AVP, Foundational Platforms

Job Description

Our IT team operates as a business partner proposing ideas and innovative solutions that enable new organizational capabilities. We collaborate internationally to deliver the services and solutions that help everyone to be more productive and enable innovation.

Our Chief Technology Office (CTO) Organization within IT is responsible for developing and evolving solution and reference architectures while engineering and sustaining enterprise, scalable and future proof technology foundational products across data & analytics, platforms and automation.

The Associate Vice President (AVP), Foundational Platforms within our CTO Organization will have accountability for the Foundational Platforms function. This strategic role encompasses engineering and the development of foundational technology products and capabilities that are leveraged in critical IT projects across out entire company.

The leader will shape the next generation of our Foundational Platforms organization, leveraging the successes of a recent three-year transformation. The leader of this technical engineering and architecture-focused group, will provide expertise and shape the future direction of software engineering best practices, global and company-wide integration platforms, enterprise search, API development and implementation, integration of Generative AI, and various critical enterprise-wide applications.

The leader will build strong relationships with our Divisional IT leaders, enabling our IT and business colleagues to achieve better, faster, and more cost-effective business outcomes. An innovative and design thinking mindset will empower the team to simplify processes and remove barriers.

Alongside setting the technology direction for Foundational Platforms, the leader will influence technology direction across the entire CTO organization and the company. This position will entail managing a team of approximately 250+ professionals, including direct and indirect reports, with an overall budget of $100MM+.

Key Initiatives:

• Develop and manage Foundational Platforms strategy aligned with enterprise objectives

• Lead end-to-end Product & Portfolio Management and Engineering

• Collaborate closely with senior technology leaders to understand demand and prioritize projects within the Foundational Platforms portfolio

• Implement and ensure Agile Delivery Methodology across the functional portfolio

• Provide global team leadership across all technology centers (US, Prague, Singapore)

• Establish annual deliverables/objectives and performance goals for the team

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Science or a computer-related field; an advanced degree or certificate in areas such as software engineering, data, integration, or AI would be highly favorable

Required Experience and Skills:

• 15+ years of large-scale technology leadership experience, ideally within Fortune 250 organizations

• 5+ years leading platforms functions

• 3+ years leading execution within a Product Model

• Ability to inspire and collaborate with IT and business leaders while influencing without authority

• Willingness to travel (once established in role, quarterly to Prague and Singapore, ~twice a month onsite at Rahway and Pennsylvania facilities)

• Strong technical and delivery leadership, with hands-on experience in software/platform engineering and a solid grasp of Agile Delivery Model

• Results-driven with exceptional planning, organization, and customer value delivery skills

• Effective collaborator who can work through others to achieve shared goals

• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills in English

NOTICE FOR INTERNAL APPLICANTS

In accordance with Managers' Policy - Job Posting and Employee Placement, all employees subject to this policy are required to have a minimum of twelve (12) months of service in current position prior to applying for open positions.

If you have been offered a separation benefits package, but have not yet reached your separation date and are offered a position within the salary and geographical parameters as set forth in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) of your separation package, then you are no longer eligible for your separation benefits package. To discuss in more detail, please contact your HRBP or Talent Acquisition Advisor.

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US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

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U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The Company is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range for this job in certain states and cities within the United States. Final determinations with respect to salary will take into account a number of factors, which may include, but not be limited to the primary work location and the chosen candidate’s relevant skills, experience, and education.

Expected US salary range:

Available benefits include bonus eligibility, long term incentive if applicable, health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, and sick days. A summary of benefits is listed here.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

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. 

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