AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines. As a FTSE 100 company with a presence in over 100 countries, it operates at a massive scale, employing nearly 90,000 people worldwide across therapy areas such as Oncology, Rare Diseases, and Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism. In Spain, AstraZeneca maintains a robust presence with its commercial headquarters in Madrid and a significant global innovation hub in Barcelona. The company is a major employer for international talent, particularly in clinical research, data science, and regulatory affairs. Their Spanish operations are characterized by a multicultural environment and a strong emphasis on professional development, making them a top choice for expatriates in the life sciences sector.

AstraZeneca was formed in 1999 through the merger of the Swedish company Astra AB and the British Zeneca Group PLC. It has since evolved into a global pharmaceutical leader, notably playing a key role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associate Principal AI Solutions Architect - Evinova

AstraZeneca

Original Advert

Role Barcelona onsite - 3 days at office/2 days at home

It currently takes over10 years and $1.3Bto develop a drug. More than 70% of that investment goes into clinical trials, yet only ~10% of candidates make it from Phase I to approval.

Evinova-a new health-tech business within the AstraZeneca Group-is here to change the math. We use advanced algorithmsand GenAIto aim high: boosting clinical trial success by20%, cutting development time by3 years, and halving study costs.

We are looking for a skilledAssociatePrincipalAISolutions ArchitectorPrincipalAISolutions Architectwho operates at the intersection of Data Science and Business Strategy.You will act as a forward-deployed technical leader,with strong expertise in Data Science and Agentic-AI,spendingpart ofyour time directly facing clients to translate complex pharma business challenges into actionable, high-ROI AI roadmaps and technical architectures.

WHAT THE ROLE INVOLVES

AI Opportunity Identification

Analyse business processes, alsoleveragingAI methodologies,tohighlightareas where AI can add real value.

Conduct rapid, ad-hocAIanalyses on client data to prove ROI andvalidatebusiness cases.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

Act as anadvisor and the face ofEvinova'stechnical capabilities to clients.You willengagewithtop-10Pharma partners and explain complex technical topics clearly to non-technical business senior stakeholders.

Prototyping & Solution Design

BuildAI prototypes (Agentic-AI,LLMs,Machine Learning, NLP,Optimization,etc.)and advanced prompt-engineeringto test ifanhypothesishas value.

Supportearly versions ofan AIsolution (PoCsandMVPs),tovalidatethe approach before we build the full system.

Implementation& Delivery

You willleveragecodingassistantslike Claude CodeorCursor towriteclean, organized codethat engineering teams can easilymaintain.

Supportthe technical delivery of the final solution to ensure it works smoothly with existing cloudsystems(eg, AWS) and enterprise architectures.

You will collaborate in a multidisciplinaryenvironment to align AI initiatives with businessobjectives.

SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES NEEDED

Client Engagement

Client-Facing Experience:Background in applied AI consulting and client-facing experience. You have a proventrack recordof acting as a trusted advisor to external clients or partners.

Communication:Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience presenting to executive leadership and partners. You excel at translating complex technical architectures into clear business value for non-technical senior stakeholders.

End-to-End Delivery:Experienceidentifyinga business need, proposing ascalable system architecture, and delivering it.You have a proventrack recordof developing creative and novel AI solutions that have driven significant business impact.

Business & Strategy Acumen

Strategic Problem Solving:Strong Business Acumen. Youare willingto developa deep understanding ofoperations, R&D workflows,and KPIs within theLife Sciences andTop-10Pharma industry.

AI Architecture & Technical Toolkit

AI Domain Expertise:Solid understanding of (agentic) AI concepts, Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI,andagenticframeworks (eg,RAG,agentic design patterns,LangChain,LlamaIndex,Google GenAI SDK,etc.).