Principal AI Scientist in Computer Vision

Novo Nordisk; London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative company is seeking a Principal Computer Vision Scientist to lead groundbreaking research in AI and biological imaging. This role involves developing advanced AI/ML models to enhance drug discovery processes, particularly in target and biomarker identification. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, stay at the forefront of computer vision research, and contribute to scientific publications. The dynamic environment fosters creativity and collaboration, making it an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact in the field of healthcare and beyond.

Benefits

Bonus Scheme

Flexible Work Options

Market Leading Pension Scheme

Private Medical Insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

Wellness Programme

Inclusive Culture

Qualifications

• PhD in relevant field with experience in computer vision and AI/ML.
• Strong publication record in major conferences like CVPR and NeurIPS.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of AI/ML models for target and biomarker discovery.
• Collaborate with teams to integrate generative AI in drug discovery.

Skills

Computer Vision

Deep Learning

Generative AI

Multi-modal Data Integration

Problem-solving

Communication Skills

Education

PhD in Computer Science

PhD in Bioinformatics

PhD in Computational Biology

Tools

Python

PyTorch

Git

AWS

Azure

Job description

For over 100 years we have been driving change to defeat diabetes, but we know that what got us here today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future. We are now transforming our business and taking our expertise into new territories including obesity and rare blood and endocrine diseases.

Our story is one of incredible growth and success, which has culminated in receiving many prestigious awards, such as Best Places to Work and Vitality – Britain’s Healthiest Workplace.

The position

We are looking for a Principal Computer Vision Scientist to lead the development of foundation models on biological imaging data, with the goal of accelerating target and biomarker discovery. We are establishing a more integrated methodological framework in early research using cellular imaging as a key modality to develop multi-modal foundation models for our in-vitro, high throughput perturbative screening platform.

In this role, you will pioneer the integration of generative AI in Research & Early Discovery, helping to reduce the time from target identification to clinical application.

Among others, you will:

• Spearhead the development and deployment of next-generation AI/ML models, on cellular imaging alongside other modalities (molecular, transcriptomics, biomedical literature) to enhance target and biomarker discovery.

• Set the strategy for incorporating generative AI into early-stage drug discovery, working closely with cross-functional teams.

• Stay at the forefront of research in computer vision, deep learning, representation learning, and multi-modal data integration.

• Present findings through reports, presentations, and scientific publications to internal and external stakeholders.

• Foster collaborations with academic and industry partners.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role, we imagine that you have:

• PhD in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Physics, or a related field, with professional hands-on experience with pretraining or finetuning foundation models for computer vision

• Strong publication record in major CV/ML conferences such as CVPR, NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML.

• Proven expertise in multi-modal data integration and representation learning with a track record of successful applications, preferably in biological or pharmaceutical contexts.

• Advanced programming skills in Python, with mastery of deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, Hugging Face, PyTorch Lightning, …).

• Proficiency in modern software development practices including version control (Git), continuous integration, and testing systems and modern Python development (uv).

• Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to conduct independent research while thriving in a multidisciplinary team environment.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Good to have experience:

• high-content screening, high-throughput data generation, single-cell RNA sequencing, or similar modalities integrated with AI/ML modeling.

• Hands-on with cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Nvidia DGX Cloud) for large-scale AI/ML model training and deployment.

• Deep understanding of systems modeling, biophysics, and causal inference in computational biology.

• Writing well-tested and documented code, adhering to best practices in software development, particularly in the context of machine learning and representation learning.

About the department

The Machine Intelligence department at Novo Nordisk is at the forefront of integrating AI and machine learning with biological data to drive scientific discovery. Based in London, at the heart of the Knowledge Quarter, you will be part of a team of experts who collaborates closely with academia and industry to push the boundaries of what's possible in target and biomarker discovery. Our dynamic and innovative environment fosters creativity and collaboration, making it an exciting place to work and grow.

In this role, you will report directly to the Head of the Department for Biological Knowledge Representation and join a growing team of six professionals.You will collaborate cross-functionally with larger teams, developing computational methods to support areas such as computational biology, human genetics, computational drug design, and precision health, helping to advance their work.

Working at Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is its people. We know that life is anything but linear and balancing what is important at different stages of our career is never easy. That’s why we make room for diverse life situations, always putting people first.

We value our employees for the unique skills they bring to the table, and we work continuously to bring out the best in them. Working at Novo Nordisk is working toward something bigger than ourselves, and it’s a collective effort. Together, we go further. Together, we’re life changing.

What We Offer

• Bonus: We do our best work to succeed together. When goals are reached, you’ll be rewarded through our bonus scheme.

• Your workplace: Our offices will be your primary workplace but with flexibility to work 2 days from home.

• Pension: a market leading pension scheme with generous employer contributions

• Wellness: We want you to be your best self, so you’ll have access to an award- winning Wellness programme, including Private Medical Insurance.

• Insurances: All colleagues are covered by our private medical, life and disability insurance which provides protection and peace of mind.

• Inclusive culture: our culture is one of care, support and respect for our people. We are committed to making your workplace safe and believe that a transparent, inclusive culture and leadership is the way to empower every individual to do their very best.

Application support

We are an equal opportunities employer and we commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. If you're a person with a disability, if you're neurodivergent, and need any adjustments to be made during the application and selection process, please send an email to Ola, [e-mail] . Please include your name, the role you are interested in and the type of adjustment you need.

Deadline

Please send in your applications by 20th May 2025

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.