Associate Director Human Genetics Data Scientist

Job Description Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced human geneticist. This role requires strong strategic and leadership skills, as well as expertise in genetics with a proven ability to identify the causal drivers of disease. You will be adept at leveraging these approaches within an interdisciplinary team to foster innovation and discover novel targets. As the site lead for Basel, you will have the opportunity to directly and indirectly lead a small team.
This position is part of the Human Genetics & Targets group within the Discovery Sciences (DSc) department in Biomedical Research (BR) at Novartis. The DSc Human Genetics & Targets team is a global group of computational and experimental scientists dedicated to validating or invalidating genetics-driven target hypotheses. The team's extensive expertise in genetics analytics, biology, and translatable models is enhanced by DSc's capabilities in AI, functional genomics, chemical biology, and more. The team collaborates with disease area specialists to not only identify disease associations but also to understand the underlying disease mechanisms and advance drug discovery projects to benefit patients in need.

 

Job Description

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Leading a small team and working within a larger genetics computational group to plan, develop, and implement human genetic strategies for drug discovery projects in alignment with department and company goals

• Work with interdisciplinary project teams across a variety of disease areas to deliver (fit-for-purpose) human genetics analyses for drug discovery impact

• Guiding the use of population scale biobanks and serving as a champion for a human genetic cohort

• Coaching and mentoring the next generation of genetics experts

• Bringing scientific curiosity and enthusiasm to make discoveries in a collaborative and team-focused environment

• Engaging as an insightful and proactive member of the DSc Human Genetics Data Science team to shape the strategic direction of the team and broader BR genetics efforts

What you’ll bring to the role:

• PhD with 7+ years of post-graduate work or equivalent experience in genetics

• Experience analyzing and interpreting human genetics data is a must

• Extensive experience with the management and analysis of large biobank data is a must

• Strong leadership skills and experience leading computational scientists

• Drug discovery experience in an industry stetting is encouraged but not required

• Experience with additional ‘omics data (RNA sequencing, epigenetics, proteomics) and NGS data

• A curiosity for emerging technologies and methods

• Exceptional collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills, learning agility, and an interest in engaging with peers for the design and implementation of new ideas

• A strong publication record

• Fluency in Python, R, SQL and/or other relevant programming languages
   

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve ​

 

Skills Desired

Apache Spark, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Data Governance, Data Literacy, Data Management, Data Quality, Data Science, Data Strategy, Data Visualization, Machine Learning (Ml), Master Data Management, Python (Programming Language), R (Programming Language), Statistical Analysis