Director, Drug Development AI Nexus Decision Integration Lead
Bristol Myers Squibb · Princeton, New Jersey, United States
At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, “Who are you working for?”—a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.
The Director, Drug Development AI Nexus Decision Integration Lead is a newly created leadership role at the intersection of drug development, artificial intelligence, and operating model transformation. This individual will serve as the primary bridge between Drug Development, Research and the AI Nexus team, translating strategic priorities, business requirements, and decision-making needs into AI-enabled workflows, governance processes, data requirements, and platform capabilities that improve the quality, speed, and consistency of development decisions.
Positioned within Drug Development Excellence (DDE), this role has broad cross-functional reach across Drug Development and plays a critical role in advancing BMS's vision for AI-enabled decision-making. The scope extends beyond the integration of AI Nexus into Global Program Teams (GPTs) to encompass portfolio-level decision workflows, governance cadences, and the broader agentic intelligence ecosystem being established across R&D. Working in close partnership with BI&T, Research, and functional leaders, the role will drive strategic prioritization, workflow redesign, AI-data readiness, adoption, and organizational change to enable new ways of working.
The ideal candidate is a credible drug development leader who can bridge the worlds of science, operations, and technology. They possess a deep understanding of how development decisions are made and can translate complex business needs into scalable, AI-enabled solutions by partnering effectively with business, data, and technology teams. They are equally comfortable discussing portfolio strategy, development planning, phase transitions, governance processes, data architecture, and emerging AI capabilities, and they can connect these domains to deliver measurable business impact. Success in this role requires strategic thinking, creativity, influence without authority, and the ability to inspire and mobilize cross-functional teams toward AI-native ways of working.
AI Nexus Integration & Embedded Workflow Redesign- Translate Drug Development strategic priorities, business requirements, and decision-making needs into scalable business capabilities, AI-enabled workflows, data requirements, and AI Nexus roadmap priorities.
- Serve as the Drug Development anchor for the AI Nexus platform, translating the AI Nexus vision into executable workflows embedded directly in Global Program Teams (GPTs) and governance forums
- Map, prioritize, and redesign key Drug Development decision points — from Phase transition and regulatory milestone reviews to portfolio-level governance — to leverage AI Nexus-enabled evidence, agentic analysis, and learning loops
- Partner with AI Nexus Product Leadership (BI&T) and Platform Engineering teams to communicate Drug Development decision needs and ensure the platform is built and iterated to serve them
- Operate as an “embedded translator” between Drug Development operational and clinical needs and AI Nexus technical capabilities — converting ambiguous decision problems into structured, AI-ready workflow requirements with defined data requirements
Change Leadership & Adoption- Drive AI Nexus adoption across Drug Development through demonstrated value in live GPTs and culture-driven change management — not through mandates or training-first approaches
- Build and sustain a network of Drug Development champions, GPT leads, and functional stakeholders who actively use and shape Nexus workflows
- Develop and execute adoption strategies tailored to Drug Development archetypes — study teams, clinicians, program leaders, and executive leaders — recognizing that each group engages with agentic systems and data differently
- Serve as a visible change agent for the broader evolution of Drug Development toward an agentic operating model, demonstrating what AI-augmented ways of working look like in practice
- Actively contribute to the AI Nexus SteerCo and cross-functional working groups, ensuring Drug Development priorities are reflected in platform roadmap and investment decisions
Operating Model & Continuous Improvement- Help define and operationalize an AI-native Drug Development operating model, embedding AI-enabled decision support, governance integration, learning systems, and workflow standards across development processes.
- Design scalable frameworks that can extend from GPT-level integration to broader Drug Development governance and cross-TA portfolio processes
- Track and report on AI Nexus adoption, impact, and return across Drug Development functions; ensure metrics align to decision quality, speed and portfolio outcomes, and use data to drive prioritization and course correction
- Contribute to the broader DD vision of operational excellence — where quality, speed, and efficiency are produced as outcomes of an integrated, intelligence-driven system
Qualifications & Experience
Education- BA/BS degree required; advanced degree (PhD, MD, MBA or equivalent) in a life science, clinical, computational, or related discipline strongly preferred
Drug Development KnowledgeCredible Drug Development leader with demonstrated experience influencing clinical, operational, and scientific stakeholders in a complex matrix environment.
- 8+ years of experience in pharmaceutical R&D, with meaningful time spent in or adjacent to clinical development, translational science, or drug development operations
- Demonstrated understanding of the drug development continuum — from IND-enabling handoff through Phase 1 – 3 development and regulatory submission
- Familiarity with Development governance structures (TRCs, TGCs, GPT operating models) and how decisions are made, escalated, and recorded within them
- Experience working within or closely partnering with Global Program Teams (GPTs) or equivalent cross-functional development teams
AI & Digital FluencyThis role requires genuine digital fluency — not just awareness of AI concepts, but the ability to engage substantively with platform architects, data engineers, and AI product leads, and to critically evaluate what is technically feasible and what will realize measurable business impact.
- Demonstrated experience deploying or scaling digital tools, AI-enabled workflows, or data platforms in an R&D or clinical operations context
- Ability to evaluate emerging AI capabilities and identify high-value applications that improve decision-making, organizational learning, and portfolio outcomes (e.g., predictive modeling, natural language processing for clinical evidence synthesis, agentic workflow design)
- Ability to translate clinical and operational business challenges and decision-making needs into actionable capability, workflow, data, and platform requirements.
- Comfort working at the interface of science, analytics, and technology — moving fluidly between a clinical discussion and a product backlog conversation
- Experience with data governance, knowledge management, or AI-ready data standards is a plus
Change Agency & Influence Without AuthorityThis role currently has no direct reports and succeeds entirely through influence, credibility, and the ability to demonstrate value in a matrixed, fast-moving environment.
- Proven ability to drive adoption of new tools, processes, or operating models in a highly matrixed organization without direct managerial authority
- Track record of leading complex, cross-functional change initiatives in a regulated