Job Description

Summary

The Innovation Scout drives early identification and translation of emerging technologies, scientific opportunities, and external innovations into actionable insights and experiments that inform product, platform, and portfolio direction.
Acting as a bridge between the external innovation landscape and internal strategic priorities, the role focuses on separating meaningful signals from noise, rapidly testing high-potential ideas through lightweight prototyping, and accelerating the path from insight to validated opportunity.
By enabling faster, evidence-based decision-making, the Innovation Scout helps shape future-facing capabilities and ensures the organization remains ahead of key technology and scientific inflection points.

About the Role

LI#hybrid

Senior Principal Innovation Scout
Location: Cambridge, USA

This hybrid role is based in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role: please only apply if these locations are accessible for you.

Innovation Discovery & Evaluation

• Continuously identify and prioritize emerging technologies across Software & Workflows that enable future outcomes and strengthen Portfolio, Data and AI strategies.
• Assess innovation opportunities using structured criteria including value, feasibility, maturity, risk, and strategic fit.
• Contribute to vendor assessments, RFI/RFP processes, and external partner evaluations
• Identify early trends and directional signals that could influence software, platform, or portfolio strategy.

Experimentation & Rapid Validation

• Translate high-potential opportunities to testable hypotheses and structured experiments
• Conduct rapid prototyping to validate assumptions and generate evidence for decision making that can inform scaled implementation initiatives.
• Define success criteria and learning objectives to ensure experiments produce actionable results.

Strategic Translation & Integration

• Translate external innovation signals into improvements for existing Software and Workflow capabilities and into new strategic opportunities
• Partner with Software and Workflow leaders to drive experiments, pilots, and scalable initiatives

Insight Communication & Influence

• Deliver clear, concise and compelling narratives tailored to executive, delivery and technical stakeholders
• Influence prioritization and investment decisions through evidence-based recommendations
• Establish credibility as a trusted advisor on emerging technologies and innovation opportunities

Innovation Culture & Ways of Working

• Operate with urgency by focusing on rapid learning cycles and actionable outputs
• Collaborate effectively across organizational boundaries to accelerate innovation adoption
• Foster a culture of experimentation, curiosity, and continuous learning across teams

Skills Required

• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in the life sciences / pharmaceutical industry
• Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., Life Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline)
• Strong understanding of scientific domains (e.g., biomedical research, data-driven science) to effectively evaluate technologies and vendor offerings in context
• Strong understanding of digital, software, data, and AI technology landscapes, including emerging patterns and capabilities.
• Ability to distinguish meaningful signals from noise and assess relevance in complex, evolving environments
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills to evaluate opportunities and prioritize based on value, feasibility, risk, and strategic alignment
• Experience shaping hypotheses and defining structured approaches to early-stage opportunity evaluation. Ability to connect technology trends to real user, scientific, and business problems.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas to executive, product, and technical audience
• Ability to synthesize complex concepts into clear insights and compelling, actionable recommendations.

Novartis Compensation and Benefit Summary: 

The salary for this position is expected to range between $119,700.00 - 171,000.00 - 222,300.00 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.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)

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.

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