The Role
About Us
DELFI Diagnostics, Inc. (DELFI Diagnostics) is developing next-generation, blood-based tests that are reliable, accessible and deliver a new way to help detect cancer. Employing advanced machine-learning methods to whole-genome sequencing data, the DELFI ("DNA EvaLuation of Fragments for early Interception") platform is built to address the highest-burden health challenges. DELFI Diagnostics prioritizes solutions that have the potential to save lives on a global scale, including for historically underserved populations. DELFI Diagnostics’ platform relies on fragmentomics – the discovery that cancer cells are more chaotic than normal cells and, when they die, leave behind tell-tale patterns and characteristics of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments. FirstLook Lung, for individuals eligible for lung cancer screening, is DELFI Diagnostics’ first laboratory-developed screening test and can be part of routine blood work. FirstLook Lung uses millions of data points to reliably identify individuals who may have cancer detected through low-dose CT, including early stage disease with a negative predictive value of 99.8 percent. This test has not been cleared or approved by the FDA.
In our passionate pursuit to radically improve health outcomes, we serve humanity when we:
Lead with Science, Anchor in Pragmatism: We pioneer life-changing science by ensuring quality, transparency, and rigor at all times. We explore thoughtfully, experiment smartly, and deliver impact with conviction.
Build With & For All: We embrace diverse backgrounds to innovate and achieve together. We are not just building a product - we aim to disrupt the path of cancer for all - no matter geography or socioeconomic class
Put We over I: We are a home for high-performing people. Through teamwork, we build collective intelligence. Each of us wins when those we serve and those who serve with us--win. We show up with empathy, humility, and integrity at every step of the journey.
DELFI has 1-2 designated in-office working days each week for employees who live within within 50 miles of Palo Alto CA or Baltimore MD offices
The head of Data Science is an accomplished computational biologist who works at the interface of cancer biology, genetics, genomics, and machine learning, and manages a team of data scientists, computational biologists, and ML scientists. This role will collaborate closely with teams in bioinformatics/software pipeline development, assay, and biostatistics to develop cutting-edge algorithms to detect cancer from blood samples. Reporting to the CTO, you will work closely with commercial, clinical and laboratory leadership to understand the indications and requirements of diagnostic algorithms, and to deliver these. You will also continue to develop the state of the art in machine learning, as described below. This position requires expertise in computational science, cancer biology, team leadership, and strong communication skills. This role is an excellent fit for those who are decisive, proactive and bring a balance of high IQ and EQ.
What You'll Do
- Manage and lead a cross-functional team of data scientists, computational biologists, and bioinformatics engineers
- Oversee the development and delivery of cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to detect cancer from blood samples
- Collaborate with peers leading assay design & development, laboratory operations, and clinical development to substantively advance DELFIs R&D objectives
- Partner with IT & cybersecurity team lead to develop a 2-3 year technology roadmap, including in-house tooling for GenAI and ML infrastructure
- Represent DELFI externally at national and international conferences, and in strategic meetings with academic partners and governmental / regulatory bodies
What You'll Bring to DELFI
- Required
- PhD (or MS and equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Computational Biology / Bioinformatics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, or EE
- 10-15 years’ experience with a wide variety of classical and modern methods used in machine learning and AI (unsupervised, semi-supervised, or supervised learning) as evidenced by strong publication record and/or algorithms released into production
- 3+ years expertise in developing transformer models, neural networks, and/or representation learning as applied to biological problems
- 5+ years expertise programming in Python/R including modern ML frameworks (Tensorflow, Pytorch, or Jax), production compute environments (AWS/Nvidia), and versioning principles for reproducible model-building and evaluation
- 10+ years of experience leading and managing teams exemplifying best practice in recruiting, team-building, employee performance management and career development, goal-setting, and cross-functional collaboration
- Superb written, verbal communication, and influencing and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate complex concepts succinctly to a variety of audiences
- Decisive, intellectually curious, proactive, and composed with a balance of high IQ and EQ
- Preferred
- 3+ years of experience working in biotech/pharma/diagnostics
- Expertise in explainable models, interpretability/white-box models, and federated learning
- Background or interest in cancer genomics, molecular biology, and the latest genotyping and phenotyping techniques
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
This position is not eligible for agency partnership. Resumes and outreach from staffing representatives will be declined.
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The Company
What We Do
DELFI uses artificial intelligence and whole genome sequencing to sensitively detect unique patterns of DNA fragmentation in the blood of patients with cancer.
