Sr. Director, Data Science & AI, Orthopedics
Role details
Job location
Tech stack
Job description
The Sr. Director, Data Science & AI provides strategic and operational leadership for enterprise-wide data science and artificial intelligence capabilities supporting DePuy Synthes. This role is accountable for shaping and executing the Data & AI strategy, translating business priorities into scalable analytics and AI solutions, and enabling data-driven decision-making across the organization. The role partners closely with business, technology, and clinical stakeholders to deliver measurable impact, accelerate innovation, and ensure responsible, compliant use of data and AI technologies, and reports into the DePuy Synthes Technology organization.
Johnson & Johnson announced plans to separate our Orthopedics business to establish a standalone orthopedics company, operating as DePuy Synthes. The process of the planned separation is anticipated to be completed within 18 to 24 months, subject to legal requirements, including consultation with works councils and other employee representative bodies, as may be required, regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and approvals. Should you accept this position, it is anticipated that, following conclusion of the transaction, you would be an employee of DePuy Synthes and your employment would be governed by DePuy Synthes employment processes, programs, policies, and benefit plans. In that case, details of any planned changes would be provided to you by DePuy Synthes at an appropriate time and subject to any necessary consultation processes., The Sr. Director, Data Science & AI provides strategic and operational leadership for enterprise-wide data science and artificial intelligence capabilities supporting DePuy Synthes. Reporting to the Chief Data and AI officer this role will shape and lead the enterprise Data Science and AI organization; defining the strategy, standing up the AI Hub, setting the technical standards and building the team that delivers AI at scale across R&D , Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Quality, Commercial and Corporate functions.
The successful candidate is a hands on technologist and strategist in equal measure; able to lay out a multi-year AI strategy for executive audience, evaluate architecture and models, establish governance and standards the make AI safe and defensible in a regulated MedTech environment and lead delivery through global operating model in close proximity with global capability center(GCC)., * Define and lead the enterprise Data Science & AI strategy,roadmapand investmentin alignment with business priorities and ITobjectives, spanning machinelearning,generativeAI and agentic AI.
- Build, lead, and develop high-performingData Science and AIteam.Hiretop talentdefineroles and career paths andestablisha culture of rigor,speedand accountability.
- Serve as a seniorTechnicalvoice for AI across the enterprise, translating business problems into AI opportunities and setting realistic expectations grounding into what technology can and cannot do.
- Stand up andoperatethe enterprise AI hub; Shared platform, reusable patterns. Model registry anddeliveryaccelerators through which all AI use cases are built and deployed.
- Establish standards and reference architectures for generative and agentic AI, orchestration frameworks, retrieval patterns, semantic layers/knowledge graphs, agent action boundaries,observabilityand Human in the loop controls.
- Evaluate and manage the AI tech stack and vendor ecosystem( cloudML platforms, GenAI Providers, data science tooling) including build vs buy decisions and commercial negotiations in partnership with procurement.
- Partner with business and functional leaders toidentify, prioritize, and deliver high-value analytics and AI use cases.
- Design and operationalize the enterprise AI governance framework; Model risk management, validation standards, explainability, bias and fairness testing, driftmonitoringand audit trails.
- Partner with Quality, Regulatory, legal and privacy to ensure AI deployments meet GxP,21 CFR Part 11,SOXand data privacy obligations.
- Track and evaluate emerging AIcapabilities( frontiermodels, Agentic frameworks, domain specific models) and bring the right one into enterprise.
- Oversee the design, development, and deployment of scalable data science and AI solutions, including predictive and prescriptive analytics.
- Establish governance, standards, and best practices for data science, AI model development, validation, and lifecycle management.
- Collaborate with enterprise data, digital, and IT teams to enable modern data platforms and advanced analytics capabilities.
- Track performance, value realization, and adoption of Data & AI initiatives, continuously driving improvement and innovation.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degreerequiredin Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, ora related field.
- Master's degree or PhD preferred., * 12-14 years of relevant work experience, including senior leadership experience in data science, advanced analytics, or AI.
- Deep currentexpertisein AI/ML Landscape; classic ML, Deep Learning, generative AI/LLMs and agentic architectures.
- DemonstratedexpertiseinMLOps/LLMOpsand production AI at enterprise scale.
- Working fluency with the modern AI/datastack;eg-Databricks/Snowflake/Sagemakeror comparable platforms, vector database orchestrationframeworksand GenAI providerecosystem( Anthropic,openAI,etc.)
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex data insights into actionable business outcomes.
- Experience partnering with senior executives and cross-functional stakeholders.Executive level communication, able to set strategy with C-suite audiences, defend technical position and rigor and translate between business and deep technical stakeholders.
- Strongpeopleleadership, talent development, andchangemanagement capabilities.
Preferred:
- Experience in healthcare, medical technology, life sciences, or regulated industries.
- Familiarity with enterprise data platforms, cloud-based analytics, and AI toolsets.
- ExperienceestablishingAI governance, ethics frameworks, and model risk management.
- Global or matrixed organizational leadership experience.
- Strong executive communication and storytelling skills using data and analytics.
- Proven experience leading enterprise-scale data science and AI teams and initiatives.
Other:
- Language: Englishproficiencyrequired.
- Travel: Up to ~20% domestic and international travel may berequired., Advanced Analytics, Business Storytelling, Consulting, Critical Thinking, Data Modeling, Data Privacy Standards, Data Science, Data Structures, Digital Fluency, Digital Strategy, End to End Implementation, Global Market, Negotiation, Product Portfolio Management, Program Management, Quality Control (QC), Strategic Thinking
Benefits & conditions
$196,000.00 - $342,700.00
Additional Description for Pay Transparency:
Subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees are eligible to participate in the Company's consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).
This position is eligible to participate in the Company's long-term incentive program.
Subject to the terms of their respective policies and date of hire, employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:
Vacation -120 hours per calendar year
Sick time - 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Colorado -48 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington -56 hours per calendar year
Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays -13 days per calendar year
Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year
Parental Leave - 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child
Bereavement Leave - 240 hours for an immediate family member: 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year
Caregiver Leave - 80 hours in a 52-week rolling period10 days
Volunteer Leave - 32 hours per calendar year
Military Spouse Time-Off - 80 hours per calendar year