Senior Associate Director, Epidemiological Programming

Cytel; Augusta (ME); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Cytel, a leader in statistical programming for biopharma, is seeking an Associate Director, Epidemiological Statistical Programming. This sponsor-dedicated role combines senior technical leadership with hands-on programming to support epidemiology and real‑world evidence studies across therapeutic areas.

You will mentor statisticians, develop reproducible SAS/R workflows, and ensure high-quality analyses while collaborating with epidemiologists, data scientists, and cross‑functional teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Statistics, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline; advanced degree is a plus.
• 8+ years of relevant statistical programming experience within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, CRO, healthcare, or life sciences industry, with demonstrated experience supporting epidemiological, observational, real‑world evidence (RWE), HEOR, and/or related research.
• Experience with Optum and Truveta.
• Advanced programming expertise in SAS and/or R, with demonstrated ability to develop, validate, and maintain complex analytical programs and reproducible programming workflows.
• Strong experience working with large and complex healthcare data sources, such as administrative claims, electronic health records (EHR), patient registries, or other real‑world data sources.
• Demonstrated understanding of epidemiological study designs, statistical analysis methods, and the application of programming techniques to observational and real‑world research.
• Proven ability to provide technical leadership and guidance to statistical programmers, including mentoring colleagues, reviewing programming approaches and deliverables, and resolving complex technical challenges.
• Experience with line managing a team.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical and functional leadership to statistical programmers supporting epidemiological and real‑world evidence (RWE) studies, including mentoring team members, providing technical guidance, and promoting consistent, high‑quality programming practices.
• Lead and contribute hands‑on to statistical programming activities for epidemiological studies across multiple therapeutic areas, translating study objectives, protocols, and statistical analysis plans into robust and reproducible analytical solutions.
• Develop, validate, and maintain high-quality SAS and/or R programs to support the creation of analysis datasets, statistical outputs, tables, figures, and other data products required for epidemiological research and evidence generation.
• Partner closely with epidemiologists, statisticians, data scientists, and other cross‑functional stakeholders to determine appropriate programming approaches and ensure analyses are implemented accurately and efficiently.
• Provide expert technical consultation on complex programming, data, and analytical challenges, identifying appropriate solutions and advising team members and project stakeholders on best practices.
• Oversee and review programming deliverables to ensure accuracy, reproducibility, consistency, quality, and adherence to agreed timelines and standards.
• Support programming activities using a variety of real‑world and observational data sources, which may include administrative claims, electronic health records, registries, and other healthcare databases.
• Lead or contribute to the development of analysis‑ready datasets and programming specifications, including data transformations, derivation logic, quality‑control procedures, and documentation necessary to ensure transparent and reproducible analyses.
• Establish, enhance, and promote programming standards, reusable tools, macros, code libraries, documentation, and quality‑control processes that improve efficiency and consistency across epidemiological projects.
• Drive continuous improvement and identify opportunities for automation, standardization, and innovative programming approaches that enhance the scalability and quality of epidemiological programming activities.
• Contribute to the planning and prioritization of programming activities across projects, proactively identifying resource needs, technical risks, dependencies, and potential challenges to successful delivery.
• Support scientific deliverables including regulatory and health authority requests, publications, abstracts, presentations, evidence‑generation activities, and other analyses supporting clinical development, medical affairs, and/or value and access objectives.
• Ensure programming activities are conducted in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements, company policies, SOPs, data privacy requirements, and industry best practices.
• Lead or contribute to the development and maintenance of SOPs, work instructions, programming conventions, and other documentation governing epidemiological statistical programming activities.
• Foster strong collaboration across internal and external teams and contribute to the development of programming talent through coaching, knowledge sharing, technical review, and mentorship.

Skills

SAS

R

Epidemiology

Statistical Programming

Leadership

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Statistics/ Biostatistics/ Epidemiology

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Optum

Truveta

Job description

Cytel, a leader in statistical programming for biopharma, is seeking an Associate Director, Epidemiological Statistical Programming. This sponsor-dedicated role combines senior technical leadership with hands-on programming to support epidemiology and real‑world evidence studies across therapeutic areas.

You will mentor statisticians, develop reproducible SAS/R workflows, and ensure high-quality analyses while collaborating with epidemiologists, data scientists, and cross‑functional teams.