Computational Biologist/Data Scientist, Musculoskeletal Disease Area

Job Description

1.71 billion. That is the number of people living with a musculoskeletal condition worldwide.

The power of millions of biological data points to drive the discovery and development of new medicines for musculoskeletal disorders at your fingertips. As part of the Musculoskeletal Disease Area (MSD) Data Science team, this is an opportunity to shape and contribute to high dimensional data driven drug discovery to advance new medicines.

We are seeking a dedicated and creative data scientist to join our global embedded ‘dry-lab’ research environment. As a member of the NIBR data science community, you will also benefit from a 200+ person global community with extensive know-how and resources in data analysis, data engineering, and machine learning.

Your responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

- Conduct scientific analyses, data integration, curation, and mining of multi-modal high dimensional pre-clinical and clinical data to provide actionable insights.

- Identify novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers candidates, elucidate the mode of action of drug candidates, advance the understanding of the molecular networks involved in patient disease trajectories and responses to treatment as well as explore the mechanistic translatability of pre-clinical models.

- Work at the interface between integrated pharmacology, in vitro biology investigators, and translational medicine and informatics experts to deliver new and actionable hypotheses based on large-scale molecular, imaging, clinical, and pre-clinical data

- Contribute to the identification of the most promising new analytical methodologies and data solutions and implement/integrate them within the MSD data science analytic toolbox. Develop and maintain innovative analytical tools and pipelines.

Diversity & Inclusion / EEO

The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Minimum Requirements

What You’ll Bring to the Role:

- A PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, or Biology, and 2+ years of experience in applying analytics (statistical inference, machine learning) to high dimensional biological and/clinical data and a proven ability to generate actionable hypotheses.

- Extensive experience analyzing, integrating, and interpreting “omics” data, particularly high-resolution data modalities (scRNAseq, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics etc...)

- Proficiency in Python and/or R programming, with experience communicating scientific findings through static and interactive reports and visualizations (RMarkdown, R shiny, Plotly, Dash or similar), including web-based deployment of models and results.

- Experience scripting in a Unix/Linux environment and command-line interaction with high-performance computational clusters. Adept of good coding practices and writing reproducible scripts in version control environments (Git or similar).

- Proactive and dynamic attitude with an inquisitive mentality and a proven ability to formulate, articulate, and critically evaluate data driven scientific hypotheses and build next steps. Proven track record of conducting research independently (publication or packages/libraries).

- Excellent teamwork skills and ability to work and thrive in cross disciplinary teams. High learning agility, developed scientific curiosity, and a desire to be up to date with the latest computational and digital technologies

- Fluency in written and oral English with excellent presentation, “telling stories with data” skills.

Desirable Requirements:

- Related industry experience

- Experience in Real world evidence, human genetics, computer vision and/or gene therapy

Why Novartis?

766 million lives were touched by Novartis medicines in 2021, and while we’re proud of this, we know there is so much more we could do to help improve and extend people’s lives.

We believe new insights, perspectives and ground-breaking solutions can be found at the intersection of medical science and digital innovation. That a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment inspires new ways of working.

Imagine what you could do here at Novartis!

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $124,000 and $186,000 per year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Accessibility and Reasonable Accommodations:
Individuals in need of a reasonable accommodation due to a medical condition or disability 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.