Senior Director Principal Software Engineer – Forward Deployed
- United States - Illinois - Lake Forest
- United States - Florida - Tampa
- United States - Pennsylvania - Collegeville
- United States - New York - New York City
We are seeking a senior Engineering Leader to lead high‑impact, AI‑enabled software systems across the Commercial Analytics domain. This role combines hands‑on technical leadership, architectural ownership, and executive partnership to deliver reliable, scalable solutions with speed and rigor.
This is a forward‑deployed, startup‑CTO–style role, embedded within the Commercial business unit. You will partner directly with business leaders to solve real commercial problems, rapidly prototype solutions, and validate patterns that can be scaled by Platform Engineering. You will drive domain‑level technical strategy, shape engineering culture, and bring clarity to ambiguous problem spaces.
The ideal candidate blends executive communication, deep technical judgment, commercial analytics expertise, and modern AI‑augmented engineering practices.
Role Responsibilities
Technical & Delivery Leadership
Lead delivery of the most critical Data, Analytics, and AI initiatives across Commercial Analytics.
Own technical strategy and architecture, ensuring solutions are scalable, reliable, and business‑aligned.
Establish engineering standards for design, development, testing, and AI‑assisted delivery.
Drive rapid prototyping and MVP development from concept to production.
AI‑Enabled Engineering
Lead adoption of AI‑augmented development tools and workflows.
Define governance, evaluation, and human‑in‑the‑loop verification standards for AI‑assisted work.
Evaluate and integrate emerging AI/ML technologies into engineering practices.
People & Culture Leadership
Lead and mentor a matrixed team of engineering leaders and senior engineers.
Shape talent strategy, including hiring, succession planning, and senior‑level development.
Build a culture of engineering excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Business Partnership & Executive Influence
Act as a trusted technical advisor to VP/SVP Commercial leaders.
Translate technical trade‑offs into business impact and investment decisions.
Influence commercial analytics strategy and long‑term technology roadmaps.
Reliability & Operational Excellence
Define reliability standards (SLOs/SLIs) and champion operational excellence.
Ensure strong observability, monitoring, and production readiness.
Lead post‑incident learning and continuous reliability improvements.
Knowledge, Documentation & Process
Establish clear documentation and spec‑driven development standards.
Build scalable knowledge‑management practices across teams.
Improve delivery flow through lean methods, process simplification, and systematic bottleneck removal.
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Business Analytics, or related field; 12–15+ years of experience.
Proven experience delivering analytics and technology solutions in partnership with Commercial leaders, ideally in life sciences.
Deep knowledge of Life Sciences Commercial Analytics use cases (e.g., forecasting, market research, omnichannel, customer analytics, marketing mix modeling, Next Best Action).
Experience leading end‑to‑end MVPs with engineering, data science, and vendor teams.
Background scaling data, analytics, and ML platforms in large organizations.
Strong executive presence and ability to operate as a strategic advisor.
Preferred Qualifications
Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Data Science, or Business.
Hands‑on experience with platforms such as Databricks, Snowflake, AWS, or Azure.
Experience influencing cross‑functional teams without direct authority.
Prior experience at a top‑tier technology or management consulting firm.
Candidate demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact.
Work Location Assignment: Hybrid
Last Date to Apply for Job: 2/26/2026
The annual base salary for this position ranges from $214,900.00 to $341,100.00.* In addition, this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 22.5% of the base salary and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program. We offer comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support each of life’s moments. Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage. Learn more at Pfizer Candidate Site – U.S. Benefits | (uscandidates.mypfizerbenefits.com). Pfizer compensation structures and benefit packages are aligned based on the location of hire. The United States salary range provided does not apply to Tampa, FL or any location outside of the United States.* The annual base salary for this position in Tampa, FL ranges from $184,200.00 to $307,000.00.Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.
Sunshine Act
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EEO & Employment Eligibility
Pfizer is committed to equal opportunity in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability or veteran status. Pfizer also complies with all applicable national, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Pfizer is an E-Verify employer. This position requires permanent work authorization in the United States.
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