Machine Learning Scientist, Frontier Research, AI for Drug Discovery (AIDD)
Roche
Summary
Within AI for Drug Discovery, the Frontier Research team advances fundamental machine learning and statistics methods, motivated by real-world challenges in drug discovery. In biology and medicine, many important problems cannot yet be addressed with off-the-shelf machine learning approaches—they demand not only novel solutions, but also new paradigms for framing and thinking about the problems themselves. Instead of focusing on incremental improvements, we work on long-horizon ideas that require a creative and broad perspective, developing solutions at a level that can be instantiated for multiple internal and external applications.
Job description
The Opportunity
Within AI for Drug Discovery, the Frontier Research team advances fundamental machine learning and statistics methods, motivated by real-world challenges in drug discovery. In biology and medicine, many important problems cannot yet be addressed with off-the-shelf machine learning approaches—they demand not only novel solutions, but also new paradigms for framing and thinking about the problems themselves. Instead of focusing on incremental improvements, we work on long-horizon ideas that require a creative and broad perspective, developing solutions at a level that can be instantiated for multiple internal and external applications.
In this role, you will:
- Develop new methods and frameworks for uncertainty quantification, statistical inference, and experimental design, motivated by the diverse problem settings that arise when using machine learning to guide decision-making across the drug-discovery pipeline.
- Contribute to and drive research projects that result in conference and/or journal publications and open-source code, and that foster cross-organizational collaborations and applications.
- Engage actively in knowledge dissemination, presenting your work and expertise at internal and external scientific conferences.
- Collaborate closely with our team in South San Francisco, New York, and Basel, Switzerland.
Who You Are
- Must be pursuing, or have completed within the last 12 months, a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Computational Biology, or related technical field, or have demonstrated equivalent research productivity.
- Demonstrated expertise in (any paradigm of) uncertainty quantification for decision-making, e.g., sequential/online statistical inference, experimental design, conformal prediction, reinforcement learning, calibration, game-theoretic statistics, etc.
- Proven publication record and experience contributing to the research community, including at conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AISTATS, UAI, etc., and/or relevant journals.
- Excellent skills in technical writing & communication, as well as collaboration and interpersonal skills.
Preferred
- Experience with developing machine learning and/or statistical methods for biological/clinical data is desired, but not necessary.
- Experience developing open-source packages preferred.
Requirements
- Must be pursuing, or have completed within the last 12 months, a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Computational Biology, or related technical field, or have demonstrated equivalent research productivity
- Demonstrated expertise in uncertainty quantification for decision-making (e.g., sequential/online statistical inference, experimental design, conformal prediction, reinforcement learning, calibration, game-theoretic statistics)
- Proven publication record and experience contributing to the research community (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AISTATS, UAI, and/or relevant journals)
- Excellent technical writing and communication skills
- Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills
- Experience developing machine learning and/or statistical methods for biological/clinical data (preferred)
- Experience developing open-source packages (preferred)
Benefits
- Discretionary Annual Bonus
- Medical, Dental & Vision
Company overview
Roche is a Swiss multinational healthcare company and a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, founded in 1896 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. As the world's largest biotech company and the fifth-largest pharmaceutical company by revenue, Roche operates through two primary divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. The company is renowned for its leadership in personalized healthcare, combining strengths in both drug development and diagnostic testing to deliver tailored treatments for patients. Roche maintains a strong focus on oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, and central nervous system disorders, with a portfolio that includes over 30 medicines on the World Health Organization's Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The company owns significant subsidiaries including Genentech, Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Ventana Medical Systems, and Foundation Medicine. With approximately 103,000 employees worldwide and operations in over 100 countries, Roche has established itself as a leader in cancer treatments globally while maintaining a robust pipeline of innovative therapies and diagnostic solutions. The company's commitment to sustainability has been recognized through ten consecutive years as Group Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices within the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences Industry.