Head of Data Engineering & Factory

Summary

Are you ready to lead the transformation of data into impactful scientific breakthroughs? In this pivotal role, you will guide the vision and direction of a state-of-the-art Data Product Factory, revolutionizing the way artificial intelligence-ready data products are constructed, delivered, and utilized within Biomedical Research. This high-impact leadership opportunity calls for a unique blend of technical expertise and strategic foresight as you work to industrialize data engineering and drive innovation through automation and AI.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute the vision, roadmap, and operating model for the Data Product Factory.
• Lead the industrialization of scalable, production-grade data product engineering across Biomedical Research domains.
• Drive the adoption of standardized engineering patterns, reusable blueprints, and contract-first design principles.
• Ensure all data products are artificial intelligence-ready with standardized interfaces, metadata, and controlled access mechanisms.
• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of data products including build, certification, deployment, and deprecation.
• Establish and scale continuous integration, continuous deployment, and development and operations capabilities across platforms.
• Embed governance, security, lineage, and policy-as-code into engineering workflows by design.
• Build and lead high-performing engineering teams, fostering technical excellence and organizational growth.
• Collaborate with domain and platform leaders to align business priorities with engineering delivery outcomes.

Essential Requirements

• Over 10 years of experience in software engineering, platform architecture, or enterprise data infrastructure.
• Proven track record in building and scaling enterprise data platforms or productized data systems.
• Strong experience in leading engineering teams within complex, matrixed organizations.
• Deep expertise in continuous integration, continuous deployment, and automated testing practices in production environments.
• Demonstrated experience in embedding governance, access control, lineage, and compliance within engineering workflows.
• Experience enabling AI use cases through well-designed data products, interfaces, and metadata frameworks.
• Strong ability to leverage automation and AI to enhance engineering productivity and operational efficiency.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with experience influencing senior leadership.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience designing agent-compatible interfaces, metadata frameworks, and retrieval-augmented data access patterns.
• Proven success in mentoring multidisciplinary engineering teams across platform, data, quality, and AI domains.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We are dedicated to fostering an outstanding, inclusive work environment and building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve.

Accessibility and Accommodation

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to all individuals.

Benefits and Rewards

Discover the numerous ways we support your personal and professional growth, creating a brighter future together.

Location

Primary location salary range: CHF 142,100.00 - CHF 263,900.00 | Location: Basel, Switzerland | Company: Novartis Pharma AG | Functional Area: Research & Development