Summary
This role goes beyond traditional project tracking and reporting. We are looking for a leader who can navigate ambiguity, proactively resolve program challenges, drive execution excellence, and deliver strong business outcomes.
The successful candidate will manage multiple concurrent projects, coordinate diverse teams, mitigate risks, drive stakeholder alignment, and ensure strategic initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, and with measurable impact.
Key Responsibilities
• Manage the design, deployment, and delivery of priority IT solutions aligned to business requirements
• Contribute to effective control of project progress, quality, and budget to meet business objectives
• Ensure all deliverables meet quality and compliance standards, including comprehensive documentation and timely reviews/approvals
• Oversee smooth transition to operations, including planning and execution of all release-related activities
• Ensure clear stakeholder alignment and effectively operate within a matrix organization
About the Role
Location: Hyderabad, 3 days' work from office at Novartis, Hyderabad is mandatory
Key responsibilities:
- Define program scope, roadmap, milestones, and success metrics for AI and data initiatives.
- Lead end-to-end delivery, ensuring timelines, quality, and outcomes are met.
- Manage governance routines, risks, dependencies, and overall program health.
- Partner with product managers, engineers, data scientists, analysts, and business stakeholders.
- Drive clarity across teams, ensuring alignment and removing execution barriers.
- Translate business problems into structured technical program plans.
- Oversee initiatives involving data pipelines, ML models, analytics tools, and AI capabilities.
- Ensure data readiness, consistent data quality, and smooth model lifecycle processes.
- Support responsible AI principles, privacy standards, and compliance requirements.
- Identify risks early, develop mitigation strategies, and ensure proactive problem resolution.
- Manage scope changes and evaluate impact on timelines, resources, and dependencies.
- Maintain documentation for program decisions, progress, and deliverables.
- Provide regular program updates to leadership and key stakeholders.
- Present risks, insights, and recommendations in a clear and structured manner.
- Build strong relationships across business and technical teams.
Essential Requirements:
- 10+ years in program or project management within technology, AI, or data-driven environments.
- Proven experience managing AI/ML, data platform, or analytics initiatives end-to-end.
- Fair understanding of MLOps, data engineering, and cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure).
- Exceptional communication, problem-solving, stakeholder management, and organizational skills.
- Working in Agile/Scrum environments with tools like Jira and Confluence.
- Prior experience with healthcare and life science is plus
Desirable Requirements:
- Bachelor’s/Masters's degree in engineering, computer science, business, or a related field.
- Certifications such as PMP, Scrum Master, or Program Management credentials.
Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting, and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together. https://www.novartis.com/about/roadmap/people-and-culture
Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:
Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse team’s representative of the patients and communities we serve.
Values and Behaviors: Demonstrates and upholds Novartis values and behaviors in all aspects of work and collaboration.
Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture
Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)
