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Description:
This role leads research into the principles of intelligence and architects advanced agentic AI systems grounded in rigorous evaluation science. The Associate Director is responsible for advancing the lab's understanding of reasoning, planning, memory, and generalization in AI agents, while establishing benchmarking methodologies that set the standard for agent evaluation. This position is pivotal in shaping the strategic direction of intelligence systems research and implementing advanced frameworks that accelerate insight generation across Commercial, Manufacturing, Clinical Development, and Research functions.
Key Responsibilities and Major Duties:
Research Leadership and Framework Architecture:
Lead research initiatives exploring foundational principles of intelligence, including reasoning, planning, memory, and generalization in AI systems.
Architect frameworks for agent cognition, abstraction, goal decomposition, and adaptive planning; establish design principles for multi-agent systems.
Define research hypotheses and experimental agendas that advance the lab's understanding of intelligent behavior in artificial systems.
Synthesize academic literature and industry advances to shape the lab's technical roadmap for reasoning and cognitive architectures.
Publish findings and represent the lab's research at internal forums and external conferences.
Benchmarking and Evaluation Science Leadership:
Lead the development of benchmarking and evaluation science for AI agents, establishing rigorous methodologies to assess reasoning, planning, and generalization.
Define evaluation frameworks and success criteria for multi-agent systems across diverse enterprise use cases.
Oversee the creation of test harnesses, evaluation datasets, and measurement standards.
Ensure experimental rigor and reproducibility across all benchmarking activities.
Set the strategic direction for how the organization measures and validates agent intelligence.
Agentic AI Development and Implementation:
Lead the design and development of multi-agent AI systems using frameworks such as Strands, LangGraph, DSPy, and similar agentic architectures.
Oversee development of RAG applications, knowledge graphs, and conversational AI solutions informed by research insights.
Drive the implementation of autonomous workflows and decision systems that demonstrate advances in agent reasoning.
Ensure solutions reflect the latest research in planning, memory, and generalization capabilities
Rapid Prototyping and Innovation:
Translate research concepts into working prototypes and production-ready demonstrations.
Apply ROI-first evaluation approaches to prioritize high-impact research initiatives.
Identify opportunities to deploy next-generation reasoning and planning capabilities across the enterprise.
Lead documentation efforts for research findings, experimental results, and technical methodologies.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Partner with analytics and business stakeholders across Commercial, GPS/Manufacturing, Clinical Development, and Research functions to translate research into business value.
Collaborate with IT, data engineering, and platform teams to ensure research prototypes are deployable on enterprise infrastructure.
Translate complex AI research insights into actionable recommendations for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Represent the Intelligence Systems Lab in enterprise-wide AI initiatives and strategic planning.
Team Development and Best Practices:
Mentor and develop data scientists and researchers within the team; build a culture of scientific rigor and intellectual curiosity.
Establish governance frameworks and best practices for agent evaluation, benchmarking science, and research methodology.
Lead knowledge sharing through internal presentations, publications, and collaborative research initiatives.
Shape team capabilities and hiring strategies to advance the lab's research mission.
Qualifications/Degree/Certification/Licensure:
Educational Background: BA/BS required (quantitative area of study such as Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Cognitive Science, or Engineering preferred). Ph.D. or other graduate degree preferred.
Technical Proficiency: Proficiency in Python (R or Julia), with experience in ML frameworks (Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc.) Experience with agentic AI frameworks (Strands, LangGraph, AutoGen, DSPy, CrewAI, or similar). Experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, and RAG architectures. Strong background in benchmarking and evaluation methodologies for AI systems. Proficiency in SQL and familiarity with cloud-based environments (AWS, Azure, GCP). Experience with Git, MLOps practices, and containerization technologies. Strong foundation in experimental design, statistical analysis, and research methodology.
Communication Skills: Excellent communication and presentation skills, with a proven ability to explain complex research and analyses to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Experience presenting at conferences or publishing research preferred.
Experience: A minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience in data science, machine learning, AI development, or AI research. Experience leading research initiatives or technical teams preferred. Experience with pharmaceutical or life sciences industry preferred.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven experience in leading complex research or development projects with multi-functional team members.
#LI-Hybrid
If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.
Compensation Overview:
Princeton - NJ - US: $167,540 - $203,013The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience.
Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.
Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:
Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.
Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).
Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.
Work-life benefits include:
Paid Time Off
US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)
Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays
Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.
All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.
*Eligibility Disclosure: The summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program.
Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.
On-site Protocol
BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:
Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.
Supporting People with Disabilities
BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.
Candidate Rights
BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.
If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/
Data Protection
We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.
Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.
If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at TAEnablement@bms.com. Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley.
R1599048 : Associate Director, Intelligence Systems Lab