Associate Director, Translational Data Science - Translational Medicine and Bioinformatics

AstraZeneca • Cambridge, MA

2d • $143,323 - $214,985 • Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for an experienced Translational Data Scientist to join our Data Science and Bioinformatics team within the Translational Medicine and Bioinformatics department in the Immunology therapeutic area. In this role, you will work in a highly collaborative and science-driven environment focused on advancing our understanding of immune-mediated disease biology, identifying novel therapeutic opportunities, and enabling precision approaches across our Immunology portfolio from discovery through clinical development. The department promotes an open and collaborative atmosphere, with a culture that is both science-based and patient-focused. Our mission is to understand disease mechanisms at the molecular and cellular level, identify the most effective targets, biomarkers, and patient subgroups, and support translation of scientific discoveries into medicines that improve patients’ lives. This role is located at our site in Kendall Square, Boston. We encourage and support creative thinking in a dynamic environment where individuals are free to ask the right questions and make bold decisions. We harness multi-omics, computational biology, and AI to accelerate research, connect complex molecular and clinical data to key biological questions, and ensure that discoveries made in the lab can make a meaningful difference for patients.

Requirements

• Relevant PhD (or equivalent) in computational biology, translational data science, bioinformatics, biostatistics, or a related quantitative discipline, plus at least 6+ years of relevant applied experience in academia, biotech, or pharmaceutical R&D.
• Substantial experience in Immunology and/or Cell Therapy research within a pharmaceutical, biotech, or leading academic environment. with evidence of shaping translational strategy or influencing programme direction.
• Deep expertise in single-cell omics analysis, with strong hands-on experience in developing and applying advanced approaches to single-cell RNA-seq data and translating the results into meaningful biological or therapeutic insights.
• Strong experience in spatial omics / spatial transcriptomics / spatial proteomics.
• Expertise in at least one of BCR/TCR repertoire analysis or high-dimensional cytometry data analysis such as CyTOF, together with interest in working across both.
• Proven experience in multimodal data integration across molecular and clinical datasets, including defining integration strategies, selecting fit-for-purpose methods, and interpreting evidence across modalities such as single-cell transcriptomics, spatial omics, immune repertoire data, cytometry, and associated metadata.
• Excellent coding skills in Python, R, or similar languages appropriate for large-scale omics analysis, together with experience in version control such as Git/Bitbucket, Linux environments (cluster and/or cloud), and effective use of modern AI-assisted coding tools such as GitHub Copilot or Claude Code.
• Expertise in immunology and the use of omics data to derive biological insight relevant to disease mechanisms, translational research, biomarker strategies, and therapeutic development.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience applying machine learning and AI methods to biological data, including familiarity with at least one of: biological foundation models (e.g. scGPT), deep learning frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow), large language models for biological knowledge extraction or agentic workflows, or generative and representation learning approaches.
• Ability to critically evaluate AI tool outputs in a biological and translational context.
• Outstanding communication, collaboration and influencing skills, with the ability to explain complex computational analyses to both expert and non-expert audiences, provide clear recommendations to senior stakeholders, constructively challenge scientific assumptions, and build alignment across cross-functional teams.
• A high degree of scientific independence, strategic judgement, curiosity, and a proactive, delivery-focused mindset.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with both BCR/TCR repertoire analysis and CyTOF.
• Experience working within AI-augmented analytical pipelines and the ability to define when and where AI adds genuine scientific value versus where human biological judgement remains essential.
• Track record of applying translational data science and computational analyses to drive decisions in drug discovery, translational science, or clinical development.
• Experience leading projects and collaborating with internal and/or external partners in matrixed, multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership in a highly cross-functional and thriving environment together with specialists in immunology, cell therapy, translational medicine, and data science, as well as with other translational data scientists and AI experts.
• Lead the integration and interpretation of large-scale multimodal datasets, with particular emphasis on single-cell and spatial omics in immunology.
• Define innovative analytical and AI-driven approaches to identify disease mechanisms, therapeutic hypotheses, biomarkers, and patient subgroups, helping to support decision-making across the portfolio.
• Lead the development of transformational precision medicine propositions to deliver life-changing medicines to patients.
• Responsible for planning, performing, interpreting, and communicating analyses that maximize the value of our growing data assets. These may include single-cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics, BCR/TCR repertoire data, high-dimensional immune profiling data, and other complementary molecular and clinical datasets.
• Provide scientific leadership in the evaluation, adoption, and practical application of AI and machine learning methodologies across the team.
• Act as a scientific guide and quality arbiter for AI outputs; ensuring biological validity and translational relevance rather than simply a consumer of AI tools.
• Generate actionable biological insight in immunological diseases and support the advancement of next-generation therapeutic strategies, including cell therapy, by applying state-of-the-art computational methods and providing scientific leadership in a collaborative cross-functional setting.

Benefits

• qualified retirement programs
• paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves)
• health, dental, and vision coverage
• eligibility for various incentives—an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree