Senior AI Engineer

Overview

Senior AI Engineer

Reports to Global Head of Information Technology, Oncology

Opportunity

Menarini Stemline is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Senior AI/ML Engineer, who will be the technical powerhouse translating our Enterprise Business Architect’s strategic roadmap into production-ready intelligence. You won’t just be building chatbots; you will be engineering Agentic Workflows and leveraging 3rd party models that accelerate drug development, optimize clinical protocols, and automate complex regulatory filings.

You will sit at the intersection of Data Science, Software Engineering, and Biotech value chain, turning massive datasets into actionable therapeutic insights.

The successful candidate will be a key contributor in shaping our AI/ML strategy, evaluating and implementing solutions, and demonstrating the value of data-driven decision-making. This role requires a blend of deep technical expertise, strategic thinking, and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Development: Collaborate with the Menarini Stemline IT leadership team to define and execute the company's AI/ML roadmap. Identify and prioritize high-impact use cases across various business functions, including clinical development, commercialization and enabling functions.
• End-to-End AI Development: Design, develop, and deploy machine learning models (LLMs, Diffusion Models, GNNs) specifically tailored for biotech use cases.
• Agentic Workflow Engineering: Build "AI Agents" capable of navigating complex R&D tasks—such as searching historic clinical  study data libraries or cross-referencing clinical trial data—to support scientific decision-making.
• MLOps & Pipeline Scalability: Build and maintain robust MLOps  pipelines to ensure models are reproducible, versioned, and scalable  across our high-performance computing (HPC) environment.
• Architectural Collaboration: Partner with the Principal Business Architect to ensure AI solutions align with the enterprise "Target State" and integrate seamlessly with existing CTMS and ERP systems. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with stakeholders from R&D, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, and other departments to understand their needs and translate them into AI/data science questions and solutions. Serve as a subject matter expert on AI/ML, providing guidance and training to colleagues.
• Data Engineering for Science: Work with bioinformaticians to curate "AI-ready" datasets from unstructured lab notes, "Omics" data, and Real-World Evidence (RWE).Work closely with IT and data engineering teams to ensure the availability and quality of data required for AI/ML initiatives. Contribute to the development of our data infrastructure and best practices for data governance and management.
• Solution Evaluation and Implementation: Lead the technical evaluation of both internal and external AI/ML solutions. Design, build, and deploy scalable and robust machine learning models on our GCP/Databricks platform. Assess and integrate vendor-provided AI/ML technologies, ensuring they meet our scientific and business requirements.
• Compliance & Validation: Ensure all AI deployments meet stringent GxP requirements and maintain high standards for model explainability and "Human-in-the-loop" safety.
• Innovation and Research: Stay abreast of the latest advancements in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science. Champion a culture of innovation by exploring novel approaches and technologies that can be applied to our business challenges.
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Qualifications

Education: Master's or Ph.D. in a quantitative field such as Computer Science, Data Science, or a related discipline.

Experience: 8 years with 3-5 years of hands-on experience in data science and machine learning, with a proven track record of developing and deploying AI/ML models in a corporate environment.

Technical Skills:

• Expert proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R.
• Extensive experience with machine learning libraries and frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Strong knowledge of SQL and experience working with relational and non-relational databases.
• Generative AI Expertise: Hands-on experience with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), fine-tuning LLMs, and working with vector databases
• Hands-on experience with cloud computing platforms, preferably Google Cloud platform, Microsoft Azure and Databricks.
• Solid understanding of software engineering best practices, including version control (Git), testing, and CI/CD.

Soft Skills:

• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team.
• A strategic mindset and the ability to think creatively and drive innovation.

Please note: this position is classified as a corporate office position. In accordance with the New York employer convenience rule, Stemline will withhold New York state income taxes for all corporate office employees, regardless of whether these employees work in New York or remotely.

Base Salary Range of $225,000 - $280,000. Menarini Stemline offers generous compensation and benefits packages, including Short- and Long-Term Incentive Programs, Fidelity 401(k) (with company match), Anthem Premier PPO and HDHP insurance plans, Company paid Basic Life & AD&D insurance and pre-tax FSA/HSA programs.

Menarini Stemline is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The Company

Founded in 1886 in Naples under the name of Farmacia Internazionale, Menarini moved in 1915 to Florence where the Group’s headquarters are still located today. High quality therapeutics and diagnostics solutions for patients, ethics as our underlying principle, dedication to innovation and advancement, strong people centricity and environmental sustainability. These five pillars form the foundation of the Menarini Group, an Italian pharmaceutical company with nearly 135 years of history.

The Menarini Group is present in 70 countries and our products are sold in 140 locations around the world. Its companies span from Europe to Asia, to Africa and the Middle East, to Central America and to the United States where with the acquisition of Stemline Therapeutics, a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company, the company marked its entry into the US oncology market.

Thanks to the valuable contribution of around 18,000 employees, every year more than 500 million packs of drugs are produced at the Group's 18 manufacturing sites including a biotech plant for the manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies that also serves external clients distributed across 6 continents.

Menarini has made a strong commitment to oncology, investing in a pipeline of five investigational compounds for the treatment of a variety of haematological and solid tumours. The acquisition of Stemline Therapeutics in June 2020, further strengthened Menarini’s oncology portfolio, adding both commercial and clinical-stage assets. Tagraxofusp is a novel, first in class targeted therapy for patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) and to date, the only approved treatment for BPDCN in the U.S. and EU, and the first and only approved CD123-targeted therapy. Tagraxofusp is also being evaluated as both a single agent and in combination, in other CD123+ indications, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML), and myelofibrosis (MF).

Additionally, Menarini received exclusive rights to commercialise Selinexor for the treatment of oncology indications in the European Union and other European countries (including the United Kingdom), Latin America and other key countries. Menarini has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Karyopharm Therapeutics for the rights to commercialise an innovative therapeutic option in Europe, Latin America, Turkey, Russia, and CIS countries. Selinexor is a first-in-class, oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear export compound for the treatment of hematologic cancers and solid tumours. It is already marketed in the US for multiple myeloma and is under development for solid tumour indications. Selinexor is registered in the EU for both early and late lines.

Menarini entered into a global licence agreement with Radius Health to complete the development of Elacestrant, an oral SERD in late-stage Phase 3 development for hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer. Following a successful phase 3 study, Menarini Stemline received FDA approval in January 2023 under priority review and successfully oversaw a strong launch in February to the US market with the EMA review process concluded positively in September 2023.

It is an exciting time in the company’s development and an excellent opportunity for individuals joining us to contribute to building and shaping Menarini Stemline’s Oncology business.

Italian pharma group's oncology division developing targeted cancer therapies and hematologic treatments. Based in Florence, Italy.

menarini.com