Manager, AI Engineering

About Acadia Pharmaceuticals


Acadia is committed to turning scientific promise into meaningful innovation that makes the difference for underserved neurological and rare disease communities around the world. Our commercial portfolio includes the first and only FDA-approved treatments for Parkinson's disease psychosis and Rett syndrome. We are developing the next wave of therapeutic advancements with a robust and diverse pipeline that includes mid- to late-stage programs in Alzheimer's disease psychosis and Lewy body dementia psychosis, along with earlier-stage programs that address other underserved patient needs. At Acadia, we're here to be their difference.

Please note that this position can be based in San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA or Princeton, NJ. Acadia's hybrid model requires this role to work in our office three days per week on average.

Position Summary

The Manager, AI Engineering plays a key role in advancing Acadia's enterprise AI and analytics capabilities. This role designs, builds, and deploys scalable AI/ML and GenAI solutions that deliver measurable business impact across R&D, Commercial, and Corporate functions. As a core member of the Artificial Intelligence organization, the Manager will contribute to the enterprise AI strategy, support responsible AI governance, and help operationalize advanced analytics and machine learning at scale across Acadia globally.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design, develop, validate, and deploy machine learning, statistical, and GenAI solutions that address complex business problems and support enterprise priorities
  
  
• Contribute to execution of the enterprise AI strategy and roadmap by providing technical input on usecase feasibility, value hypotheses, architecture decisions, and buildvsbuy assessments
  
  
• Build and maintain scalable ML and LLM pipelines from data ingestion through production, adhering to established ML Ops and LLM Ops standards including versioning, evaluation, observability, and rollback
  
  
• Partner with business, analytics, IT, and security teams to identify, prototype, and deliver highvalue AI use cases across the organization
  
  
• Evaluate and integrate AI and GenAI platform components such as model endpoints, vector databases, agent frameworks, and guardrails in alignment with enterprise architecture standards
  
  
• Contribute to AI governance by supporting model documentation, lineage, risk assessment, bias testing, explainability, and compliance with applicable regulations and frameworks
  
  
• Provide technical input into AI platform and vendor evaluations, including RFI/RFP activities and assessments of cost, security, and data residency
  
  
• Support AI enablement efforts through development of reusable patterns, reference implementations, and technical documentation to accelerate adoption
  
  
• Apply and uphold policies for AI lifecycle management, bias/robustness testing, explainability, human oversight, and incident response. Support mapping of AI controls to major frameworks and regulations (e.g., NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act readiness) to ensure responsible and compliant AI deployment.
• Ensure all data science work complies with global AI regulations, ethical standards, and applicable GxP processes.
• Participate in cross-functional AI Governance Council activities as requested, providing technical expertise on model risk and data science practices.
• Other duties as assigned
  
  

Education/Experience/Skills

• Master's degree or PhD in Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline, or equivalent practical experience
  
  
• 5+ years of handson experience in applied data science and machine learning, including model development, deployment, and production support
  
  
• Advanced proficiency in Python and common ML frameworks and tools such as scikitlearn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and SQL
  
  
• Practical experience with ML Ops and LLM Ops practices including model registries, version control, evaluation benchmarks, and monitoring
  
  
• Experience working with large language models, GenAI technologies, vector databases, or agent frameworks
  
  
• Experience operating in a regulated environment and following GxP or similar compliance processes
  
  
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally
  
  

Physical Requirements

This role involves regular standing, walking, sitting, and the use of hands for handling or operating equipment. The employee may also need to reach, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and maintain visual, verbal, and auditory communication in a standard office environment and while working independently from remote locations. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. This position requires the ability to travel independently overnight and/or work after hours as required by travel schedules or business needs.

#LI-HYBRID

#LI-CS1

In addition to a competitive base salary, this position is also eligible for discretionary bonus and equity awards based on factors such as individual and organizational performance. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance, and location.

Salary Range $128,000—$160,200 USD

What we offer US-based Employees:

• Competitive base, bonus, new hire and ongoing equity packages
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer-paid life, disability, business travel and EAP coverage
• 401(k) Plan with a fully vested company match 1:1 up to 5%
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 2-year purchase price lock-in
• 15+ vacation days
• 13 -15 paid holidays, including office closure between December 24th and January 1st
• 10 days of paid sick time
• Paid parental leave benefit
• Tuition assistance

EEO Statement (US-based Employees): Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications in the exact way they are described in job postings. We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and innovative company, and we are looking for the BEST candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background or may meet the qualifications in a different way. We strongly encourage you to apply, especially if the reason you are the best candidate isn't exactly what we describe here.

It is the policy of Acadia to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to considerations of race, including related to hairstyle, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, gender transition, country of origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, legally-protected medical condition or information, marital status, domestic partner status, family care status, military caregiver status, veteran or military status (including reserve status, National Guard status, and military service or obligation), status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, enrollment in a public assistance program, or any basis protected under federal, state or local law.

As an equal opportunity employer, Acadia is committed to a diverse workforce. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. Furthermore, you may request additional support if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access Acadia's career website due to your disability, along with any accommodations throughout the interview process. To request or inquire about your reasonable accommodation, please complete ourReasonable Accommodation Request Formor contact us View email address on click.appcast.io.

Please note that reasonable accommodations granted throughout the recruiting process are not guaranteed to be the same accommodations given if hired. A new request will need to be submitted for any ADA accommodations after starting employment.

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Notice to Search Firms/Third-Party Recruitment Agencies (Recruiters): The Talent Acquisition team manages the recruitment and employment process for Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Acadia"). Acadia does not accept resumes from recruiters or search firms without an executed search agreement in place. Resumes sent to Acadia employees in the absence of an executed search agreement will not obligate Acadia in any way with respect to the future employment of those individuals or potential remuneration to any recruiter or search firm. Candidates should never be submitted directly to our hiring managers or employees.