Staff Data Scientist

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Real-World Data & Analytics (RWDA) group within the Biopharma team at Natera works with major Biopharmaceutical partners to provide best-in-class data, analysis, and methodological guidance for Natera’s real-world data offering.

We are seeking a highly motivated and solutions-oriented a Staff Data Scientist/Real World Evidence with experience and interest in oncology, molecular analysis and epidemiological study design to join our team. This role requires the individual engage customers to generate new hypotheses and research questions, iterate and interrogate existing hypotheses and research questions, design research projects, conduct and iterate on the analysis as well as derive insights from complex real-world multi-modal, multi-time point molecular and clinical data. The individual will also implement advanced statistical methods, and utilize internal analytical tools, interfaces as well as AI tools to generate, visualize and enhance insights. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

●        Biopharma Partnerships: design, prepare data and conduct analysis and delivery of RWE analyses for biopharma clients. You will be responsible for translating complex clinical development and translational research questions into actionable research plans and insights utilizing Natera data for trial design, outcomes research and other bespoke projects.

●        Multi-modal Real World Data Expertise: generate insights from complex real-world endpoints using extensive coding, demonstrating deep comprehension of Natera clinical and molecular data structures and complexity, while also serving as an expert on the methodological nuances and limitations of real-world data. 

●        Methodological Standards & Mentorship: Build technical standards by implementing advanced methods in survival analysis, machine learning and predictive modeling.

●        AI-Enhanced Applications: Integrate practical adoption of Natera tools including: LLMs and agentic tools into your own daily workflow. Your focus will be on using these technologies to improve the speed and accuracy of code development, documentation, and review.

●        Scientific Leadership & Influence: Own the communication of high impact/value results to internal stakeholders and external partners. You will be responsible for the scientific integrity of all deliverables, including manuscripts, conference abstracts, and technical reports where appropriate. 

●        Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with internal product, oncology, and clinical abstraction, medical, scientific, business development and consortia teams to continually enhance Natera data quality, products, and analytical best practices.

●        Product / Work-Flow Enhancement: Proactively identify gaps in current products and ensure that customer feedback is collected and integrated into the Natera product road map. 

●        Oncology & RWE Domain Expertise: Maintain deep expertise in oncology clinical guidelines (e.g., NCCN) and emerging RWE methodologies. You will be responsible for translating these external shifts into internal strategy, ensuring that our research designs and data modeling stay ahead of the evolving oncology landscape and reflect the most current standard of care.

QUALIFICATIONS:

●        Education: Advanced education in epidemiology, biostatistics, data science, public health, or related fields, to the level of either:

o   Master’s degree, or PhD and 4+ years of additional work experience

●        Technical & Statistical Mastery: 

o   Expert-level proficiency in observational real-world healthcare data, specifically in designing and implementing complex time-to-event methodologies (survival analysis).

o   Track record of leading RWD analytical studies from initial scoping through to publication or dissemination.

o   Proficient in using R and SQL, especially statistical tools and packages.

o   Proficiency applying machine learning, LLM-based coding assistants (e.g., Copilot, Cursor) and agentic frameworks to support data analysis, code review, or scientific documentation workflows.

o   Adherence to good software engineering practices (version control, modular code, documentation).

o   Experience with code review. 

●        Communication & Client Ownership: Experience as a primary technical point of communication for biopharma clients, with a proven ability to collaborate on study design and translate highly technical findings into strategic recommendations for senior-level stakeholders.

●        Leadership & Soft Skills: Strong project leadership and the ability to manage multiple high-priority workstreams simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.

●        Soft Skills: Strong project leadership with excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment working with multi-disciplinary scientists on complex problems.

●        Solution Oriented: Ability to see through initial research questions to the high impact / valuable insights customers require (need vs. want). Understand the question behind the question as well as identify solutions to generate meaningful insights when the data does not exist.

Preferred Skillsets:

●        Experience working with Pharma or drug development.

●        Experience in clinical trial design in the clinical development space.

●        Extensive proficiency with EMR raw and curated data, claims, and registry data.

●        Practical experience building, fine-tuning, or configuring LLM-based tools and agentic workflows specifically for scientific discovery.

●        High-level familiarity with NCCN guidelines and the ability to interpret real-world outcomes within the context of the current oncology standard of care.

●        Significant experience analyzing multi-modal data including biomarker, genomic, or other high-dimensional molecular data alongside clinical datasets.

●        Proficiency in managing large-scale data projects within cloud environments such as AWS or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).