Director, AI Transformation & Agentic Systems

We are seeking visionary AI Leaders to come join us in Bengaluru.

The Director, AI Transformation & Agentic Systems. will define and lead the AI agenda focused on fostering AI and innovation within the organization and addressing complex problems. This role is responsible for translating business and scientific needs into secure, scalable AI-enabled platforms and capabilities. The leader will be responsible for identifying the art of the possible and translating it into measurable business impact. This role will serve as a strategic orchestrator - partnering with Clinical, Regulatory, Safety, CMC, Data, and Technology leaders to embed AI into decision-making, operations, and scientific workflows. The leader will foster an AI-first mindset across the organization while ensuring responsible, compliant, and scalable adoption of AI and autonomous agent capabilities to solve complex, high-value business and scientific problems.

What You Will Do: u00A0

AI Strategy & Vision

Define and own theu00A0 AI and Agentic strategy, roadmap, and investment priorities aligned to business and scientific goals. Continuously identify high-impact AI opportunities across development, regulatory, safety, CMC and other areas. Articulate the art of the possible for executives through clear narratives, demos, and value cases. Continuously scan the technology landscape identifying breakthrough ideas in generative AI, autonomous agents, multi-agent systems, and AI-human collaboration.

Technology Strategy

Define and own the technology strategy for AI, GenAI, and agentic systems. Establish scalable, secure, and interoperable AI platforms and reference architectures. Influence enterprise architecture, cloud, data, and integration roadmaps to enable AI-first solutions.

Business Impact & Problem Solving

Lead identification and prioritization of complex, cross-domain problems where AI can materially improve productivity, cycle time, quality, and decision-making. Drive rapid experimentation and proof-of-concept development to validate AI hypotheses before scaling. Establish success metrics tied to business performance (e.g., speed, cost, quality, risk reduction).

Agentic & Advanced AI Enablement

Lead the adoption of agentic AI patterns, automation, and decision-support systems across workflows. Partner with product, platform, and engineering teams to embed AI into enterprise systems. Ensure AI solutions are scalable, reusable, and interoperable.

Capability Building

Foster a strong internal AI community across product, data science, engineering, and business teams. Build AI literacy across leadership and teams through education, coaching, and change enablement. Partner with external vendors, hyperscalers, startups, and academia to accelerate innovation. Coach leaders and teams on modern AI engineering, DevOps/MLOps, and platform thinking.

Operating Model & Influence

Operate as a federated AI leader, influencing without direct control across global Business and Tech organizations. Enable strong collaboration between global and India-based teams. Serve as a thought leader and trusted advisor to senior Biz and Technology leadership.

Technical passion for:

• GenAI, ML, and agentic architectures

• Data platforms, APIs, and interoperability

• MLOps / model lifecycle concepts

• Cloud-native and scalable systems

Technical Depth (Hands-on preferrable)

• GenAI, ML, agentic frameworks, and orchestration patterns

• Cloud-native platforms and APIs

• DevOps / MLOps / platform engineering concepts

Your Minimum Required Qualifications:u00A0

• Bacheloru2019s in engineering, Computer Science, or related quantitative fields, from top-tier institutions applicants from other colleges may need to showcase details of previously written engineering code or architecture

• At least 15 years of technical experience, including 3+ years in Transformation leadership roles

• Deep technical expertise with ability to evaluate complex architectures and guide decision-making significant hands-on engineering experience (any key stack/language) is a high priority

• Exposure to AI use cases in R&D, regulatory, manufacturing, or enterprise operations

• Proven track record of delivering transformational digital products in a start-up and/or enterprise environment

What You Would Ideally Bring:

• Lead AI-driven initiatives across the Org. Deep curiosity and practical judgment to distinguish AI hype from real, value-generating opportunities.

• Exceptional leadership and strategic thinking skills with strong business acumen. Excellent communication and influence skills, including engagement with C-level executives

• A strong technology-first mindset with the ability to translate AI and agentic concepts into scalable, enterprise-ready platforms.

• Proven experience leading transformation, not just delivering solutions shaping strategy, operating models, and behaviors.

• Executive presence with the ability to influence without authority across business, product, data, and engineering leaders.

• Comfort operating in ambiguity and complexity, with a bias toward action and measurable outcomes.

• Strong appreciation for governance, security, and compliance, balanced with a drive for innovation and speed.

• A builderu2019s mindset able to scale platforms, teams, and capabilities, not just launch pilots.

• Passion for developing talent, building AI literacy, and fostering a culture of learning and experimentation.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form () for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lillyu00A0does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.