Senior Specialist, Data Analysis

MSD • Cambridge, MA

2d • $159,600 - $251,200 • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an exceptional and highly motivated informatician to join the Cheminformatics group within Modeling and Informatics (M&I) at our our company. This role requires strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills and experience working in a cross-functional team environment. It involves both the development of innovative computational methods involving AI/ML and cheminformatics, as well as direct application of advanced computational approaches to the invention of novel medicines.
M&I is an inclusive team within our Research & Development Division Discovery Chemistry organization, comprising approximately 50 computational chemists, cheminformaticians, and data scientists. We leverage cutting-edge capabilities in structure-based modeling, predictive science, and AI/ML to drive drug design and development globally, with a proven track record of pipeline impact. The selected candidate will work closely with the M&I team, our world-class chemistry teams, as well as cross-functionally with experimental and computational colleagues in the early target discovery space on innovative science that has a wealth of opportunities to impact drug discovery and ultimately save and improve patient lives.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in cheminformatics, bioinformatics, computational biology or chemistry, computer science, statistics or related fields
• Experience applying cheminformatics or AI/ML approaches to problem-solving in drug discovery.
• Broad understanding of modern data science methods, particularly machine learning, e.g., predictive modeling, active learning, explainable ML.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, as well as problem-solving skills.
• Track record of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Proficiency in scripting (Python and/or R), SQL, and cheminformatics toolkits (OEChem, RDKit, DeepChem).

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated ability to develop and apply AI/ML to problems of chemical or biological interest.
• Experience with IT infrastructure such as database systems, cloud computing (such as Databricks, AWS), and high-performance computing in Linux environments.
• Expertise in machine learning libraries (TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, Pandas, Scikit-Learn).
• Experience with workflow applications and data analytics software (Pipeline Pilot, Knime, Spotfire).
• Experience with high throughput screening data analysis methods.
• Experience in chemical and biological signature identification and/or biomarker discovery.
• Familiarity with or experience with multiple therapeutic modalities (small molecules, peptides, ADCs, etc.)
• Experience working in multidisciplinary teams that include experimental scientists.

Responsibilities

• Implement and apply effective AI/ML and cheminformatics workflows to impact early target discovery space data analysis.
• Analyze, interpret, and summarize complex chemical biology data and utilize a variety of data visualization tools to communicate findings.
• Deliver optimized informatics algorithms and workflows to expedite drug discovery pipelines in the early target discovery space for small molecules, peptides, and targeted protein degraders.
• Leverage novel ML, statistics, and cheminformatics techniques to improve hit identification for different screening paradigms.
• Analyze and integrate internal and external knowledge to facilitate biological and chemical signature identification.
• Proactively engage with cross-functional teams of experimental and computational scientists and collaborate effectively to advance project and pipeline goals
• Continue research in areas of AI/ML and cheminformatics relevant to drug discovery, and evaluate new technology and software from commercial sources, open innovation, or external collaborations.
• Effectively communicate scientific results internally and externally through presentations and publications.
• Share AI/ML and/or data engineering knowledge to augment team skills and capabilities.

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays
• vacation
• compassionate and sick days
• annual bonus
• long-term incentive

What This Job Offers

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