Director, AI Research for Clinical Trials

AstraZeneca plc; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 203,000 - 305,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca plc in Boston, MA is seeking a Director of AI Research to define and deliver the AI research agenda for trials across Oncology and BioPharmaceuticals. You will translate methodological innovation into capabilities guiding clinical-development strategy and outcomes.

Lead research on foundation models, multimodal learning, and governance of AI systems, shaping decisions onTreatment-effect heterogeneity, biomarkers, and patient stratification with strong Python and ML framework skills.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Biostatistics, Biomedical Informatics, Computational Biology, or a closely related quantitative field, or an MSc with an equivalent record of research and industry impact.
• Eight years of experience in original research and technical impact, demonstrated through influential publications, deployed systems, patents, or similar contributions.
• Have led substantial research programs end to end and made scientific or technical decisions shaping a broader portfolio or platform.
• Comfortable setting direction under uncertainty and influencing senior partners.
• expertise in unsupervised learning, dimensionality reduction, causal inference, survival/longitudinal analysis, Bayesian modeling, multimodal learning, domain adaptation, model interpretability.
• Comfortable working with AI agent harnesses and curious about what makes agents useful, reliable, and safe.
• Strong Python and scientific computing skills with PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow.
• Ability to explain technical findings to clinical, statistical, regulatory, engineering, and leadership audiences.

Responsibilities

• Research Strategy and Roadmap: define a high-impact research strategy for clinical-development challenges.
• Method Development for Trials: invent AI and statistical learning methods for randomized trials.
• Agentic AI Systems: design and evaluate agentic AI systems with retrieval, tool use, and multi-step workflows.
• Reproducible Engineering: write Python and build reproducible research workflows with ML frameworks and cloud/ HPC environments.
• Scientific Leadership and Influence: partner with senior leaders to shape clinical strategy and platform capabilities.
• External Dissemination and Partnerships: publish, share tools, and engage with regulators and research community.
• Team Culture and Mentorship: foster rigorous research culture and mentor scientists and engineers.
• Responsible AI and Governance: establish evaluation, governance, and responsible-use frameworks for AI in clinical development.

Job description

AstraZeneca plc in Boston, MA is seeking a Director of AI Research to define and deliver the AI research agenda for trials across Oncology and BioPharmaceuticals. You will translate methodological innovation into capabilities guiding clinical-development strategy and outcomes.

Lead research on foundation models, multimodal learning, and governance of AI systems, shaping decisions onTreatment-effect heterogeneity, biomarkers, and patient stratification with strong Python and ML framework skills.