Senior AI Platform Architect

Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., is a global pharmaceutical company based in Japan with operations in the U.S. (Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.), focused on addressing patient needs in oncology, urology, women's health, rare diseases, cell & gene therapies and CNS. With several marketed products and a diverse pipeline of early- to late-stage investigational assets, we aim to accelerate discovery, research, and development to bring novel therapies to patients sooner. For more information on SMPA, visit our website https://www.us.sumitomo-pharma.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

The Senior AI Platform Architect is a senior individual contributor responsible for partnering with business and technology stakeholders to identify, define, and prioritize AI opportunities, then architect and deliver working implementations in a secure, reliable, and compliant manner. This role designs and evolves the enterprise AI platform and delivery patterns spanning traditional ML and modern LLM-based solutions, enabling teams to move from use case to production through reusable components, MLOps/LLMOps practices, and automation. The ideal candidate has strong hands-on engineering skills (Python, Terraform), deep knowledge of AI/ML/LLMs, and a track record of translating business problems into measurable use cases and production-ready systems.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end AI use case delivery: facilitate discovery with business partners, define problem statements, success metrics, data needs, constraints, and deliver working prototypes that mature into production implementations.
• Architect and evolve an enterprise AI/ML/LLM platform including reference architectures, reusable patterns, and paved roads for model training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring (MLOps/LLMOps).
• Design and implement LLM solutions such as RAG, tool/function calling, prompt management, agent workflows, and safety guardrails; select appropriate models and approaches based on use case requirements.
• Define data and integration patterns for AI solutions, including feature access, document ingestion pipelines, vector search, APIs/eventing, and secure connectivity to internal systems.
• Build automation and infrastructure-as-code to provision and operate AI workloads using Terraform (e.g., cloud resources, IAM, networking, storage, observability) and Python (services, pipelines, tooling).
• Establish and enforce engineering standards and best practices for AI systems: reproducibility, testing, model evaluation, documentation, cost controls, and operational readiness.
• Partner with security, privacy, and compliance teams to implement governance controls for AI (e.g., access management, data handling, auditability, model risk management, validation requirements).
• Own reliability and performance for AI platform services by designing for resilience and scalability, instrumenting telemetry, and driving incident response and root cause remediation.
• Enable and guide application and data teams through design reviews, hands-on pairing, internal documentation, and reference implementations.
• Communicate architecture decisions and tradeoffs clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders; manage competing priorities to deliver outcomes aligned with business value.

Key Core Competencies

• Build relationships and rapport with key internal and customer contacts.
• Customer service mindset.
• Attentive problem solver.
• Ability to clearly present complete problem details and propose recommended solutions to management.
• Understanding of the importance of and compliance to Security and Compliance in IT environments.

Education and Experience

• BS in Information Technology or related field.
• 8+ years of experience designing and delivering cloud platforms and/or production software, including 3+ years building or operating AI/ML solutions (traditional ML and/or LLM-based systems) in a regulated environment.
• Experience working with multi-tiered ticket handling/resolution systems.
• Strongly motivated, well-organized, and shows professional initiative.
• Takes ownership of assignments, can work both independently and as part of the team.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work responsibly with minimal supervision and with a sense of urgency while maintaining the proper judgment on when to inform management on an issue and escalate concerns or customer escalations.
• Display ability to solve problems.
• Deep knowledge of AI/ML fundamentals and LLM architectures and patterns, with strong hands-on experience in Python and Terraform; familiarity with CI/CD and major cloud platforms (AWS and/or Azure) for production AI workloads.

The base salary range for this role is

Base salary is part of our total rewards package which also includes the opportunity for merit-based salary increases, short incentive plan participation, eligibility for our 401(k) plan, medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurances and leaves provided in line with your work state.  Our robust time-off policy includes flexible paid time off, 11 paid holidays plus additional time off for a shut-down period during the last week of December, 80 hours of paid sick time upon hire and each year thereafter.  Total compensation, including base salary to be offered, will depend on elements unique to each candidate, including candidate experience, skills, education and other factors permitted by law.

Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

Confidential Data: All information (written, verbal, electronic, etc.) that an employee encounters is considered confidential, in accordance with applicable law.

Compliance: Achieve and maintain Compliance with all applicable regulatory, legal and operational rules and procedures, by ensuring that all plans and activities for and on behalf of Sumitomo Pharma America (SMPA) and affiliates are carried out with the "best" industry practices and the highest ethical standards.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Mental/Physical Requirements:

Fast-paced environment handling multiple demands is involved. Must be able to exercise appropriate judgment as necessary. Requires a high level of initiative and independence. Excellent written and oral communication skills required. Requires ability to use a personal computer for extended periods of time.

Travel Requirements:

Primarily remote role with periodic on-site meetings in office. Must be able to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Drug Screening Requirements
Applicants for sales/field, manufacturing, or other designated roles will be required to submit to a pre-employment drug test.

Sumitomo Pharma America (SMPA) is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.

Sumitomo Pharma America (SMPA) endeavors to make its application process accessible to all. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact SMPA at [email protected]. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.