Associate Director, Commercial AI – Business Value… at Merck · Pune

Associate Director, Commercial AI – Business Value Delivery Location: IND - Telangana - Hyderabad (Gachibowli Village) Job Description Associate Director — Commercial AI – Business Value Delivery, Digital Human Health Job Description This role sits within the Commercial AI vertical of Digital Human Health (DHH), which is responsible for building and scaling AI capabilities across cross-functional teams and divisions. The team operates as an embedded strategic partner to the commercial organization, providing thought leadership and delivering AI-powered solutions to marketing and cross-functional stakeholders. It shapes demand by translating business priorities into scalable AI products and agent-driven solutions that enhance decision-making and drive measurable business impact. Role Overview As the Associate Director – Commercial AI – Business Value Delivery, this role is accountable for shaping and delivering AI and Agentic AI solutions across Commercial functions and DHH value teams (Marketing, Market Access, Field Force Effectiveness, Omnichannel, and Forecasting). This role combines strong commercial analytics leadership with AI/GenAI technical literacy to frame business problems, build value cases, align stakeholders, and drive adoption—partnering closely with product, data science, engineering, IT, and risk/control teams. The role’s primary mandate is measurable value realization: defining success metrics, enabling scalable deployments, and ensuring solutions are governed, safe, and fit for enterprise use. Key Responsibilities ·       Frame business problems as clear decision statements with defined value hypotheses, success metrics (ROI, KPIs), and value realization cadence. ·       Lead commercial analytics strategy across enterprise use cases for agentification (segmentation, NBE, forecasting, omnichannel, marketing effectiveness, field insights, HCP journey) using a business-first, evidence-led approach. ·       Translate priorities into a value-driven AI roadmap—sequenced by impact, feasibility, and risk—with defined scope, success criteria, and adoption plans. ·       Define AI product vision including problem statement, user personas, workflows, guardrails, and success metrics (operational + business impact). ·       Own stakeholder alignment—influence senior leaders, manage trade-offs, and drive cross-functional/global accountability. ·       Drive adoption and change management through operating model design (incl. human-in-the-loop), training, communication, and sustained usage tracking. ·       Establish portfolio governance for Commercial AI (intake, prioritization, value-based sequencing, delivery checkpoints, risk/compliance alignment). ·       Ensure measurable value delivery via early metric definition, MVP/pilot validation, post-launch tracking, and continuous improvement loops. ·       Scale and standardize capabilities by building reusable assets, playbooks, and cross-market solutions. ·       Mentor and lead engineers/data scientists: design reviews, coding standards, coaching, hiring input, and building a high-performing delivery culture. Technical Expertise ·       Partner with tech leads and engineering to shape AI/Agentic AI solution approaches (LLM workflows, RAG patterns, tool/function calling, orchestration; multi-agent patterns only when appropriate and governed). ·       Convert business needs into well-formed requirements and user stories; ensure the design supports reliability, scalability, maintainability, and cost controls (e.g., performance/latency expectations and run-cost awareness). ·       Ensure enterprise deployment practices are applied: LLMOps/MLOps, CI/CD, monitoring/observability, evaluation frameworks, drift/quality gates, and operational readiness for production. ·       Establish guardrails and responsible AI controls: hallucination mitigation, data privacy-by-design, security considerations, auditability, model risk awareness, documentation, and compliance alignment for a regulated environment. ·       Review and challenge analytical and GenAI approaches (internal and vendor) for rigor, transparency, explainability, and compliance; drive corrective actions where needed. ·       Support vendor/partner evaluation (build vs buy), including technical due diligence, proof-of-concept design, and recommendations based on time-to-value, scalability, ownership, and risk. Education Requirements Bachelors/Masters (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Engineering, or a related quantitative discipline with strong focus on AI/ML and modern data systems. Required Experience and Skills ·       8+ years of relevant experience across software engineering, commercial analytics, ML engineering, and AI product engineering and delivery, with hands-on experience in production deployments at scale. ·       4+ years leading teams and driving delivery across multiple stakeholders; proven ability to mentor and raise engineering standards. ·       Experience driving AI/GenAI adoption in a regulated or high-compliance environment, including privacy, auditability, and model risk management. ·       Familiarity with commercial data domains such as CRM, promotional, digital engagement, and related performance measurement. ·       Experience with experimentation design, measurement approaches, and operationalizing performance measurement at scale. ·       Prior experience assessing AI solution build and managing team and stakeholder delivery with strong governance. ·       Exposure to operating model design for AI products (intake-to-scale, lifecycle governance, enablement playbooks). ·       Demonstrated capability to establish reusable frameworks/SDKs, integration patterns, and scalable operating models for AI delivery. ·       Excellent stakeholder communication skills, with the ability to explain trade-offs, risks, and outcomes clearly to technical and non-technical audiences. Required Skills: Analytics Strategy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business Intelligence (BI), Commercial Analytics, Computer Science, Corrective Action Management, Database Design, Data Engineering, Data Modeling, Data Privacy, Data Science, Data Visualization, Digital Healthcare, Machine Learning (ML), Market Access, Marketing, Operating Models, Performance Measurement, Software Development, Stakeholder Communications, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Waterfall Model Preferred Skills: Current Employees apply HERE Current Contingent Workers apply HERE Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. Employee Status: Regular Relocation: VISA Sponsorship: Travel Requirements: Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid Shift: Valid Driving License: Hazardous Material(s): Job Posting End Date: 07/20/2026 *A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date. Additional Locations: IND - Maharashtra - Pune (Wework)