Senior Data Scientist, Medical Imaging

Heartflowinc; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Heartflow seeks a Senior Data Scientist to drive data-centric AI initiatives in coronary imaging. You will own analytical pipelines, quantify data effects on deep learning models, and partner with cross-functional teams to inform downstream algorithm development and FDA-related annotation protocols.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in data science or 3+ with a PhD, strong Python and PyTorch experience, and a track record of translating complex analyses into strategic insights for product and

Qualifications

• Masters or PhD in Data Science, CS, Medical Image Analysis, Statistics, Biomedical Engineering, or related quantitative field.
• 5+ years of industry experience in Data Science, ML, or Image Analysis (or 3+ with a PhD).
• Knowledge of reproducibility/statistics like variance components, ICC, Bland-Altman.
• Deep understanding of medical imaging data and processing tools.
• Expert in Python and analytics stack (pandas, scipy, statsmodels, seaborn/matplotlib).
• Hands-on experience with deep learning for medical imaging (preferably PyTorch).
• Experience with AI-augmented workflows using modern tools like GitHub Copilot, Gemini, Claude.
• Strong communication to translate analyses for cross-functional stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Build robust analytical pipelines and visualizations over population-scale data to characterize distributions and vulnerabilities.
• Explore methods to harmonize data-related factors and image variations.
• Translate data variance findings into actionable data curation, robustness strategies, and architectural recommendations.
• Develop annotation protocols for training/validation for internal product development and FDA submissions.
• Collaborate with Research Scientists, ML Engineers, Systems Engineers, Process Engineers, Product and Regulatory teams; present analyses for decision-making.

Skills

Python programming

Data analysis

Statistics

Deep learning

Data visualization

Education

Master's or PhD in Data Science/CS/Medical Image Analysis/Statistics/ Biomedical Engineering

Tools

Pandas

SciPy

Statsmodels

Seaborn

Matplotlib

PyTorch

Job description

Heartflow is a medical technology company advancing the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease, the #1 cause of death worldwide, using cutting-edge technology. The flagship product—an AI-driven, non-invasive cardiac test supported by the ACC/AHA Chest Pain Guidelines called the Heartflow FFRCTAnalysis—provides a color-coded, 3D model of a patient’s coronary arteries indicating the impact blockages have on blood flow to the heart. Heartflow is the first AI-driven non-invasive integrated heart care solution across the CCTA pathway that helps clinicians identify stenoses in the coronary arteries (RoadMapAnalysis), assess coronary blood flow (FFRCTAnalysis), and characterize and quantify coronary atherosclerosis (Plaque Analysis).Our pipeline of products is growing and so is our team; join us in helping to revolutionize precision heartcare.

Heartflow is a publicly traded company (HTFL) that has received international recognition for exceptional strides in healthcare innovation, is supported by medical societies around the world, cleared for use in the US, UK, Europe, Japan and Canada, and has been used for more than 750,000 patients worldwide.

We are looking for a Senior Data Scientist with a strong foundation in both statistical data analysis and deep learning to drive our data-centric AI initiatives. In this role, you will be at the forefront of understanding how diverse real-world imaging conditions and technical variables affect image appearance and, in turn, the accuracy and reproducibility of deep learning algorithms.

You will own the analytical pipeline to quantify these effects and explore data-driven methods to address them. You will work cross-functionally to translate these insights into downstream algorithm development and product decision-making, including development of annotation protocols to curate high quality annotations for training and validation. If you are drawn to deriving insight from large and messy real-world imaging data, and to communicating and crystalizing solutions from these insights, this is the role for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Tooling & Pipelines: Build robust, reproducible analytical pipelines and visualizations over population‑scale data, to characterise dataset distributions and model vulnerabilities across diverse patient populations.
• Correction & Harmonization: Explore, develop, and validate methods for harmonizing complex data‑related factors and image variations.
• Data‑Centric Deep Learning: Translate findings about data variance and model behaviour into actionable data curation requirements, training‑time robustness strategies, and architectural recommendations for downstream algorithm development.
• Data Curation and Annotation: Develop annotation protocols for algorithm training and validation for internal product development and FDA submissions.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration and Communication: Partner with Research Scientists, Machine Learning Engineers, Systems Engineers, Process Engineers, Product and Regulatory teams. Derive and present clear analyses from messy data to drive decision‑making, and provide artifacts other functions consume.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Masters or PhD Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Medical Image Analysis, Statistics, Biomedical Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• Experience: 5+ years (or 3+ with a PhD) of industry experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, or Image Analysis.
• Measurement Science: Working command of reproducibility and agreement statistics — variance components, Gage R&R, intraclass correlation, repeatability and reproducibility coefficients, Bland-Altman — and the judgement to separate correctable bias from irreducible variance.
• Medical Imaging Expertise: Deep understanding of medical image data structures and the physical/clinical realities of imaging. Familiarity with image processing tools and building algorithms for medical imaging data.
• Data Analysis & Statistics: Expert proficiency in Python and statistical data analysis ecosystems (e.g., pandas, scipy, statsmodels, seaborn/matplotlib). Proven ability with large, complex, and messy datasets.
• Deep Learning Experience: Hands‑on experience developing or fine‑tuning deep learning algorithms (preferably using PyTorch) for computer vision tasks (segmentation, classification, detection) applied to medical images.
• AI-Augmented Workflow: Demonstrated proficiency using modern agentic tools and LLMs (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Gemini, Claude) as a daily force multiplier to accelerate software development, rapidly prototype data solutions, and build reproducible pipelines.
• Communication: Exceptional ability to distill complex, multi‑dimensional data analyses into clear, strategic insights for cross‑functional stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Published research specifically related to domain generalization, image harmonization, or out‑of‑distribution (OOD) detection in medical imaging.
• Experience working with large multi‑vendor CT imaging datasets, with an understanding of acquisition and reconstruction protocols.
• Proven track‑record in diagnosing data- and annotation‑related algorithm performance gaps, and designing data‑driven solutions.
• Experience with large‑scale data querying and cloud storage (e.g., AWS, SQL).
• Experience developing SaMD products and contributing to regulatory filings.
• Experience with biostats to support FDA submissions.

A reasonable estimate of the base salary compensation range is $170,000 to $240,000, bonus, and equity. #LI-IB1 #LI-Hybrid

Heartflow is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to a work environment that supports, inspires, and respects all individuals and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law. This policy applies to every aspect of employment at Heartflow, including recruitment, hiring, training, relocation, promotion, and termination.

Positions posted for Heartflow are not intended for or open to third party recruiters / agencies. Submission of any unsolicited resumes for these positions will be considered to be free referrals.

Heartflow has become aware of a fraud where unknown entities are posing as Heartflow recruiters in an attempt to obtain personal information from individuals as part of our application or job offer process. Before providing any personal information to outside parties, please verify the following: A) all legitimate Heartflow recruiter email addresses end with “@heartflow.com” and B) the position described is found on our careers site at www.heartflow.com/about/careers/.