Principal Data Scientist

Sutter Health; Sacramento (CA); Hybrid; USD 182,000 - 291,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Yes

Job summary

Sutter Health seeks a principal data scientist to own data science initiatives within the Center for Applied AI. You will drive projects from data acquisition and transformation through model development, validation, and deployment, while mentoring team members and shaping technical standards.

The role emphasizes governance, model monitoring, and collaboration with clinical, operational, and IS stakeholders to deliver measurable impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in statistics, biostatistics, CS, mathematics, data science, medical informatics, or related field required.
• 10 years of recent relevant experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead data science projects from problem framing with stakeholders to production deployment.
• Set technical direction and standards for the team and mentor staff.
• Contribute to AI governance and model monitoring.
• Translate complex technical work for executive and clinical audiences.

Skills

Statistics

Machine Learning

Python

SQL

LLMs

Data Visualization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Statistics/CS/Math/Data Science

Tools

Epic EHR (Clarity, Caboodle)

HL7 / FHIR

Job description

Organization:

SHSO-Sutter Health System Office-Valley

Position Overview:

The singular technical authority for data science within the center for applied artificial intelligence (AI) team. This role solves the organization's highest-impact problems primarily through advanced statistical analysis, exploratory data analysis, and predictive model development, supplemented by Large Language Models (LLMs) and other generative AI methods as needed. Engages directly with clinical, operational, and information systems (IS) stakeholders to understand the underlying problem, translates it into a technical solution, and owns the work end-to-end — from data acquisition and transformation through model development, validation, and production deployment. In parallel, the role sets technical direction and standards for the team, mentors fellow data scientists, serves as the principal technical reviewer for the team's most important work, and contributes to AI governance and model monitoring.

Job Description:

Note: While this position is listed as hybrid, regular in-office attendance is required. Candidates should be prepared to commute to the office on a regualr basis to support team collaboration and business needs.*

Education:

Equivalent experience will be accepted in lieu of the required degree or diploma.

• Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Biostatistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Data Science, Medical Informatics, or related field required.

Typical Experience:

• 10 years of recent relevant experience

Skills and Knowledge:

• Progressive experience in computer science, applied statistics, or machine learning.
• Demonstrated track record of taking analytic work from stakeholder problem framing through to production deployment with measurable impact.
• Expert command of advanced statistical methods (regression, time series, survival analysis, causal inference, experimental design) and machine learning techniques (supervised, unsupervised, deep learning).
• Mastery of with Large Language Model (LLM) and generative AI techniques (evaluation, fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation, prompt engineering, agent development).
• Advanced knowledge of Python and Structured Query Language (SQL).
• Knowledge of Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR) data structures (Clarity, Caboodle) and clinical data standards (Health Level Seven [HL7], Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources [FHIR]) preferred.
• Knowledge of applicable regulatory and risk frameworks (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA], Food and Drug Administration [FDA] Software as a Medical Device [SaMD] guidance, National Institute of Standards and Technology Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework [NIST AI RMF]) and with bias and fairness evaluation.
• Strong written and verbal communication; able to translate complex technical work for executive and clinical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor technical staff and influence without authority.

These Principal Accountabilities, Requirements and Qualifications are not exhaustive but are merely the most descriptive of the current job. Management reserves the right to revise the job description or require that other tasks be performed when the circumstances of the job change (for example, emergencies, staff changes, workload, or technical development).

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Job Shift:

Days

Schedule:

Full Time

Days of the Week:

Monday - Friday

Weekend Requirements:

As Needed

Benefits:

Yes

Unions:

No

Position Status:

Exempt

Weekly Hours:

40

Employee Status:

Regular

Sutter Health is an equal opportunity employer EOE/M/F/Disability/Veterans.

Pay Range is $181,896.00 to $291,033.60 / annual salary

The posted pay range is based on the position's primary work location. Candidates who reside and work outside of that location may be subject to a different pay range based on their work location. Candidate starting salaries consider multiple factors, including, but not limited to a candidate’s experience, education, skills, licensure, certifications, departmental equity, training, and organizational needs. Base pay is only one component of Sutter Health’s comprehensive total rewards program. Eligible positions also include a comprehensive benefits package.