Senior IT Project Manager AI & Digital Transformation | Life Sciences

Senior Project Manager – Life Sciences (AI & Digital Transformation)

Job Title: Senior Project Manager

Location: Hyderabad, India – Onsite

Experience: 12–18+ years / Higher experience can be considered based on fit

Employment Type: Full-time

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager / IT Project Manager to lead large-scale AI, Data, Cloud, and Digital Transformation initiatives for a global Life Sciences client.

The ideal candidate will have a strong track record of delivering complex enterprise technology programs while collaborating with business stakeholders, engineering teams, product owners, architecture, data/AI teams, vendors, and external partners.

The role requires strong project governance, executive reporting, cross-workstream coordination, stakeholder management, financial management, risk management, and execution capabilities within a regulated Life Sciences environment.

The candidate should also have a strong technical understanding of AI and enterprise cloud technologies, even if not hands-on coding.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of multiple strategic technology programs from initiation through production deployment.
• Develop and manage project plans, milestones, budgets, resource allocation, dependencies, and delivery schedules.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including Product Management, Architecture, Engineering, Data, AI, QA, Infrastructure, Security, and Operations.
• Drive Agile delivery using Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or hybrid methodologies.
• Establish and maintain project/program governance frameworks.
• Prepare and present Steering Committee packs, executive dashboards, governance reports, status reports, RAID logs, and management updates.
• Provide clear reporting on project health, milestones, risks, issues, dependencies, financials, resource utilization, and delivery status.
• Manage multiple workstreams and dependencies across a matrix organizational structure.
• Drive cross-workstream coordination and ensure alignment between business and technology teams.
• Identify, track, escalate, and mitigate project risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies.
• Manage project finances including budget management, forecasting, actuals tracking, variance analysis, cost reporting, and financial governance.
• Manage vendor and partner engagements, ensuring delivery commitments, SLAs, budgets, and timelines are met.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to define scope, priorities, success metrics, and business outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with organizational quality standards and Life Sciences regulatory requirements.
• Drive change management, user adoption, and successful business transition.
• Manage resource planning, utilization, capacity, and allocation across workstreams.
• Promote continuous improvement through delivery best practices, lessons learned, and process optimization.

Mandatory / Must-Have Requirements

Project & Program Management

• 12+ years of IT Project / Program Management experience.
• Proven experience managing complex enterprise technology projects/programs involving multiple workstreams.
• Strong experience managing cross-functional teams in a matrix organization.
• Proven ability to manage dependencies across multiple technology and business workstreams.
• Strong understanding of SDLC and Agile delivery methodologies.
• Experience managing globally distributed teams.

Executive Governance & Stakeholder Management

• Proven track record of preparing executive governance materials, including Steering Committee packs.
• Strong experience preparing executive-level status reports, dashboards, presentations, RAID reports, and decision papers.
• Excellent stakeholder management across business, technology, senior leadership, vendors, and external partners.
• Ability to communicate project health, risks, financial status, dependencies, and key decisions to senior/executive stakeholders.
• Strong negotiation, influencing, escalation, and conflict-resolution skills.

Financial / Budget Management

• Hands-on experience managing program/project finances.
• Experience with:
• Budget management
• Financial forecasting
• Actual vs. budget tracking
• Cost reporting
• Variance analysis
• Resource cost management
• Financial status reporting
• Ability to manage projects within approved budgets and proactively identify financial risks.

Project Planning & Tools

• Hands-on experience with Smartsheet, MS Project, or equivalent enterprise project planning tools.
• Strong experience developing and maintaining:
• Integrated project plans
• Milestone plans
• Resource plans
• Dependency plans
• Critical paths
• Delivery schedules
• Workstream plans
• Experience with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps, ServiceNow, Smartsheet, MS Project, or equivalent is preferred.

AI & Cloud

• Strong technical understanding of AI/GenAI architecture, even if not hands-on coding.
• Experience managing AI, GenAI, Data, Cloud, or Digital Transformation programs.
• Understanding of technologies such as:
• Generative AI
• LLMs
• RAG
• Agentic AI
• AI/ML platforms
• AI governance
• MLOps / LLMOps
• Experience with enterprise cloud AI platforms such as Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.
• Ability to work effectively with architects, AI/ML engineers, data engineers, developers, and infrastructure teams.

Life Sciences

• Minimum 5 years of experience managing enterprise programs for Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, or Life Sciences organizations.
• Knowledge of Life Sciences business processes including Clinical, Regulatory, Pharmacovigilance, Commercial, Manufacturing, or Medical Affairs is preferred.
• Familiarity with:
• GxP
• CSV
• 21 CFR Part 11
• GDPR
• HIPAA
• Relevant Life Sciences compliance standards

Preferred Experience

• Experience with Generative AI or Agentic AI initiatives.
• Experience leading enterprise AI transformation programs.
• Experience with AI governance, MLOps, LLMOps, or enterprise AI platforms.
• Experience working with global pharmaceutical organizations such as Novartis, Roche, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GSK, or similar.
• Experience with Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud environments.
• Exposure to enterprise platforms such as:
• ServiceNow
• Salesforce
• SAP
• Veeva
• Microsoft Power Platform
• Experience leading multi-vendor and multi-geography delivery programs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Desired Skills

• Program & Portfolio Management
• Project Governance
• Steering Committee Management
• Executive Stakeholder Management
• Cross-Workstream Management
• Matrix Organization Management
• Risk & Dependency Management
• Budget & Financial Management
• Forecasting & Cost Reporting
• Resource Planning
• Vendor Management
• Change Management
• AI & Digital Transformation
• Enterprise Cloud
• Enterprise Delivery Governance
• Agile / Scrum / SAFe
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills

Preferred Certifications

• PMP (Project Management Professional)
• PRINCE2 Practitioner
• PMI-ACP
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• SAFe Agilist
• ITIL Foundation – Optional

Success Measures

• On-time and on-budget project delivery
• Accurate project financial forecasting and cost reporting
• High stakeholder and executive satisfaction
• Effective Steering Committee and governance management
• Successful coordination across multiple workstreams
• Effective risk and dependency management
• Successful adoption of delivered solutions
• Compliance with quality and regulatory standards
• Delivery of measurable business value and operational improvements

Nice to Have

• Experience working with global pharmaceutical organizations such as Novartis, Roche, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GSK, or similar.
• Exposure to Enterprise AI Platforms, Agentic AI, MLOps/LLMOps, or AI governance.
• Experience leading multi-vendor, multi-geography delivery programs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience managing large transformation budgets and complex financial governance.