Associate Director, Reinforcement Learning (ML)

Company: Amgen
Location: Thousand Oaks
Posted on: January 5, 2026

Job Description:

Join Amgens Mission of Serving Patients At Amgen, if you feel like youre part of something bigger, its because you are. Our shared missionto serve patients living with serious illnessesdrives all that we do. Since 1980, weve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the worlds toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease we reach millions of patients each year. As a member of the Amgen team, youll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives. Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, youll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career. Associate Director, Reinforcement Learning (ML) What you will do Lets do this. Lets change the world. In this vital role you will lead Amgens strategy and execution for Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) and related reinforcement learning approaches across R&D, medical, operations, and commercial use cases. You will design, implement, and scale RLHF systems to solve real-world problems that ultimately help us serve patients better and faster. This role requires deep technical expertise in RLHF and modern machine learning, combined with strong leadership capabilities in stakeholder management, cross-functional collaboration, and organizational influence. You will be expected to translate complex concepts into clear, actionable strategies for senior leaders and guide teams from idea to impact. Roles & Responsibilities: Lead the design and development of RLHF systems including reward modeling, policy optimization, safety and alignment mechanisms, and evaluation frameworks for large language models and other AI systems. Drive hands-on technical execution , particularly for high-impact projects, reviewing architectures, experimentation plans, and code, and helping the team navigate scientific and engineering trade-offs. Establish best-practice pipelines for human feedback , partnering closely with internal customer teams to define feedback protocols, annotation quality standards, and governance for RLHF data. Define and track success metrics for RLHF systems, balancing offline and online evaluation, A/B tests, safety and robustness criteria, and business or scientific outcomes. Collaborate across Amgen leaders to ensure RLHF solutions are aligned with strategy, compliant with policy, and integrated into real workflows. Partner with Data, Platform and Technology teams to ensure that RLHF workloads are supported by scalable data platforms, model hosting, experimentation infrastructure, and MLOps best practices. Champion responsible and compliant AI , working with Legal, Compliance, and Information Security to implement governance around human feedback, data usage, model behavior, transparency, and risk management in a regulated environment. Communicate insights and influence senior stakeholders , creating clear narratives, roadmaps, and recommendations that help executives understand RLHF trade-offs, risks, and opportunities. What we expect of you We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve and the professional we seek will have these qualifications. Basic Qualifications: Doctorate degree and 3 years of Computer Science, IT or related field experience Or Masters degree and 5 years of Computer Science, IT or related field experience Or Bachelors degree and 7 years of Computer Science, IT or related field experience Or Associates degree and 12 years of Computer Science, IT or related field experience Or High school diploma / GED and 14 years of Computer Science, IT or related field experience Preferred Certifications: Certifications on Reinforcement Learning (AWS AI, Azure AI Engineer, Google Cloud ML, etc.) are a plus. Preferred Qualifications: Deep, hands-on expertise in Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) and/or advanced reinforcement learning, including reward modeling, policy optimization, exploration strategies, and offline/online evaluation. Demonstrated experience deploying RLHF or RL systems into production for real-world applications (e.g., large language models, recommendation systems, decision support tools, or workflow automation), ideally in healthcare, life sciences, or other regulated domains. Strong background in modern machine learning and deep learning, with practical experience in Python and frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow, and familiarity with LLM ecosystems and tooling. Experience driving sophisticated, cross-functional initiatives, collaborating with non-technical stakeholders (e.g., physicians, scientists, commercial leaders, compliance, legal) and translating needs into impactful AI solutions. Strong ability to communicate complex technical topics simply, tailoring content to senior executives and non-technical audiences; well-versed in data and model storytelling, including risks, assumptions, and limitations. Experience working with large-scale data and cloud ecosystems (e.g., Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, or similar), and partnering with data engineering or platform teams to build robust pipelines and experimentation platforms. Demonstrated understanding of responsible AI, safety, and governance, especially in the context of RLHF and LLMs (e.g., bias, robustness, transparency, and guardrail design). Familiarity with pharma/biotech, healthcare, or other regulated industries, including an understanding of compliance, privacy, and consent practices related to patient and HCP data. Strong project management and organizational skills to manage multiple RLHF initiatives in parallel, ensuring work is prioritized against highest-value opportunities and stakeholders are advised on progress and outcomes! What you can expect of us As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, well support your journey every step of the way. The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, and qualifications. In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include: A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan Stock-based long-term incentives Award-winning time-off plans Flexible work models where possible. Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies. Apply now and make a lasting impact with the Amgen team. careers.amgen.com In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Application deadline Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position. Sponsorship Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed. As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of diverse, ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease. Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Keywords: Amgen, Pico Rivera , Associate Director, Reinforcement Learning (ML), IT / Software / Systems , Thousand Oaks, California