Associate Director, Solution Architect Innovation & Delivery

Summary

As a Solution Architect in Innovation & Delivery, you are responsible for not only designing and planning, but actively guiding thru execution end-to-end solution architectures that enable scalable, integrated, and high-impact digital systems supporting Biomedical Research. Working at the intersection of delivery segment teams and engineering teams, you translate business, scientific, and portfolio strategy into clear, actionable architectural direction that informs design, engineering, and delivery outcomes.

As a Solution Architect in Innovation & Delivery, you are responsible for not only designing and planning, but actively guiding thru execution end-to-end solution architectures that enable scalable, integrated, and high-impact digital systems supporting Biomedical Research. Working at the intersection of delivery segment teams and engineering teams, you translate business, scientific, and portfolio strategy into clear, actionable architectural direction that informs design, engineering, and delivery outcomes.

Leveraging strong domain awareness and architectural expertise, you oversee the landscape of scientific and informatics capabilities and how they map to digital solutions. You ensure these capabilities are consistently represented across data platforms, AI solutions, and shared services, and that they integrate into cohesive, scalable ecosystems serving thousands of users.

Operating as an expert individual contributor, you bridge domain intent with technical implementation, delivering solution design, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards as well as data and AI strategies, and driving consistent adoption of architectural patterns across the organization.

This role is based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role: please only apply if this location is accessible for you.

• Continuously identify and prioritize emerging technologies across Software & Workflows that enable future outcomes and strengthen Portfolio, Data and AI strategies.
• Assess innovation opportunities using structured criteria including value, feasibility, maturity, risk, and strategic fit.
• Contribute to vendor assessments, RFI/RFP processes, and external partner evaluations
• Identify early trends and directional signals that could influence software, platform, or portfolio strategy.

• Translate high-potential opportunities to testable hypotheses and structured experiments
• Conduct rapid prototyping to validate assumptions and generate evidence for decision making that can inform scaled implementation initiatives.
• Define success criteria and learning objectives to ensure experiments produce actionable results.

• Translate external innovation signals into improvements for existing Software and Workflow capabilities and into new strategic opportunities
• Partner with Software and Workflow leaders to drive experiments, pilots, and scalable initiatives

• Deliver clear, concise and compelling narratives tailored to executive, delivery and technical stakeholders
• Influence prioritization and investment decisions through evidence-based recommendations
• Establish credibility as a trusted advisor on emerging technologies and innovation opportunities

• Operate with urgency by focusing on rapid learning cycles and actionable outputs
• Collaborate effectively across organizational boundaries to accelerate innovation adoption
• Foster a culture of experimentation, curiosity, and continuous learning across teams

• Minimum 5+ years' experience in the life sciences / pharmaceutical industry
• Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., Life Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline)

• Strong understanding of scientific domains (e.g., biomedical research, data-driven science) to effectively evaluate technologies and vendor offerings in context
• Strong understanding of digital, software, data, and AI technology landscapes, including emerging patterns and capabilities.
• Ability to distinguish meaningful signals from noise and assess relevance in complex, evolving environments.
• Strong external orientation with awareness of industry, academic and startup innovation trends

• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills to evaluate…