Head of PPA - External data and AI Workflow

Position Title: Product Line Owner_Project and Pipeline Analytics, External Data and AI Workflows - Vaccines

Department: Digital R&D, Data & AI Products and Platforms

Location: Toronto, ON

About the Job

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible? Join Sanofi in one of our corporate functions and you can play a vital part in the performance of our entire business while helping to make an impact on millions around the world.  

At Sanofi, we're committed to providing the next-gen healthcare that patients and customers need. It's about harnessing data insights and leveraging AI responsibly to search deeper and solve sooner than ever before. Join our R&D Data & AI Products and Platforms Team as a Product Line Owner and you can help make it happen.

Sanofi has embarked on an ambitious digital transformation, with data acceleration and the adoption of AI and machine learning at its core to enhance R&D, manufacturing, and commercial outcomes—ultimately delivering better medicines and vaccines to patients faster. Within this effort, the R&D Data & AI Products and Platforms team plays a pivotal role by building the data foundations and AI solutions needed to democratize R&D data and scale advanced analytics across the organization. As part of Sanofi’s AI‑first strategy, we are seeking a Product Line Owner to lead two high-impact domains: Project & Pipeline Analytics and Portfolio Management, enabling data-driven portfolio decisions, enhanced pipeline visibility, and optimized R&D investment through platforms such as Planisware, Enrich, and Veeva Vault RIM; and External Data Sharing Solutions, supporting secure, compliant, and scalable data exchange with partners using privacy-preserving AI, federated learning, and real‑world evidence environments. This role will define the strategy, roadmap, and delivery of products that ensure harmonized, trusted, analytics‑ready R&D data, working closely with scientific, regulatory, clinical, and digital teams to shape portfolio decisions, optimize pipeline investments, and expand Sanofi’s external data ecosystem through innovative and secure data-sharing capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Own the strategy and vision for both PPA and External Data domains, ensuring high‑quality, harmonized, AI‑ready data throughout the portfolio lifecycle.

• Align product strategy with R&D leadership priorities, portfolio review processes, and investment decision bodies.

• Lead development of executive‑level dashboards and insights leveraging Planisware, Enrich, and Veeva Vault RIM.

• Drive integration of AI‑powered portfolio optimization, predictive modeling, and real‑time competitive intelligence.

• Define and monitor KPIs related to pipeline health, attrition, progression, and portfolio value, incorporating AI‑generated predictive risk metrics.

• Lead quarterly/annual planning and prioritization based on scientific value, business impact, and AI/ML maturity.
  

Project & Pipeline Analytics (PPA) Product Management

• Oversee delivery and continuous improvement of PPA systems including pipeline tracking, stage‑gate milestones, asset valuation/NPV modeling, and portfolio simulation tools.

• Integrate data across R&D systems (clinical, regulatory, competitive intelligence) into unified portfolio views.

• Lead development of ML models for drug discovery prediction, PTS scoring, clinical outcome prediction, and indication prioritization.

• Champion data standards and interoperability frameworks (CDISC, OMOP, FAIR).

• Drive adoption of automated data quality monitoring, anomaly detection, and NLP tools for literature and regulatory document mining.
  

External Data Sharing Platform Management

• Own the end‑to‑end lifecycle of external data sharing platforms from ingestion and transformation to partner provisioning and governance.

• Operationalize and enforce DUAs, access controls, and compliance policies in partnership with legal, privacy, and compliance teams.

• Manage relationships with academic institutions, CROs, health systems, and government agencies, ensuring SLA adherence and data quality.

• Oversee secure data enclaves, TREs, and controlled‑access environments aligned with industry frameworks (YODA, CSDR, Project Data Sphere).

• Drive adoption of federated learning, de‑identification pipelines, tokenization, and full auditability.

• Ensure global regulatory compliance (ICH E17, GDPR Article 46).

• Expand Sanofi’s external data ecosystem through consortium partnerships (IMI, OHDSI, FDA Sentinel).
  

Product Management & Delivery Excellence

• Lead a team of Data and AI Product Owners delivering PPA and external data products, including AI/ML‑powered capabilities.

• Manage cross‑product dependencies to ensure governance alignment, interoperability, and high data quality.

• Ensure adherence to FAIR data principles, CI/CD, MLOps, and audit‑ready development practices.

• Build shared services across teams including reusable data assets, metadata catalogs, and shared ML model repositories.

• Own AI model lifecycle management including versioning, monitoring, drift detection, and continuous retraining.

• Measure product impact across business KPIs, AI model performance, pipeline metrics, and end‑user satisfaction.

Team Leadership

• Build, mentor, and scale a high‑performing team of Product Owners and analysts, including AI/ML specialists.

• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, agility, and responsible AI.

• Establish success metrics, conduct performance reviews, and develop team capabilities across product, data, and AI disciplines.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelors required, Master’s or Ph.D strongly preferred.

• 8+ years of product leadership experience, including 5+ years in life sciences or clinical research portfolios.

• Proven track record building and developing high‑performing product teams, including AI/ML specialists.

• Exceptional communication and executive stakeholder management experience.

Domain Expertise

Pipeline Analytics & Portfolio Management

• Deep expertise with Planisware, Enrich, Veeva Vault RIM, stage‑gate tracking, and valuation platforms.

• Experience translating complex pipeline data into dashboards and KPIs supporting executive decisions.

• Strong understanding of drug development (IND → post‑market) and its data requirements.

• Experience unifying diverse R&D data sources to support portfolio review committees and decision‑support analytics.

External Data Sharing

• Hands‑on experience designing and managing external data sharing platforms, DUAs, and partner governance.

• Proven experience partnering with academic, CRO, health system, and government stakeholders.

• Expertise with TREs, secure enclaves, controlled‑access platforms, and patient‑level data sharing frameworks.

• Knowledge of de‑identification, tokenization, audit trails, and API‑based self‑service data portals.

• Familiarity with international data transfer regulations (ICH E17, GDPR Article 46).

Technical & AI/ML Skills

AI/ML

• Experience developing and deploying ML models in regulated pharma environments.

• Hands‑on experience with AI‑powered portfolio optimization or predictive modeling.

• Strong understanding of MLOps, model validation, drift detection, explainability (SHAP, LIME), and AI governance.

• Familiarity with Databricks, MLflow, Kubeflow, SageMaker, Azure ML, TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit‑learn.

• Knowledge of federated learning and privacy‑preserving AI.

• Understanding of the regulatory AI landscape (FDA guidance, EU AI Act)

Data & Engineering

• Strong foundation in Agile/Scrum, CI/CD, and iterative product delivery for data and AI products.

• Familiarity with GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, GDPR, and ICH E17.

• Knowledge of data standards (CDISC, OMOP, FAIR), metadata management, and lineage.

• Experience with cloud‑native ecosystems (AWS, Snowflake, Databricks), API platforms, and AI deployment technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).

• Proficiency with product tools such as Jira, Confluence, and Miro

Why Choose Us? 

• Bring the miracles of science to life alongside a supportive, future-focused team 

• Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally 

• Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact 

• Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention and wellness programs 

All compensation will be determined commensurate with demonstrated experience. Employees may be eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs, and additional benefits information can be found here.

Toute compensation sera déterminée en fonction de l'expérience démontrée. Les employés peuvent être admissibles à participer aux programmes d'avantages sociaux de l'entreprise. Des informations supplémentaires sur les avantages sociaux peuvent être trouvées ici.