Head of Data Science

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

Roche Services & Solutions India Pvt Ltd

Role: Head of Data Science

Location: Chennai / Hyderabad

Job Type: Full Time

Years of Relevant Experience: 12+ Years

About the Role:

Roche has established the Global Analytics and Technology Center of Excellence (GATE) in India to drive high-impact, analytics and technology-driven solutions by partnering with Roche affiliates across the globe.

The Head of Data Science will be a pivotal leader, working closely with global stakeholders across Roche’s business functions (e.g., Commercial, R&D, Diagnostics, etc) to manage and oversee the delivery of cutting-edge Data Science, Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Agentic AI, and Generative AI (GenAI) projects. This role requires a blend of strong technical & domain expertise as well as proven leadership experience.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Strategy & Execution

• Architect and Govern Advanced Analytics Solutions: Design, oversee, and drive the end-to-end development and deployment of scalable, production-grade ML and GenAI models (e.g., Large Language Models (LLMs), deep learning architectures, recommendation systems) using cloud-based services such as AWS (or equivalent cloud platforms like GCP/Azure).

• Technology Leadership: Champion the adoption of state-of-the-art language models and deep learning algorithms, ensuring solutions are robust, efficient, and meet rigorous performance and compliance standards specific to the pharmaceutical industry.

• Innovation: Stay abreast of evolving technologies in AI/ML/GenAI. Offer consulting services to internal business partners, proactively identifying and piloting new analytic methodologies and tools that can solve complex healthcare problems.

• Code & System Excellence: Ensure the use of best practices in MLOps, software development, data governance, and model monitoring across all GATE projects.

Leadership & People Management

• Team Leadership: Manage, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of over 15 resources (Data Scientists, ML Engineers, and Analysts), fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.

• Delivery Management (DevOps/Agile): Drive the operational delivery of services, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to stakeholder expectations. Implement and enforce Lean and Agile delivery methodologies within a DevOps model, focusing on continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) practices.

• Talent Development: Responsible for professional development, performance reviews, and career pathing for team members, ensuring high retention and engagement.

Stakeholder Management & Developing New Engagements

• Strategic Partnership: Partner with senior leaders across the organization to deeply understand their critical business needs (e.g., drug discovery, clinical trials, commercial effectiveness) and translate them into a clear, prioritized data science roadmap and support model.

• Consulting & Outreach: Act as an ambassador for GATE capabilities. Explore partnership opportunities with parts of the Roche organization that are less familiar with GATE, offering tangible, high-value solutions to meet their strategic business requirements.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works closely with other internal teams within Roche Services & Solutions (RSS) India to identify and jointly develop cross-functional AI/NLP enabled solutions.

Required Qualifications:

• Overall Experience: Over 12 years of professional experience, with a minimum of 5+ years of dedicated experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, or AI development.

• Leadership Track Record: Proven experience in leading, managing, and scaling engineering/data science teams (10+ resources), with a strong track record of developing talent and fostering a collaborative, innovative team environment.

• Delivery Leadership: Demonstrable experience leading multiple teams in a DevOps model, driving continuous integration and delivery practices for ML/AI solutions.

• Project Expertise: Extensive experience with the design, development, and delivery of advanced machine learning projects from ideation through to production deployment and monitoring.

• Domain Knowledge (good to have): Knowledge of the healthcare, life sciences, or pharmaceutical domain ideally with experience handling clinical, R&D, or commercial pharmaceutical data.

Education:

·  UG: B.Tech/B.E. - Any Specialization

·  Advanced Degree –   Data Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Economics/Econometrics, Computer Science or related field- Nice to have

·  Any advanced certifications on AI/ML/Data science is an added advantage

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.