Associate Director, Data Analytics & AI - Solution Architect

Merck Merck · Pharma · Telangana, India

Associate Director, Solution Architect for Data Analytics & AI at Merck, focusing on designing and evaluating scalable architectures for Data & Analytics, Intelligent Automation, and AI domains within a global healthcare biopharma company. The role involves collaborating across teams, monitoring trends like GenAI, and aligning architecture with business strategy to drive digital transformation and deliver innovative health solutions.

What you'd actually do

  1. Design and evaluate scalable solution architectures that meet enterprise needs across Data & Analytics (DnA), Intelligent Automation (IA), and AI domains.
  2. Analyze current architectures to identify gaps and recommend improvements for scalability, performance, and cost efficiency, while defining and evolving target-state architectures for DnA and IA platforms across business functions.
  3. Collaborate with developers, product owners, and architects to ensure seamless integration and compliance, while championing governance practices, applying architectural frameworks, and driving innovative solutions.
  4. Monitor industry and technology trends to shape architecture roadmaps and guide adoption of emerging capabilities like GenAI and self-service analytics.
  5. Align solution architecture with business strategy, advocate for user-centric design principles and manage technical debt with remediation strategies.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree concentration in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
  • 10+ years of experience spanning IT disciplines including solution architecture, systems integration, and end-to-end system design across data, application, and platform layers.
  • Strong understanding of IT, Solution & Data architecture principles, data platforms, business process management and enterprise technology reuse
  • Demonstrated ability to analyze, design, and implement solutions based on current and future state architectures and reference models
  • Skilled in defining high-level requirements, guiding solution decisions, and providing architectural blueprints for engineering teams
  • Proficient in Data and Analytics platforms, Intelligent Automation tools, Artificial Intelligence technologies and platforms, Data Lakehouse architecture, Data quality, Lineage & Cataloging tools
  • Familiarity with cloud-native platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure), CI/CD pipelines, observability, infrastructure as code, GenAI, machine learning lifecycle, intelligent automation platforms, and orchestration frameworks
  • Deep understanding of System Development Life Cycle(SDLC), SOX, GxP, and data privacy regulations in enterprise environments
  • Strong leadership in strategic planning, innovation, talent development, and execution excellence
  • Effective communicator with the ability to influence cross-functional teams, drive alignment with enterprise goals, and articulate architecture rationale and trade-offs to stakeholders with varying technical acumen

Nice to have

  • Proven ability to lead and manage cross-functional teams in a dynamic environment
  • Advanced certifications

What the JD emphasized

  • solution architecture
  • systems integration
  • end-to-end system design
  • Solution & Data architecture principles
  • Artificial Intelligence technologies and platforms
  • machine learning lifecycle
  • intelligent automation platforms
  • orchestration frameworks
  • data privacy regulations

Other signals

  • design and evaluate scalable solution architectures
  • AI domains
  • emerging capabilities like GenAI
  • machine learning lifecycle