Associate Principal – AI Consulting, Life Sciences

Courbevoie, France | Full time | Hybrid | R

About the Role

We are seeking an Associate Director or Associate Principal‑level Consultant to support the sales process and lead the delivery of AI‑driven projects in the Life Sciences R&D domain, with a strong focus on Clinical Development Optimization. This high‑impact, client‑facing role involves translating ambitious AI visions into practical, high‑value solutions. You will work closely with data scientists, engineers, clinicians, and domain experts, partnering with Principals while owning day‑to‑day delivery and contributing to the growth of IQVIA’s AI consulting capabilities in Pharma R&D.

Key Responsibilities

Client Engagement & Business Development

• Support opportunity shaping, proposal development, client presentations, and solution design.
• Serve as a day‑to‑day trusted partner to stakeholders across Pharma and Life Sciences.
• Help identify and develop new opportunities across Clinical R&D, especially where simulation and optimization can deliver impact.
• Contribute to the selling and delivery of novel, first‑in‑class AI solutions—including offerings still in development requiring co‑creation with clients.
• Support creation of compelling narratives around IQVIA’s newest AI systems and capabilities.
• Lead hands‑on delivery of AI/ML projects focused on clinical development simulation using RWD, clinical trial data, omics, and other structured/unstructured sources.
• Own daily project execution ensuring high‑quality output, on‑time delivery, and strong client engagement.
• Coordinate cross‑functional project teams including data scientists, engineers, clinicians, and consultants.
• Support the development and client‑facing application of IQVIA’s next‑generation foundation model initiatives.
• Help design and implement scalable, high‑performance AI solutions using state‑of‑the‑art analytical techniques and platforms.
• Collaborate with third‑party technology partners across the AI and cloud ecosystem.

Capability & Practice Contribution

• Contribute delivery insights to shape IQVIA’s AI Life Sciences consulting offerings and repeatable solutions.
• Support mentoring and development of junior consultants and technical team members.
• Participate in thought leadership activities: client workshops, internal capability building, external presentations/publications.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 5–8+ years in Consulting, AI, Data Science, or Digital Transformation.
• Strong experience delivering complex analytics or AI‑driven projects in client settings.
• Solid understanding of AI/ML techniques (supervised, unsupervised, generative AI, LLMs, agentic AI).
• Life Sciences expertise—ideally within Pharma R&D, Clinical Trials, or Clinical Operations.
• Experience engaging senior client stakeholders and supporting strategic discussions.
• Proven ability to lead cross‑functional teams in fast‑paced, ambiguous environments.
• Strong ownership mindset and bias toward action.
• Experience at a top‑tier consulting firm.
• Exposure to regulatory/data governance frameworks (HIPAA, 21 CFR Part 11).
• Experience with RWE, trial optimization, or biomarker‑based use cases.
• Familiarity with cloud/AI platforms: AWS, Azure ML, Databricks, foundation‑model ecosystems (ChatGPT, Claude).
• Exposure to agentic AI tools and modern AI development workflows.

What We’re Looking For

• Polymath mindset: Ability to combine strategic thinking, technical fluency, and relationship‑building.
• Entrepreneurial drive: Motivation to help build new capabilities and practices.
• Impact ambition: Desire to meaningfully influence how medicines are discovered, developed, and delivered.

What We Offer

• A senior role within a high‑growth AI initiative reshaping innovation in Life Sciences.
• Opportunities to work with next‑generation foundation‑model capabilities.
• Clear growth paths toward Principal / Partner roles.
• Autonomy, flexibility, and strong support from senior leadership.
• Competitive compensation and incentive structure.