Principal Data Scientist

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

Job summary

Sutter Health seeks a Principal Data Scientist to be the singular technical authority for data science within the AI Center. You will lead advanced statistical analysis, model development, and deployment, leveraging LLMs and generative AI as needed.

You’ll collaborate with clinical, operational, and IS stakeholders to translate problems into scalable solutions and drive governance and mentorship. The role requires office attendance and a 40-hour week in a dynamic health system, with a focus on

Qualifications

• 10 years of recent relevant experience.
• Expert in advanced statistical methods and ML.
• Mentor and lead data science projects end-to-end.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the principal technical authority for data science within the AI team.
• Translate stakeholder problems into technical solutions and own production deployment.
• Set technical direction and standards; contribute to AI governance and model monitoring.
• Mentor staff and influence without authority.

Skills

Advanced statistics

ML techniques

LLMs

Python

SQL

EHR data

Education

Equivalent experience

Job description

Open Full-time 181,896–291,033.60 USD per year as stated in the posting

Open — Sutter Health has a posting for this job. Posted 27 Oct 2026.

About this job

We are so glad you are interested in joining Sutter Health!

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:

***Please 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.

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).

#LI-JI1

Job Shift:

Days

Schedule:

Full Time

Days of the Week:

Monday - Friday

As Needed

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.