Job Description

Director – Group Product Manager, Data & AI Studio Capability

Role Overview

The Director – Group Product Manager, Data & AI Studio Capability will lead the end-to-end product portfolio for the Data & AI Studio, a foundational capability that enables development, deployment, and operation of enterprise data and AI products.

The Data & AI Studio serves as a core enablement layer powering multiple products and use cases, providing standardized capabilities across data ingestion, processing, transformation, and AI/ML development and orchestration.

This role is accountable for product strategy, execution, adoption, and value realization of the Studio capability, ensuring it operates as a scalable, reusable, and platform-aligned product ecosystem. The role also carries full P&L accountability, including investment decisions, prioritization, and value delivery across the portfolio.

The Director will lead a team of product managers and architects, working closely with engineering, enterprise platform teams, and enterprise architecture to deliver consistent, high-impact outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Product Ownership – Data & AI Studio Capability

• Own the end-to-end product strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle for the Data & AI Studio capability

• Define how the Studio evolves as a multi-tenant, reusable enablement platform supporting diverse products and use cases

• Ensure alignment between product vision, platform capabilities, and business priorities

• P&L Ownership & Value Realization

• Own P&L accountability for the Studio capability, including:

  • Investment prioritization

  • Capacity planning

  • Value realization across product adoption and usage

• Drive decisions that balance cost, scalability, and business impact

• Ensure measurable outcomes across:

  • Product adoption

  • Capability utilization

  • Business value delivered

Capability Definition & Evolution

• Define and evolve core Studio capabilities, including:

  • Data ingestion frameworks

  • Pipeline orchestration and workflow management

  • Data processing and transformation layers

  • AI/ML development and operationalization

• Ensure capabilities are:

  • Modular and extensible

  • Reusable across multiple products

  • Aligned with enterprise platform and architecture standards

Execution & Delivery Leadership

• Drive end-to-end execution across Studio capabilities and product teams

• Establish strong execution discipline, including:

  • Sprint and release management

  • Roadmap tracking and milestone governance

• Ensure alignment between product commitments, engineering delivery, and platform dependencies

Engineering & Platform Alignment

• Partner closely with engineering leadership to deliver robust and scalable capabilities

• Ensure alignment with:

  • Enterprise platform teams

  • Underlying cloud and data platform ecosystems

• Drive adoption of shared services, standardized patterns, and reusable platform capabilities

Consumption & Adoption Model

• Define how the Studio capability is:

  • Consumed by multiple product teams

  • Adopted across the organization

• Establish clear patterns for:

  • Onboarding

  • Capability reuse

  • Avoidance of redundant development efforts

• Drive scale through consistent and repeatable consumption models

Team Leadership – Product Managers & Architects

• Lead and develop a team of product managers and architects responsible for Studio sub-capabilities

• Define clear ownership across:

  • Capability domains

  • Delivery outcomes

• Build a high-performing organization focused on:

  • Accountability

  • Execution discipline

  • Scalable product thinking

Stakeholder & Portfolio Alignment

• Engage with product leaders and stakeholders to:

  • Align on capability needs and priorities

  • Ensure Studio roadmap reflects enterprise demand

• Act as the single point of accountability for Studio product direction

Expected Outcomes

• A scalable, well-defined Data & AI Studio capability powering multiple products

• Strong adoption of Studio capabilities across product teams

• Reduced duplication and improved efficiency in data and AI development

• Consistent and standardized approaches to:

  • Data ingestion

  • Pipeline orchestration

  • AI/ML workflows

• Measurable business impact through effective P&L management and value realization

Experience & Profile

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in product management, including leadership across complex, platform-based products

• Proven experience owning end-to-end product portfolios with P&L accountability

• Strong understanding of:

  • Data pipelines and processing

  • AI/ML development lifecycle

  • Platform-based product architectures

• Demonstrated ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams (product + architecture)

Technology exposure

• Databricks

• Matillion, DBT or similar

• Collibra or similar

• Dataiku, Sage maker or similar

• Agentic AI awareness

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or managing enterprise data or AI platforms

• Experience driving platform adoption across multiple product teams

• Experience within global delivery models (US and India)

Leadership Characteristics

• Strong operator with focus on execution, scale, and measurable outcomes

• Product leader who understands platforms as enabling ecosystems

• Ability to manage complexity across multiple products, capabilities, and stakeholders

• High accountability mindset with ownership of outcomes, value, and delivery

Required Skills:

Business Intelligence (BI), Business Management, Database Administration, Data Engineering, Data Management, Data Modeling, Data Pipelines, Data Visualization, Delivering Value, Design Applications, Enterprise Architecture (EA), Enterprise Data, Enterprise Data Management, Enterprise Operations, Financial Decision Making, Information Management, Leadership, Prioritization, Product Management, Product Strategies, Software Development, Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), System Designs

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

06/30/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.