Senior Data Scientist, Imaging Foundation Models

Socket.dev; Cambridge (MA); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

401(k) plan

Paid holidays

Vacation

Job summary

Merck is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to develop scalable imaging foundation models for immunology and oncology biomarker discovery. You will lead segmentation-driven pipelines and interpretable workflows, collaborating with immunologists, pathologists, and translational teams to ensure biological relevance.

The role requires a PhD or MS with strong CV/biomedical imaging expertise, proficiency in Python and PyTorch, and a passion for translating image-derived insights into clinical endpoints.

Qualifications

• PhD or MS with 4+ years in CV/biomedical imaging or related field.
• Strong expertise in computer vision and medical image analysis or multimodal data.
• Experience with segmentation, detection, and representation learning, preferably in histopathology.
• Proficiency in Python and PyTorch.
• Interest in immunology and tissue-based biomarker discovery.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas to multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and train imaging foundation models for histopathology, focusing on immune tissue.
• Build segmentation-driven, cell-centric pipelines and spatial analyses.
• Design interpretable workflows linking image features to hypotheses and endpoints.
• Apply zero-shot and weakly supervised learning to extract immune signals from H&E and IHC data.
• Collaborate with immunologists, pathologists and translational teams.
• Support imaging biomarker development, including companion diagnostics.
• Contribute to platform imaging strategies and QC standards.
• Share findings through internal forums and publications.

Skills

Computer vision

Medical image analysis

Python

PyTorch

Biomarker discovery

Interpretable modeling

Communication with multidisciplinary

Education

PhD in Computer Science or related field

MS in STEM with 4+ years industry

Tools

PyTorch

Transformers

Job description

Job Description

Within DAGS, our AI/ML team drives innovation across disease areas by building biologically grounded and interpretable imaging pipelines. In Immunology, digital pathology plays a critical role in understanding tissue level immune mechanisms and supporting companion diagnostics. We are seeking a Senior Data Scientist with strong expertise in computer vision and biomedical imaging to develop scalable imaging foundation models and interpretable pipelines for immunology and oncology biomarker discovery.

What You’ll Do

• Develop and train imaging foundation models for histopathology, with a focus on immune‑relevant tissue and cellular patterns.

• Build segmentation driven and cell‑centric pipelines (e.g., immune cell typing, spatial organization, microenvironment analysis).

• Design interpretable modeling workflows that link image derived features to biological hypotheses and clinical endpoints.

• Apply zero‑shot and weakly supervised learning methods to extract immune signals from H&E and IHC data.

• Collaborate closely with immunologists, pathologists, and translational teams to ensure biological relevance and interpretability.

• Support imaging biomarker development efforts, including applications toward companion diagnostics.

• Contribute to platform level imaging strategies, QC standards, and best practices within DAGS.

• Share findings through internal forums, publications, and scientific collaborations.

You Should Have

• PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, AI/ML, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genetics & Genomics, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Pharmaceutical Science, or related STEM field with 0+ years postdoctoral experience or Master’s degree with 4+ years of industry experience.

• Strong expertise in computer vision and medical image analysis and/or multimodal data.

• Experience building and/or applying models for segmentation, detection, and representation learning, ideally in histopathology.

• Familiarity with modern deep learning architectures (e.g., transformers, vision foundation models).

• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.

• Strong interest in immunology and tissue‑based biomarker discovery.

• Ability to communicate complex technical ideas to multidisciplinary scientific partners.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Familiarity with clinical or translational imaging biomarker programs.

• Publications in venues such as MICCAI, CVPR, NeurIPS, ISBI, or related journals.

The salary range for this role is

$144,800.00 - $227,900.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Employee Status: Regular

Relocation: Domestic

VISA Sponsorship: Yes

Travel Requirements: No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid

Shift: Not Indicated

Valid Driving License: No

Hazardous Material(s): n/a