Associate Director and Senior Principal, AI Methods, AI for Research (AI4R)

Summary Job Title: Associate Director and Senior Principal, AI Methods, AI for Research (AI4R)

Location: Basel, Switzerland

Relocation Support: This role is based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is unable to offer relocation support: please only apply if accessible.

Shape the future of drug discovery through cutting-edge artificial intelligence. As a leader in the AI Methods group within AI for Research (AI4R), you will drive the development of advanced machine learning approaches that unlock new insights across the biomedical research pipeline. From identifying novel therapeutic targets to accelerating clinical translation, your work will directly contribute to delivering innovative medicines faster. This is a unique opportunity to combine deep technical expertise with scientific curiosity, collaborate with world-class researchers, and redefine how AI transforms healthcare.

About The Role Key Responsibilities

• Lead matrixed teams to design and deliver robust, scalable machine learning solutions for drug discovery
• Drive development of core machine learning capabilities across priority AI use cases in biomedical research
• Identify opportunities for methodological innovation across the end-to-end drug discovery pipeline
• Build advanced algorithms, models, and workflows to accelerate therapeutic discovery and development
• Establish and manage strategic collaborations with leading academic and external research partners
• Act as subject matter expert on state-of-the-art machine learning approaches across research domains
• Translate complex model outputs into actionable scientific hypotheses and guide experimental design
• Define and implement meaningful success metrics for AI models to ensure measurable research impact
• Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to align AI solutions with scientific and business objectives
• Promote awareness and adoption of advanced AI methods within the broader research organization

Essential Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in developing and deploying machine learning solutions across drug discovery domains
• Hands-on expertise applying machine learning to target identification, protein modelling, or translational research
• Strong experience with large-scale model training, high performance computing, and cloud-based infrastructure
• Advanced knowledge of modern machine learning methods such as representation learning or neural network architectures
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks, with strong software development and version control practices
• Demonstrated ability to drive innovation and deliver impactful machine learning solutions in complex, matrixed environments

Desirable Requirements

• Demonstrated contributions through publications, patents, or open-source projects in advanced machine learning research
• Experience with multimodal or foundation models applied to biomedical data such as imaging, genomics, or molecular structures

Rewards At Novartis, we’re committed to reimagining medicine together - and rewarding the people who make it happen.

The rewards of being part of our team go far beyond base pay and incentives. We also offer a variety of competitive benefits in kind to help you thrive personally and professionally, such as insurance plans, retirement plans, wellbeing resources and global recognition programs. In addition, we provide flexible and hybrid working options, where possible, and a minimum of 14 weeks paid parental leave.

Expected Annual Base Salary Range For Role

• Basel: 129,500.00 - 240,500.00 CHF Annual

The salary offered is determined based on gender-neutral objectives, such as relevant skills, competencies and experience in accordance with the Novartis pay setting policy and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically.

In addition to your base salary, you may be eligible for a performance-