Principal Data Scientist

Position Summary

We are seeking a Principal Scientist to join the Data Science unit at our Cambridge, MA office to develop and leverage innovative computational biology algorithms supporting translational research use of Caris’ large-scale multi-omics data.

The scientist will work closely with our Data Science, Software Engineering, and Laboratory R&D teams to harness clinico-molecular data to support and drive the development of novel precision medicine diagnostics and therapies. This is an opportunity to work deeply on one of the world’s largest clinical cancer genomics datasets and to impact the hundreds of thousands of patients annually who entrust us to sequence and identify the most effective therapies from their cancer genomes.

Job Responsibilities

• Research and implement new algorithms to generate insights from Caris’ unparalleled genomics and transcriptomics data.

• Drive innovation by staying abreast of emerging data science tools, techniques, and best practices, and strategically incorporating them into Caris’ analysis pipelines.

• Manage collaborations with the software engineering team to optimize and deploy methods at scale across Caris datasets.

• Analyze Caris multi-omics data to discover novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

• Contribute to prospective and ongoing projects with industry and academic partners

Required Qualifications

• PhD, MS, or BS in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, or related quantitative fields

• At least 10 years of industry or post-degree experience.

• Deep expertise building new methods to analyze large-scale genomics data from the read-level up.

• Comprehensive (but not necessarily hands-on) understanding of complementary experimental genomics methods (e.g., RNA-seq, exome sequencing).

• Demonstrated experience in building substantial modern bioinformatics applications using Python.

• Familiarity with the full Python compbio stack (NumPy, pandas, SciPy, scikit-learn, Matplotlib, pysam, etc.).

• Experience working with large datasets (e.g., hundreds or thousands of bams).

• Enthusiasm for working in a highly collaborative environment.

• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical experts.

• Proven ability to manage time effectively, respond quickly to changing priorities, and adapt within a fast-paced environment.

• Strong organizational abilities.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Word, Excel, Outlook, and general working knowledge of Internet for business use.

• Conditions of Employment: Individuals must successfully complete pre-employment process, which includes criminal background check, drug screening, and reference verification.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in cloud (preferred) or high-performance compute (HPC) clusters.

• Experience working in an industry setting.

• Project management experience.

Physical Demands

• Will work at computer most of the time

Training

• All job specific, safety, and compliance training are assigned based on the job functions associated with this employee.

Other

• This position requires only rare travel and some evenings, weekends and/or holidays.

This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Caris Life Sciences is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.