OPT Data Science Director Jobs
Data Science Director jobs on OPT require an employer willing to sponsor H-1B visa or provide cap-exempt work authorization before your OPT period ends. Most roles demand 8-plus years of experience and strong leadership credentials, making early employer engagement and STEM OPT extension planning essential for international students.
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Location:
East Hanover, NJ
The Insights and Analytics team is dedicated to enabling improved decision making at Novartis by leveraging superior data to identify actionable insights that drive enhanced performance. We collaborate closely with the US business, bringing insights and challenging ideas to empower smarter, data-driven decision-making. Reporting into the Director, NS (Neuroscience) Business Performance Lead, the AD, Business Performance is crucial in monitoring and tracking business performance for their brand.
The AD, Business Performance plays a pivotal role in driving strategic insights and fostering systematic, data-driven decision-making to enhance business outcomes. By evaluating performance trends, the AD, Business Performance provides insights to business stakeholders to inform brand strategy. In addition to performance evaluation, the AD, Business Performance will proactively and systematically identify risks and opportunities, provide leadership with a comprehensive view of key performance indicators and ensure that required strategies can be formed and implemented for the brand in alignment with Novartis’s strategic objectives. The AD, Business Performance will work particularly closely with the Forecasting, Decision Science, Data Science and Functional Excellence Reporting teams, ensuring accurate business performance information is disseminated to all relevant stakeholders.
This position will not have the ability to be located remotely. This position will require 10% travel as defined by the business (domestic and/or international).
About the Role
Key Responsibilities:
- Implement US Brand Performance Vigilance processes to measure and track core metrics for brand performance covering all patient, customer, and competitive metrics such as Rx, share, claims, etc.
- Works toward a clear and consistent view of brand business performance, with easy-to-understand data visualization enabling continuous progress monitoring, gap anticipation, course correction with data-driven hypothesis generation.
- Implement requirements for the content and format of the report summarizing performance status at the brand level.
- Collaborates closely with the Data Ops, Functional Excellence and Reporting team, ensuring the data-to-analysis-to-reporting pipeline is optimized.
- Investigate performance data anomalies with Data Ops End-to-End Quality Assurance to ensure data variance is not interpreted as performance signal.
- Proactively monitor external customer threats & opportunities including account performance at key accounts across the US at the brand level.
- Implement standardized excellence practices across the IDS reporting ecosystem.
- Implement consistent set of brand performance metrics & decomposition creating a shared base of understanding of “what” is happening.
- Implement AI / ML models to improve 1st level of performance diagnosis in partnership with AI / Data Science team.
- Represent Business Performance for their brand in the new POD way of working bringing the best of I & A capabilities together.
- Articulate a clear narrative for business performance grounded in data and insights, considering current strategy and how it should evolve, owned by the IDS Illuminator as part of the IDS POD.
- Proactive tracking of competitive threats & opportunities.
Novartis seeks an individual with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry, with a strong understanding of market dynamics and regulatory environments. With a proven track record in business performance management, strategic planning, or a similar role, the person should demonstrate the ability to drive business outcomes through data-driven insights. The candidate should excel in bridging the gap between functional and business teams, fostering clear communication and understanding, while engaging with and influencing senior leadership and other key stakeholders to drive strategic initiatives and performance improvements.
Essential Requirements:
- A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or a related field; an MBA or advanced degree is preferred.
- Minimum 6+ years of experience in business performance management, strategic planning, or a similar role within the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry.
- Commitment to driving and enabling data-driven decision making throughout all levels of the organization.
- Exceptional business acumen, paired with a deep understanding of business dynamics in the context of the pharmaceutical industry.
- Experience in managing multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with business goals.
- Experience in managing relationships with key stakeholders, including senior leadership and external partners.
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and drive strategic initiatives.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills to articulate and present business problems and solutions to key stakeholders persuasively.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data and generate actionable insights.
- Proficiency in data analysis tools and software, such as Excel, SQL, Python, R or similar business intelligence platforms.
