Associate Director, Data Science, Advanced Analytics

MSD

Associate Director developing data-driven insights for US Pharma Business unit. Collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance analytic capabilities and inform brand strategies.

Posted 4/28/2026full-timeNorth Wales • New Jersey, Pennsylvania • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $156,900 - $247,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

PythonSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Translate business needs and priorities to build analytical plans that answer business questions by providing actionable insights
Effectively communicating advanced analytics to stakeholders to inform business decisions
Communicate & collaborate effectively with cross functional teams with competencies in market research, forecasting, commercial analytics, data science, customer engagement, data strategy, population health, competitive insights, marketing operations, medical & clinical backgrounds
Analyze data across disparate databases/sources (including claims/EMR, DDD, and other sources) to develop insights that inform commercial business strategies
Stay current with industry trends and advancements in analytical methodologies to bring new ideas forward (including application of GenAI) that will enhance analytic capabilities of the organization
Contribute to innovative experiments , specifically to idea generation, idea incubation and/or experimentation, identifying tangible and measurable criteria to make meaningful improvements to the business processes and strategies
Derive actionable business insights from various data sources, develop clear data story, and communicate effectively to business stakeholders
Lead and mentor a team of data scientists and business analysts (on-shore and off-shore), providing guidance on best practices in data analytics, modeling and data visualization, through the scope of a project

Requirements

What you’ll need

BS (or equivalent) in Data Science, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, Statistics, Decision Science, Marketing, Engineering, or Public Health is required
5+ years of relevant experience delivering complex analytical projects in the pharmaceutical, biotech, consulting, or healthcare industry
Knowledge in mining patient medical claims/EMR data as well as other healthcare datasets with a strategic mindset and proven record of being able to produce actionable business insights that drive positive commercial results
Self-motivated, proactive mindset, and ability to work independently
Story-telling and executive presence with senior leaders
Effective interpersonal skills, communication skills, and stakeholder management, including experience collaborating in a matrixed organization and ability to align stakeholders on data-driven decisions
Strong business acumen and consultative skills, with proven ability to comprehend business processes and commercial strategies in detail and translate these into detailed business standards/questions that power analytics
Effective organizational and project management skills to work effectively across the organization and manage a team of business analysts and data scientists efficiently and effectively
Innovative thinking with affinity toward experimentation and appropriate risk-taking, including curiosity about how agentic AI and automation can enhance commercial analytics and insight generation
Awareness of the opportunities, limitations, and responsible use of AI (including agentic AI) in a regulated environment (e.g., data privacy, validation of AI-generated outputs)
Prior hands-on experience working with healthcare data especially EMR/EHR, Claims Data (i.e. IQVIA APLD) and various data offerings
Ability to develop efficient programming code and software assets that provide advanced analytical functionality
Proven data science experience leveraging advanced statistical methods, Machine Learning/ Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing (NLP) modeling and model evaluation is a plus
Knowledge of both machine learning and descriptive algorithms/modeling using such languages as Python, R studio, SAS, SQL etc
Understands the business context, challenge, limitation, constraints and goals to effectively match the capability of the statistical and mathematical and M/L approaches to the business, scientific and operational challenge

Benefits

Comp & perks

medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
retirement benefits, including 401(k)
paid holidays
vacation
compassionate and sick days

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

data analysisdata visualizationmachine learningartificial intelligencenatural language processingstatistical methodsprogramming in Pythonprogramming in Rprogramming in SASprogramming in SQL

Soft Skills

effective communicationinterpersonal skillsstakeholder managementorganizational skillsproject managementinnovative thinkingself-motivatedproactive mindsetstorytellingleadership

Certifications

BS in Data ScienceBS in MathematicsBS in EconomicsBS in Computer ScienceBS in StatisticsBS in Decision ScienceBS in MarketingBS in EngineeringBS in Public Health