Director, GBS, Forward Deployed Engineer

United States - New York - New York City

We’re in relentless pursuit of breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. We innovate every day to make the world a healthier place.

To fully realize Pfizer’s purpose – Breakthroughs that change patients’ lives – we have established a clear set of expectations regarding “what” we need to achieve for patients and “how” we will go about achieving those goals.

Pfizer Digital takes immense pride in being at the forefront of innovation, harnessing cutting‑edge smart technology that profoundly impacts the lives of our patients.

Pfizer offers competitive compensation and benefits programs designed to meet the diverse needs of our colleagues.

At Pfizer, technology impacts everything we do. Our digital and ‘data first’ strategy is dedicated to implementing innovative and impactful technology solutions across all functions, from research to manufacturing. By digitizing drug discovery and development, identifying solutions, and making our work easier and faster, you will make a significant difference to countless lives. Your role in this digital transformation is crucial, helping streamline processes, improve efficiency, and drive forward groundbreaking research and development.

Join us in this mission to harness the power of technology for the betterment of global health.

The Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is a hands‑on technologist and trusted innovation partner to Global Business Services (GBS)—embedded at the intersection of global business processes, transactional data and enterprise technology. Operating within Pfizer Digital & Technology’s Enabling Functions (EF) Forward Impact Engineering team, this role translates bold ideas into working AI and data‑driven prototypes that accelerate the way we discover, develop, and deliver innovative solutions.

FDEs work in small, mission‑focused Pods aligned to specific EF domains such as Finance, GBS, PX and Legal/Compliance. Each Pod pairs an FDE with a Product Manager to co‑own a domain’s innovation backlog—from idea intake through proof‑of‑concept delivery and transition to enterprise scale.

The ideal candidate brings a rare combination of engineering depth, creative problem solving, and business fluency. They are equally comfortable writing code, influencing senior leaders, and connecting across organizational boundaries. An FDE thinks like an AI architect, builds like a full‑stack engineer, and operates like a strategic partner—driving measurable impact through technology that advances science.

• Rapidly design and build AI‑ and data‑driven prototypes addressing high‑value GBS use cases (e.g., predictive modeling, scientific data integration, knowledge assistants, document intelligence, or lab automation).
• Collaborate with enterprise data, platform, and engineering teams to ensure scalability and secure handoff of validated solutions.
• Apply best practices in software development, data science, and MLOps to deliver maintainable, well‑documented prototypes.
• Serve as the primary AI and technology thought partner for senior GBS leaders (VP/SVP level).
• Translate scientific and operational pain points into technical opportunities with clear business value.
• Influence decision‑makers through demonstrations, storytelling, and measurable outcomes.
• Work with Product Managers to source, assess, and prioritize ideas in the GBS Innovation Backlog.
• Conduct feasibility assessments and align solutions to enterprise architecture, data governance, and AI safety standards.
• Help define success metrics, business cases, and transition plans for scaled adoption.
• Build bridges between research scientists, enterprise Digital & Technology, data engineering, and AI platform teams.
• Share learnings and reusable assets across Pods to accelerate innovation velocity.
• Mentor emerging technical talent and help establish the culture of AI in service of science.

• Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of experience in software engineering, data science, or applied AI, including 3+ years in a lead technical or product innovation role or Master’s Degree and 7+ years of experience or PhD and +5 years of experience.
• Proven…