitable environment where people belong, using the power of our diversity to push the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines to patients. Inclusion and diversity are fundamental to the success of our company, because innovation requires breakthrough ideas that only come from a diverse workforce empowered to challenge conventional thinking. We’re curious about science and the advancement of knowledge. We find creative ways to approach new challenges. We’re driven to make the right choices and be accountable for our actions. As an organisation centred around what makes us human, we put a big focus on people. Across our business, we want colleagues to wake up excited about their day at the office, in the field, or in the lab. Along with our purpose to bring life-changing medicines to people across the globe, we have a promise to you: to help you realise the full breadth of your potential. Here, you’ll do work that has the potential to change your life and improve countless others. And, together with your team, you’ll shape a culture that unites and inspires us every day. This is your life at AstraZeneca.

Responsibilities

Lead a team of specialist AI engineers to design, build, and deploy production-grade AI systems across various thematic areas. Contribute hands-on to shared codebases while defining technical standards and driving operational excellence in ML systems.