Senior Data Scientist

Society of Exploration Geophysicists; Austin (TX); Remote; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in clinical trial innovation seeks a Senior Data Scientist to lead their data strategy. This remote, contract position requires expertise in data science, machine learning, and strong coding abilities. The role focuses on optimizing trial design and marketing via advanced analytical solutions. Ideal candidates will have a background in startups and be comfortable working autonomously while collaborating cross-functionally.

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in data science or machine learning role, startup experience preferred.
• Strong coding skills in Python (and/or R) and familiarity with key libraries.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and deployment of data-driven systems to optimize trial design and pricing.
• Analyze structured and unstructured marketing and web data.

Skills

Python

Machine Learning

Statistical Inference

A/B Testing

Causal Inference

SQL

Tools

scikit-learn

XGBoost

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

Senior Data Scientist

Remote

6-Month Contract to Hire

$90-110/hr

About the Role

We’re looking for a hands-on, highly technical Senior Data Scientist to lead the data science efforts from the ground up for our client. This role is a unique opportunity to take full ownership of their data strategy and build systems that will drive smarter decision-making across digital clinical trial recruitment, resource allocation, and protocol optimization.

You’ll be at the forefront of solving some of the hardest problems in the clinical trial ecosystem, specifically around pricing, spend optimization, and machine learning–driven trial design. You’ll operate with high autonomy, working cross-functionally across product, engineering, and operations, while owning the full data science lifecycle—from exploration to modeling to deployment.

This is a 75% individual contributor role, with potential to lead a small team (e.g., a BI analyst or data engineer). It’s ideal for someone who thrives in startup environments and is excited to bring structure, experimentation, and impact to a space ripe for innovation.

What You’ll Work On

• Lead the development and deployment of data-driven systems that optimize trial design, pricing, and performance marketing efforts.
• Design models to improve resource allocation and performance forecasting in a high-dimensional decision space.
• Analyze structured and unstructured marketing and web data to optimize budget and spend across platforms like Google and Meta.
• Apply techniques from causal inference, experimental design, and online learning (e.g., multi-armed bandits) to test and scale recruitment strategies.
• Work directly with large, messy, real-world datasets—building pipelines, wrangling data, and making it usable.
• Collaborate with backend engineers and product stakeholders to implement models into production systems.
• Contribute to model development in AI/ML, with ~5–10% of your time spent on model training and experimentation.

What We’re Looking For

• 5–10 years of experience in a data science or machine learning role; startup experience preferred.
• Strong coding skills in Python (and/or R); deep familiarity with libraries like scikit-learn, XGBoost, PyTorch, TensorFlow.
• Strong grasp of probability theory, statistical inference, and A/B testing.
• Experience with causal inference and online learning methodologies.
• Proficiency in SQL and working with real-world, imperfect data.
• Proven ability to translate complex business problems into analytical solutions—and communicate results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Comfortable being both strategic and hands-on: building models, cleaning data, and driving execution independently.

Nice to Have

• Previous work in clinical trials, healthcare, or digital health
• Experience with performance marketing analytics or web attribution modeling
• Familiarity with trial recruitment platforms, sponsors, or CRO operations