Associate Director , Data Stewardship

Job Description

R419321 Associate. Director , Data Stewardship

The Opportunity:

Join a global biopharma company with a 130-year legacy and mission to achieve new milestones in healthcare. Be part of technology driven, data-led organization supporting a diversified portfolio of medicines, vaccines and animal health products. Work alongside passionate teams that use data, analytics and insights to drive decisions, and tackle some of the world’s greatest health threats.  

Our Technology Centers are globally distributed hubs that enable our digital transformation and business outcomes across IT. They bring together diverse teams to collaborate, share best practices, and deliver solutions that save and improve lives.  

This role is based at our Hyderabad Tech Center and follows a hybrid working model (3 days per week in the office and 2 days remote). Candidates are expected to reside within a commuting distance of the Hyderabad office.The Associate Director, Technical Product Owner – Automation & Material Master Stewardship is a high-impact, hybrid leadership role. It requires a rare blend of deep Material Master Data domain expertise and advanced technical product management capabilities.

Operating at the intersection of supply chain operations, enterprise IT, and digital innovation, this individual will own the technical roadmap for our core data creation and maintenance platforms (specifically Syniti / DSP and its complex integrations into SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA).

The role's mission is twofold:

• Material Master Domain Leadership & Tool Ownership: Act as the technical and operational authority for the global Material Master data model in our stewardship tools. You will ensure these systems operate with high reliability, comply with rigid data standards, and evolve through structured releases to support complex supply chain and manufacturing activities.
• Process Automation & Workflow Re-engineering: Partner with Global Data Steward Leads, Quality, and IT teams to systematically transition stewardship activities from manual, high-touch execution to intelligent, streamlined, and automated workflows.

As a senior technical leader within the Hyderabad Tech Center, you will leverage local technical talent while maintaining global alignment to drive operational excellence, GxP compliance, and modern automation practices (including generative AI and workflow orchestration).

Govern the Material Master Data Model: Serve as the technical custodian for the Material Master data structure within our stewardship tools, ensuring a deep understanding of master data dependencies, taxonomy, and downstream impacts on manufacturing and logistics.

Own the Tooling Ecosystem: Act as the Technical Product Owner for data creation, change management, and validation tooling (such as Syniti/DSP and associated middleware connecting into SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA).

Align Business Logic with Tech: Translate complex Material Master requirements (e.g., global vs. local views, Plant/Storage Location parameters, Bill of Materials (BOM) configurations, and regulatory metadata) into precise technical specifications and tool rules.

Backlog & Release Management: Lead backlog grooming, sprint planning, feature prioritization, and release roadmaps in close coordination with IT delivery engineers, architecture teams, and global business stewards.

End-to-End Material Workflow Optimization: Deep-dive into existing material stewardship processes (such as first-time material code creation, changes, and plant extensions) to eliminate manual bottlenecks, redundant pre-checks, and handoff delays.

Intelligent Automation Delivery: Design, evaluate, and implement automation solutions across the material lifecycle, utilizing business rule engines, automated validation scripts, API integrations, and low-code orchestration platforms.

AI & GenAI Integration: Spearhead the practical adoption of generative AI (e.g., Gemini) and machine learning capabilities to assist data stewards in automated data validation, material request interpretation, anomaly detection, and auto-generated documentation.

Industry Best Practices: Benchmark external master data management (MDM) and supply chain automation frameworks to keep our operating model forward-looking and scalable.

Quality & Validation Partnership: Partner closely with Quality Assurance, Computer Systems Validation (CSV), and Regulatory teams to ensure all tooling enhancements, automation bots, and scripts meet strict GxP and audit standards.

Automated Data Quality & Controls: Build automated, GxP-compliant data governance pre-checks, validation rules, and mandatory approval workflows directly into the tooling UI to enforce data integrity at the moment of entry.

Audit Readiness & Traceability: Ensure full lifecycle traceability, change control documentation, and audit trail reliability for all automated and system-assisted data operations.

Bridge IT and Stewardship Operations: Serve as the primary technical liaison in Hyderabad, connecting local IT/software product development with global data stewardship leaders and supply chain operations.

Drive Change & Adoption: Partner with Global Data Leads and operational managers to design rollout plans, training materials, and change-management programs for new automated ways of working.

Technical Mentorship: Foster an automation-first culture across the Hyderabad stewardship hub, coaching team members on digital tools, prompt engineering, and automated testing practices.

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Supply Chain, Data Engineering, or a related discipline (or equivalent practical experience).

• 8+ years of progressive experience in Master Data Management (MDM), Technical Product Ownership, Business Systems Analysis, or Enterprise Data Solutions.
• Strong functional background in SAP Material Master (MM) operations, with a clear understanding of supply chain, procurement, and manufacturing data flows.
• Substantial experience operating in a regulated enterprise environment (pharmaceutical, life sciences, healthcare, or medical devices preferred).
• Proven track record of owning enterprise tooling releases and delivering measurable automation or process simplification projects.

• Deep Material Master Data Expertise: Comprehensive, practical knowledge of the SAP Material Master data structure, fields, views (Basic, Sales, Purchasing, MRP, Plant/Storage, Costing), and how data setups impact downstream physical supply chain execution.
• Tool Ownership & MDM Platforms: Hands-on technical experience with master data creation and governance platforms, preferably Syniti (DSP) or comparable enterprise MDM/governance suites.
• SAP Master Data Architecture: Solid technical and functional knowledge of SAP master data processes (SAP ECC and/or SAP S/4HANA), specifically Material Master and its integration with manufacturing, procurement, and supply chain modules.
• Process Automation & Digitization: Demonstrated success identifying, designing, and rolling out workflow automation, rule engines, RPA, or automated data validation pipelines.
• Modern AI & GenAI Fluency: Practical experience leveraging Generative AI (e.g., Gemini) and digital productivity tools to accelerate data operations, validation logic, and process documentation.
• Agile Product Ownership: Expertise in Agile/Scrum delivery methodologies, writing technical user stories, managing sprint roadmaps, and running User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
• GxP & Regulated Environment Compliance: Strong understanding of GxP standards, Computer Systems Validation (CSV), data integrity requirements, and regulated change control procedures.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Communication: Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to bridge complex business requirements with technical IT engineering across global time zones.

Who we are: 

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world. 

What we look for: 

Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are intellectually curious, join us—and start making your impact today. 

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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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