Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning Team Leader (m/f/d)

Selvita Group; Kraków; On-site; PLN 360,000 - 520,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch card

Private medical care

Sports card

Office fruit provision

Internal development programs

Recognition Program

Employee Referral Program

Engagement initiatives

PhD incentive support

Job summary

Selvita is a global CRO delivering AI-driven preclinical drug discovery services across Europe and the US. We seek an AI/ML Team Leader to guide a multidisciplinary team, shape strategy, and deliver scalable AI solutions embedded in discovery workflows.

You will mentor scientists, collaborate with clients, drive digital transformation, and ensure high-quality model development, validation, and integration into pipelines.

Qualifications

• Master/PhD in ML, CS or related field.
• 7+ years of AI/ML experience, preferably in pharma/biotech.
• Strong knowledge of modern AI/ML and model validation.
• Advanced Python skills and scientific ML/deep-learning experience.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary projects and client engagement.
• Fluent professional English.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and implementation of AI/ML models and workflows for preclinical discovery.
• Translate challenges into practical AI tools and automated workflows.
• Drive AI-driven digitalization and data-driven pipelines across discovery.
• Align AI delivery with data platforms, compute, governance, and validation.
• Collaborate with drug discovery teams and clients on offers and delivery.
• Support grant-funded R&D and AI/ML platform development.
• Mentor and manage the AI/ML team; promote ML engineering best practices.
• Foster AI capability building through knowledge sharing and AI Academy activities.

Skills

AI/ML expertise

Python programming

Team leadership

Communication skills

English fluency

Education

Master or PhD in ML, CS, cheminformatics, bioinformatics, computational chemistry, statistics, physics or related

Tools

Python ML frameworks

Git

Linux/Unix

Containerization

GPU acceleration

Job description

Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning Team Leader
(m/f/d)

Selvita is a global integrated service provider with laboratories in Poland (Krakow, Poznan, and Wroclaw), Croatia (Zagreb), and offices in Cambridge, UK, as well as the Greater Boston Area and San Francisco Bay Area in the US. Our company is dedicated to delivering comprehensive solutions that support our international clients in drug discovery and drug development.

As one of the largest preclinical contract research organizations in Europe, Selvita is driven by a clear mission: to bridge the gap between early drug discovery and the clinical stage of drug development.

At Selvita, we value partnership, excellence, passion, commitment, and integrity. We build strong, collaborative relationships with our clients and commit to the highest standards of quality. We fuel our pursuit of innovative solutions with enthusiasm, advance drug development with focused dedication, and ensure honesty and transparency in all our work.

We are looking for an AI/ML Team Leader to lead a multidisciplinary AI Team and accelerate AI-enabled preclinical drug discovery, drug development and company-wide digital transformation. The role combines scientific AI leadership, client-facing delivery, people management and practical implementation of AI/ML and automation across the discovery value chain. You will be responsible for helping build a high-impact AI function that expands Selvita’s AI-enabled services, strengthens internal digital transformation, and delivers measurable value for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients through scalable AI/ML solutions in preclinical R&D.

We are looking for an AI/ML Team Leader to lead a multidisciplinary AI Team and accelerate AI-enabled preclinical drug discovery, drug development and company-wide digital transformation. The role combines scientific AI leadership, client-facing delivery, people management and practical implementation of AI/ML and automation across the discovery value chain. You will be responsible for helping build a high-impact AI function that expands Selvita’s AI-enabled services, strengthens internal digital transformation, and delivers measurable value for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients through scalable AI/ML solutions in preclinical R&D.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of AI/ML models and workflows for computational chemistry and bioinformatics.
• Translate preclinical drug discovery and drug development challenges into practical AI tools, analytical workflows and production-ready solutions embedded in scientific processes.
• Drive Selvita’s AI-driven digitalization strategy by contributing to AI-enhanced services, internal AI tools, data-driven workflows and automation across drug discovery & drug development.
• Connect AI delivery with the company’s digital backbone: data platforms, compute infrastructure, governance, model validation and workflow integration.
• Cooperate with drug discovery teams and clients, providing scientific input for offers, negotiations, client meetings, project planning and delivery.
• Contribute to grant-funded R&D, internal IP generation and strategic AI/ML platforms.
• Manage and mentor the AI/ML team: assign goals, monitor progress, provide feedback, strengthen team performance and promote best practices in ML engineering and scientific reporting.
• Support AI capability building across the organization through knowledge sharing, AI Academy activities and responsible use of AI/ML and automation.

Your Background

• Master or PhD degree in machine learning, computer science, cheminformatics, bioinformatics, computational chemistry, statistics, physics or a related discipline.
• At least 7 years of relevant experience in AI/ML, ideally in drug discovery, drug development, computational chemistry, bioinformatics in a pharmaceutical, biotech or a CRO environment.
• Strong knowledge of modern AI/ML, model validation and scientific software development.
• Advanced Python skills with experience in scientific ML/deep-learning frameworks, GPU acceleration, Git-based workflows, Linux/Unix environments and containerization.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary scientific projects and translating business or client needs into feasible AI/ML solutions.
• Strong client-facing communication, mentoring, project management and stakeholder-management skills.
• Fluent professional and scientific English.

Nice to have

• Experience with LLMs, RAG pipelines, AI agents, Protein Language Models or generative AI for life sciences.
• Knowledge of CADD platforms, QSAR/ADMET modelling, Omics analytics, HCS/image analysis, KNIME, Shiny/R.
• Familiarity with MLOps, cloud or lakehouse architectures, data governance, GDPR, EU AI Act considerations or regulated data environments.
• Experience in proposal preparation, grant writing or scientific consulting.

Your Benefits Package

• Daily cooperation and know-how exchange with experts.
• Additional benefits: a prepaid lunch card, private medical care, subsidized sports card, and office fruit provision.
• Internal Development initiatives, including soft & leadership skills training programs.
• Recognition Program.
• Employee Referral Program.
• Various sports and engagement initiatives.
• Support & incentive bonus for completing PhD.