Translational Science Lead

ZS; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

ZS Discovery partners with pharmaceutical and biotech clients to accelerate translational science and patient-centered prediction. You will own an account and help shape offerings across AI, bioinformatics and data analytics to deliver high-impact translational medicine outcomes.

You'll lead a global translational science team, engage senior R&D leaders to validate market demand, and develop repeatable methodologies that scale across engagements.

Qualifications

• PhD, MD, or equivalent in a translational science field.
• 10+ years pharma R&D with biomarker or translational focus.
• Experience spanning discovery to clinical entry.
• Familiarity with trial biospecimens, PD/ctDNA/MRD, real-world evidence and multi-omics.
• Proven track record in consulting or leading growing offerings.
• Strong analytical mindset and computational orientation, incl. AI.

Responsibilities

• Refine and extend translational science offerings, with repeatable frameworks.
• Engage senior R&D leaders to prove market demand and build a pipeline.
• Move capabilities from point solutions to scalable practice.
• Develop and expand the global translational science team.
• Establish external credibility via thought leadership and publications.
• Leverage AI, bioinformatics and data excellence to drive solutions.
• Serve as a credible partner translating scientific challenges into actionable solutions.

Skills

Consulting experience

AI in translational science

Translational data expertise

Biomarker knowledge

Stakeholder engagement

Business development / offering dev

Leadership in translational science

Education

PhD/MD or equivalent in translational science or related

10+ years pharma R&D experience

Job description

ZS is a place where passion changes lives. As a management consulting and technology firm focused on improving life and how we live it, we transform ideas into impact by bringing together data, science, technology and human ingenuity to deliver better outcomes for all. Here you'll work side-by-side with a powerful collective of thinkers and experts shaping life-changing solutions for patients, caregivers and consumers, worldwide. ZSers drive impact by bringing a client-first mentality to each and every engagement. We partner collaboratively with our clients to develop custom solutions and technology products that create value and deliver company results across critical areas of their business. Bring your curiosity for learning, bold ideas, courage and passion to drive life-changing impact to ZS.

#LI-AS4

ZS Discovery partners with pharmaceutical and biotech clients to accelerate the discovery of safer, more effective therapeutics. The team brings hands-on scientific expertise, advanced analytics, AI, and strategic consulting to help research organizations become more productive, more data-driven, and more confident in their decisions. As a venture within ZS building toward practice status, Discovery combines agility and innovation with the resources and knowledge of the broader firm.

Translational Science Lead

ZSD delivers successful projects in biomarker selection, patient segmentation, translational hypothesis validation, and multi-modal data integration and exploratory analytics, and demand for this work is growing. You'll bring deep expertise to that work, own an account, and contribute to how ZSD delivers translational science offerings, drawing on the firm's strengths in AI, bioinformatics, and data excellence.

What you'll do:

• Refine and extend ZSD's translational science and patient-centered prediction offerings, hardening and innovating high impact capabilities spanning forward translation, reverse translation, and patient stratification
• Engage senior R&D leaders at pharma and biotech organizations to prove market demand, originate engagements, and build a pipeline of opportunities in the translational science space
• Move translational science capabilities from point solutions to a repeatable practice with reusable frameworks, accelerators, and methodologies the broader team can deliver
• Develop and expand the global translational science team
• Establish ZSD's external credibility in translational sciences and patient-centered prediction through thought leadership, conference presence, and published perspectives
• Leverage and innovate ZSD's existing strengths in AI, bioinformatics, and data excellence
• Serve as a domain-credible thought partner for senior R&D stakeholders, translating complex translational science challenges into actionable ZSD solutions

What you'll bring:

• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, or equivalent) in a relevant scientific discipline: translational science, biomarker research, computational biology, statistical genetics, or related
• 10+ years of experience in pharma R&D, a life sciences platform company, or a translational science function, with a focus on patient-centered prediction, biomarkers, or translational medicine
• Experience spanning the discovery-development boundary; understanding the full research lifecycle from target identification through clinical entry
• Deep familiarity with the data types used across the research lifecycle: trial biospecimens, on-study PD/ctDNA/MRD reads, real-world evidence (e.g., Tempus, Flatiron), population cohorts (e.g., UK Biobank, FinnGen, All of Us), and multi-modal omics (bulk and single-cell, spatial transcriptomics, methylation, imaging)
• Credible as a thought partner with senior R&D leaders on patient-centered prediction topics; able to engage across both scientific and business dimensions
• Experience defining and shaping a new offering, practice area, or capability
• Strong analytical and computational orientation; familiarity with precision medicine tools, model-informed drug development, and AI applications in translational sciences
• Experience in a consulting firm