Senior Principal Data Scientist (Healthcare & Life Sciences)
Position Overview
As a Senior Principal Data Scientist, you will serve as a technical visionary and strategic partner within the Product Development Data Sciences organization. You will lead the design and implementation of advanced analytical solutions that transform complex biological, clinical, and real-world data (RWD) into actionable insights. Your work will directly impact clinical trial design, regulatory submissions, and the delivery of personalized healthcare solutions.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Leadership: Act as a thought leader in defining the roadmap for data science capabilities. Partner with clinical, medical, and commercial leaders to translate high-level scientific questions into robust analytical frameworks.
- Advanced Modeling & AI: Lead the development of predictive models using machine learning (ML), deep learning, and causal inference to optimize patient recruitment, identify novel biomarkers, and simulate clinical trial outcomes.
- Data Ecosystem Architecture: Oversee the integration and productization of diverse data streams, including EHR, Claims, Genomics, and Digital Health data, ensuring alignment with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles.
- Regulatory & Quality Excellence: Guide teams in navigating the regulatory landscape (e.g., FDA/EMA) for AI/ML-based evidence. Ensure all analytical workflows comply with GCP, HIPAA, and GDPR standards.
- Mentorship & Influence: Technical lead for a global team of data scientists and engineers. Foster a culture of technical excellence, reproducibility, and continuous learning through code reviews and architectural audits.
Education
PhD (strongly preferred) or Master’s in Data Science, Bioinformatics, Statistics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
Experience
12+ years of professional experience in data science, with at least 8 years specifically within the Biotech, Pharma, or Healthcare sectors.
Technical Stack
Expert proficiency in Python or R; Deep experience with SQL, Spark, and cloud-native environments (AWS/GCP/Azure).
Domain Knowledge
Deep understanding of the drug development lifecycle, clinical trial data standards (CDISC/SDTM/ADaM), and healthcare ontologies (OMOP, FHIR, ICD-10).
ML/Stats
Mastery of longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis, Bayesian statistics, and high-dimensional data visualization.
Work Environment
This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment, including but not limited to, computers, phones, and photocopiers.
Physical Demands
This position requires the frequent and repetitive use of a computer, keyboard, and mouse. Hand and finger dexterity is required.
Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
EEO
Saama provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
