Pharmaceuticals
10 Merck AI and data science leaders
These ten current and former Merck AI and data science leaders have held director-level AI, machine learning or data science roles at Merck. A reader can learn how AI and data science leaders work at Merck from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
01—10Andrew B. Waight
LinkedInExperience: Former Sr. Director, ML Engineering & Protein Engineering · Merck
Former Sr. Director, ML Engineering & Protein Engineering at Merck (2023–2026), a role the profile places in South San Francisco. Andrew was also Principal Scientist - Protein Sciences & Developability at Merck (2020–2023) and Senior Scientist - Protein Sciences & Computational Drug Design at Seagen (2013–2019), combining machine learning with biologics work.
Andrew E. Noble
LinkedInExperience: Director, Data Science, AI/ML Platform/Methodology Lead · Merck
Director, Data Science, AI/ML Platform/Methodology Lead at Merck since 2024, a role the profile places in Cambridge, Massachusetts at director level in research. Andrew was also Director, Data Science at Quest Diagnostics (2023–2024) and Senior Principal Data Scientist and Machine Learning Engineer at ConcertAI (2021–2023) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2020–2021).
Blue Alozie
LinkedInExperience: Director, AI Innovation Studios (US) · Merck
Director, AI Innovation Studios (US) at Merck since 2025, a role the profile describes as covering enterprise AI portfolio strategy, operating model execution and transformation governance across global business units. At Merck, Blue was also Director, India Tech Center Digital HH Community Lead & AI Practice Lead (2025) and held associate director roles in strategic planning and investor relations (2022–2025).
Eric T. Carlson
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, Global Data Science, Digital Solutions Product Owner · Merck
Executive Director, Global Data Science, Digital Solutions Product Owner at Merck since 2021; the profile says Eric serves as commercial AI and decision support solutions lead. Eric was also Vice President, Quantitative Investment Strategies at Goldman Sachs (2017–2021) and Senior Scientist at Philips (2013–2017), working on AI for patient care.
James Arnold PhD
LinkedInExperience: Director, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence · Merck
Director, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Merck since 2026, a role the profile places in San Francisco. James was also Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at Applied Intelligence (2024–2026), Director of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (2021–2023) and Director, Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2020–2021) at Genentech.
Kristen Severson
LinkedInExperience: Director, AI Methods and Models · Merck
Director, AI Methods and Models at Merck since 2026, a role the profile places in Cambridge, Massachusetts at director level. Kristen was also Principal Researcher (2025–2026) and Senior Researcher (2021–2025) at Microsoft, and Research Staff Member (2020–2021) and Postdoctoral Researcher (2018–2020) at IBM.
Luis A. Adrianza
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, AI Business Engagement & Innovation · Merck
Executive Director, AI Business Engagement & Innovation at Merck since 2025, and Commercial Generative AI & Automation Lead at Merck since 2024; the profile describes leading enterprise AI transformation at Merck. Luis was also Digital Marketing & Content Strategy Director at Merck (2020–2024), and Digital Marketing & Channels Assoc. Platform Lead (2019–2020) and Group Product Manager (2017–2019) at MSD Czech Republic.
Manisha Bhardwaj
LinkedInExperience: Director, Generative AI - Digital Quality & Labs, Digital MMD · Merck
Director, Generative AI - Digital Quality & Labs, Digital MMD at Merck since 2023, a role the profile tags at director level. Manisha was also Senior Data Science Manager at Walmart Global Tech (2022–2023), and Distinguished Data Scientist (2020–2022) and Head of Data Science, Production Enhancement (2017–2020) at Halliburton.
Ritu Saxena, Ph.D
LinkedInExperience: Director, Pharmaceutical Commercial AI Agents · Merck
Director, Pharmaceutical Commercial AI Agents at Merck since 2026 and former Director Analytics Strategy & Data Science at Merck (2022–2026). Ritu was also Associate Director, Global Oncology Data & Analytics at Merck (2021–2022) and Associate Director, Enterprise Analytics at Astellas Pharma US (2019–2021), and the profile cites GenAI and agentic strategy work.
Smita Mitra
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, Head of Commercial Data Science & GenAI · Merck
Executive Director, Head of Commercial Data Science & GenAI at Merck since 2025. Smita was also Director, Commercial Data Science at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (2021–2024), Principal Scientist, Machine Learning & Advanced Algorithms, Data Sciences at the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (2016–2021) and Sr. Manager at Pfizer (2012–2014).
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's area to your question, since commercial data science, AI methods research, generative AI for manufacturing and quality, and enterprise AI programs are different jobs. Check whether the relevant role is current and which part of the business it supports.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does a large drugmaker decide which AI projects to fund across research, manufacturing and commercial teams?
- 02What does it take to bring generative AI tools into regulated work such as quality and labs?
- 03How do commercial data science teams measure whether an AI tool is helping the business?
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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