Director, Applied AI

Director, Applied AI

Denali Therapeutics is seeking a Director of Applied AI to build and lead our applied-AI practice, bringing measurable, AI-driven efficiency to how we operate.

Reporting to the VP of Information Technology, this role partners directly with senior leaders across the company to set strategy and drive execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as Denali's recognized expert on the practical application of AI, setting standards and advising teams.


• Own and drive Denali's applied-AI strategy, determining where AI has a role, choosing approaches, and setting priorities.


• Partner with leaders across the company to identify high-volume, workflow-specific problems beyond individual AI tools.


• Design, prototype, and build AI solutions hands-on, moving quickly from idea to production.


• Deliver measurable efficiency gains and use results to guide future AI focus.


• Bring strategy, progress, wins, risks, and tradeoffs to senior leadership to drive investment and prioritization decisions.


• Work with Legal, Quality, and Regulatory to enable a compliant path to production for safe AI use.


• Drive adoption of built solutions and establish repeatable methods and playbooks that allow applied AI to scale.

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in a technical field such as computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, or engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.


• 10+ years building and delivering solutions, with applied AI/ML at the center of recent hands-on work; fluent in Python and building generative AI/LLM applications (RAG, fine-tuning, agentic workflows) through to production.


• Direct experience in a regulated life sciences industry (pharma, biotech, or medical devices), including GxP, and demonstrated experience driving cross-functional outcomes as a senior individual.

Salary Range: $204,000.00 to $265,000.00. Compensation will depend on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience.

Denali offers a competitive total rewards package, including 401k, healthcare coverage, ESPP, and a broad range of other benefits.

Denali is committed to its core company value of unity by creating a diverse and inclusive environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, basis of disability, or any other federal, state, or local protected class.