Data Innovation Specialist

Roche • South San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

A healthier future. It’s what drives us to innovate. To continuously advance science and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need today and for generations to come. Creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love. That’s what makes us Roche. This role is based in the Real-World & Clinical Data Strategy (RWCDS) team which drives data excellence and analytics to power enhanced decision-making and evidence-generation within Roche Product Development. We develop and implement data strategies that unlock the value of clinical, operational, and real-world data to accelerate evidence generation, decision-making, and innovation across PD and beyond. By embedding FAIR principles, advancing data governance, and enabling data productization, RWCDS ensures that data is not only findable and usable, but also a driver of scientific rigor, regulatory readiness, and AI-powered transformation. Through deep partnerships with internal functions and external collaborators, we shape a future-ready data ecosystem that supports personalized healthcare and efficient drug development. The Opportunity: The Data Innovation Specialist helps identify, prototype, and scale novel methods and technologies that transform how data is used across product development. Reporting to the Data Innovation Lead, you will explore emerging capabilities such as AI, semantic integration, and knowledge graphs to unlock new use cases for clinical, real-world, and operational data. You will collaborate with scientists, engineers, product teams, and external partners to design proof-of-concepts, validate innovative solutions, and assess long-term feasibility. This role requires curiosity, strong technical grounding, and a mindset oriented toward experimentation and continuous learning.

Requirements

• You hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Data Science, Informatics, Life Sciences, or a related technical field
• You have a minimum of 2-4 years of experience working on data-related or innovation-support projects, or an advanced degree with 0-2 years of equivalent work experience
• You have basic familiarity with scripting languages (e.g., Python or R) and version control tools (e.g., Git)
• You are able to work collaboratively and document technical findings clearly
• You demonstrate capacity for independent thinking and ability to make decisions based upon sound principles
• You bring excellent strategic agility including problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and agility that extends beyond the technical domain
• You demonstrate respect for cultural differences when interacting with colleagues in the global workplace
• You have excellent verbal and written communication skills, specifically in the areas of presentation and writing, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts in clear language

Nice To Haves

• Exposure to real-world data or research informatics in a biomedical setting
• Interest in emerging technologies such as machine learning, knowledge graphs, or clinical AI
• Ability to summarize results for both technical and non-technical audiences

Responsibilities

• You support innovation projects by performing data exploration, documentation, and early-stage testing of novel data tools or approaches
• You assist in building reproducible pipelines for exploratory analyses and prototyping
• You collaborate with more experienced colleagues to investigate new data science techniques and technologies
• You participate in innovation-focused workshops, sprint reviews, and documentation efforts
• You maintain and share structured records of findings, test results, and process improvements
• You assist in assessment of new data and analytics use cases or capabilities based on internal gaps or evolving scientific questions
• You participate in experimentation, testing, and documentation activities for innovative workflows or platforms
• You share best practices and learnings from innovation projects across RWCDS
• You ensure compliance with data privacy and security regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, and other relevant standards

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level