- Demonstrated strong leadership skills in a team environment which requires negotiation, persuasion, collaboration, and analytical judgment.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing business needs and priorities.
Novartis Compensation Summary:
The salary for this position is expected to range between $145,600.00 and $270,400.00 per year.
The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors.
Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards.
US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.
Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together?
Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
EEO Statement:
The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.
Accessibility & Reasonable Accommodations
The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call +1(877)395-2339 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.
Division
US
Business Unit
General Management
Location
USA
State
New Jersey
Site
East Hanover
Company / Legal Entity
U014 (FCRS = US014) Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Functional Area
Marketing
Job Type
Full time
Employment Type
Regular
Shift Work
No
Summary
Location:
East Hanover, NJ
The Insights and Analytics team is dedicated to enabling improved decision making at Novartis by leveraging superior data to identify actionable insights that drive enhanced performance. We collaborate closely with the US business, bringing insights and challenging ideas to empower smarter, data-driven decision-making. Reporting into the Director, NS (Neuroscience) Business Performance Lead, the AD, Business Performance is crucial in monitoring and tracking business performance for their brand.
The AD, Business Performance plays a pivotal role in driving strategic insights and fostering systematic, data-driven decision-making to enhance business outcomes. By evaluating performance trends, the AD, Business Performance provides insights to business stakeholders to inform brand strategy. In addition to performance evaluation, the AD, Business Performance will proactively and systematically identify risks and opportunities, provide leadership with a comprehensive view of key performance indicators and ensure that required strategies can be formed and implemented for the brand in alignment with Novartis’s strategic objectives. The AD, Business Performance will work particularly closely with the Forecasting, Decision Science, Data Science and Functional Excellence Reporting teams, ensuring accurate business performance information is disseminated to all relevant stakeholders.
This position will not have the ability to be located remotely. This position will require 10% travel as defined by the business (domestic and/or international).
About the Role
Key Responsibilities:
- Implement US Brand Performance Vigilance processes to measure and track core metrics for brand performance covering all patient, customer, and competitive metrics such as Rx, share, claims, etc.
- Works toward a clear and consistent view of brand business performance, with easy-to-understand data visualization enabling continuous progress monitoring, gap anticipation, course correction with data-driven hypothesis generation.
- Implement requirements for the content and format of the report summarizing performance status at the brand level.
- Collaborates closely with the Data Ops, Functional Excellence and Reporting team, ensuring the data-to-analysis-to-reporting pipeline is optimized.
- Investigate performance data anomalies with Data Ops End-to-End Quality Assurance to ensure data variance is not interpreted as performance signal.
- Proactively monitor external customer threats & opportunities including account performance at key accounts across the US at the brand level.
- Implement standardized excellence practices across the IDS reporting ecosystem.
- Implement consistent set of brand performance metrics & decomposition creating a shared base of understanding of “what” is happening.
- Implement AI / ML models to improve 1st level of performance diagnosis in partnership with AI / Data Science team.
- Represent Business Performance for their brand in the new POD way of working bringing the best of I & A capabilities together.
- Articulate a clear narrative for business performance grounded in data and insights, considering current strategy and how it should evolve, owned by the IDS Illuminator as part of the IDS POD.
- Proactive tracking of competitive threats & opportunities.
Novartis seeks an individual with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry, with a strong understanding of market dynamics and regulatory environments. With a proven track record in business performance management, strategic planning, or a similar role, the person should demonstrate the ability to drive business outcomes through data-driven insights. The candidate should excel in bridging the gap between functional and business teams, fostering clear communication and understanding, while engaging with and influencing senior leadership and other key stakeholders to drive strategic initiatives and performance improvements.
Essential Requirements:
- A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or a related field; an MBA or advanced degree is preferred.
- Minimum 6+ years of experience in business performance management, strategic planning, or a similar role within the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry.
- Commitment to driving and enabling data-driven decision making throughout all levels of the organization.
- Exceptional business acumen, paired with a deep understanding of business dynamics in the context of the pharmaceutical industry.
- Experience in managing multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with business goals.
- Experience in managing relationships with key stakeholders, including senior leadership and external partners.
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and drive strategic initiatives.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills to articulate and present business problems and solutions to key stakeholders persuasively.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data and generate actionable insights.
- Proficiency in data analysis tools and software, such as Excel, SQL, Python, R or similar business intelligence platforms.
- Demonstrated strong leadership skills in a team environment which requires negotiation, persuasion, collaboration, and analytical judgment.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing business needs and priorities.
Novartis Compensation Summary:
The salary for this position is expected to range between $145,600.00 and $270,400.00 per year.
The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors.
Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards.
US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.
Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together?
Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
EEO Statement:
The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.
Accessibility & Reasonable Accommodations
The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call +1(877)395-2339 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.
Division
US
Business Unit
General Management
Location
USA
State
New Jersey
Site
East Hanover
Company / Legal Entity
U014 (FCRS = US014) Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Functional Area
Marketing
Job Type
Full time
Employment Type
Regular
Shift Work
No
See all 31+ OPT Data Science Director Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Data Science Director Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship in Data Science Director
Target companies with established data science organizations
Large technology, finance, and healthcare companies with dedicated data science teams are far more likely to support H-1B visa sponsorship for director-level hires than early-stage startups with no prior sponsorship track record.
Demonstrate P&L or organizational impact in your resume
Director-level candidates are evaluated on business outcomes, not just technical skills. Quantify team size managed, revenue influenced, and cost reductions driven by your data science programs to stand out from technical-only applicants.
Confirm your STEM OPT extension eligibility early
If your degree qualifies under the STEM OPT list, you can extend authorization by 24 months. Apply at least 90 days before standard OPT expiration to avoid gaps, giving employers more runway before H-1B sponsorship becomes necessary.
Address sponsorship directly in early conversations
At director level, hiring managers have budget authority and legal team access. Raising sponsorship in a first or second conversation is normal and professional, and avoids wasted time pursuing roles that will not support authorization.
Build a portfolio of cross-functional leadership examples
Employers sponsoring a director expect someone who can align data science strategy with business goals. Document specific cases where you partnered with product, engineering, or executive stakeholders to deliver measurable organizational outcomes.
Engage with data science executive communities to surface opportunities
Many director-level roles are filled through professional networks before they are publicly posted. Participating in data leadership forums, industry conferences, and peer groups increases visibility with hiring managers who influence sponsorship decisions.
Data Science Director OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students work as a Data Science Director?
Yes. F-1 students authorized under standard OPT or STEM OPT extension can work as a Data Science Director, provided the role is directly related to your degree field. Most Data Science Director positions require a degree in computer science, statistics, mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline, which aligns with STEM OPT eligibility.
How do I find Data Science Director jobs that offer OPT sponsorship?
Migrate Mate lists Data Science Director roles from employers with a verified history of sponsoring international candidates. Filtering by sponsorship-friendly employers saves significant time compared to applying broadly and discovering sponsorship limitations late in the hiring process, which is a common frustration for OPT students at director level.
Does a Data Science Director role qualify for STEM OPT extension?
It can, but eligibility depends on your underlying degree, not the job title. If your degree appears on the STEM Designated Degree Program List and the Data Science Director role is directly related to that field, you qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. Your employer must also participate in E-Verify to support the extension.
What happens to my OPT authorization if I change employers as a Data Science Director?
You can change employers on OPT, but you must report the change to your DSO within 10 days. Your new role must still be directly related to your degree field. If you are on STEM OPT extension, your new employer must also be enrolled in E-Verify, and you will need to update your training plan accordingly.
Is a Data Science Director role strong enough to support an H-1B petition after OPT?
Yes. Data Science Director roles typically require a specialized degree and involve duties that qualify as a specialty occupation under H-1B standards. The seniority and compensation of director-level positions generally make the sponsorship investment easier to justify for employers, compared to more junior technical roles where the business case is less clear.