Vice President - Data Science

Caris Life Sciences; Tempe (AZ); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Caris Life Sciences seeks a Vice President of Data Science to lead AI-driven clinical insights and molecular signature development using the company’s clinico-genomic database. You will guide a multidisciplinary team, translate discoveries into scalable clinical reporting, and partner with executives to align with regulatory and operational goals.

The role is onsite at our Phoenix, AZ campus, requiring regular in-person presence and collaboration across R&D, Medical Affairs, and Commercial teams.

Qualifications

• PhD in Data Science, Biostatistics, CS, Biomedical Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years building and deploying ML models for complex problems.
• Expert Python (pandas, NumPy) and SQL skills.
• Experience with multi-omics data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics).
• Experience with large clinical datasets for biomarker discovery/outcomes.
• Regulatory considerations for clinical diagnostics AI.
• Proven leadership of large teams and programs.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration.
• Onsite role in Phoenix, AZ with in-person presence.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute strategy for AI-driven clinical insights and molecular signature development.
• Identify clinically relevant questions where analytics yield prognostic or predictive insights.
• Oversee AI signature development integrating genomic and clinical data.
• Establish governance for model development and lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with Regulatory and Clinical Development for validation.
• Lead implementation of AI products in a regulated clinical environment.
• Oversee deployment of AI pipelines in clinical reporting infrastructure.
• Ensure scalable, auditable computational pipelines and canonical data models.
• Lead development of clinically interpretable physician reporting.
• Partner with Product and Commercial teams to integrate AI insights.
• Build and mentor data science teams; set goals and budgets.
• Champion scientific rigor, accountability, transparency, continuous improvement.

Skills

Python

SQL

Machine Learning

Biomed Data Analysis

Leadership

Regulatory Awareness

Communication

Education

PhD in relevant field

Tools

AWS/Azure/GCP

Spark

Regulatory tooling

Job description

At Caris, we understand that cancer is an ugly word—a word no one wants to hear, but one that connects us all. That’s why we’re not just transforming cancer care—we’re changing lives.

We introduced precision medicine to the world and built an industry around the idea that every patient deserves answers as unique as their DNA. Backed by cutting-edge molecular science and AI, we ask ourselves every day: “What would I do if this patient were my mom?” That question drives everything we do.

But our mission doesn’t stop with cancer. We're pushing the frontiers of medicine and leading a revolution in healthcare—driven by innovation, compassion, and purpose.

Join us in our mission to improve the human condition across multiple diseases. If you're passionate about meaningful work and want to be part of something bigger than yourself, Caris is where your impact begins.

Position Summary

The Vice President, Data Science provides senior leadership for Caris’ AI-driven clinical insights and predictive modeling initiatives. This role leads the development of novel AI signatures leveraging Caris’ large-scale clinico-genomic database to identify molecular characteristics of disease that are prognostic of patient outcomes or predictive of response to therapy.

The Vice President oversees a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, computational biologists, and translational researchers responsible for identifying clinically meaningful questions, developing and validating AI-based molecular signatures, and translating discoveries into scalable clinical reporting capabilities. Partnering with Executive Leadership, R&D, Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Bioinformatics, Regulatory Affairs, and Commercial teams, this role ensures delivery of scientifically rigorous, clinically meaningful, and operationally scalable AI innovations that advance precision medicine.

Job Responsibilities

• Define and execute the strategy for AI-driven clinical insight and molecular signature development across Caris’ molecular profiling platforms.

• Identify clinically relevant questions where advanced analytics can deliver prognostic or predictive insights.

• Oversee development of AI signatures integrating genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and clinical outcomes data.

• Establish governance and standards for model development, validation, documentation, and lifecycle management.

• Collaborate with Regulatory and Clinical Development teams to ensure appropriate validation and evidence generation.

• Lead implementation of AI products within a regulated CAP/CLIA clinical environment.

• Oversee engineering and production deployment of AI pipelines within Caris’ clinical reporting infrastructure.

• Ensure scalable, reproducible, auditable computational pipelines and canonical data models.

• Lead development of clinically interpretable reporting frameworks for physicians.

• Partner with Product and Commercial teams to integrate AI insights into clinical reports and decision-support tools.

• Build, mentor, and lead high-performing teams of data scientists and computational biologists.

• Set organizational goals, budgets, roadmaps, OKRs, and performance metrics aligned with corporate priorities.

• Champion a culture of scientific rigor, accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Data Science, Biostatistics, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field.

• 10+ years of experience building and implementing supervised and unsupervised machine learning models for complex problem solving.

• Expert proficiency in Python (pandas, NumPy, statistical and ML libraries) and SQL.

• Strong expertise in machine learning, statistical modeling, and large-scale biomedical data analysis.

• Experience working with multi-omic datasets including genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics.

• Experience leveraging large clinical datasets for biomarker discovery, predictive modeling, or outcomes research.

• Working knowledge of regulatory considerations for algorithm development in clinical diagnostics environments.

• Demonstrated people leadership and direct management experience with accountability for large-scale outcomes.

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

• This is an onsite role based at our Phoenix, AZ office and requires regular in‑person presence.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in regulated clinical laboratory environments (CAP/CLIA).

• Familiarity with cloud computing platforms and large-scale data infrastructures.

• Experience translating advanced analytics into physician-facing clinical products.

Physical Demands

• Ability to sit, stand, and work at a computer for extended periods of time.

Training

• All job-specific, safety, and compliance training assigned based on job responsibilities.

Other

• May require occasional after-hours work to meet deadlines.

• May require occasional travel.

Conditions of Employment: Individual must successfully complete pre-employment process, which includes criminal background check, drug screening, credit check ( applicable for certain positions) and reference verification.

This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Caris Life Sciences is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

Caris Life Sciences is a leading innovator in molecular science and artificial intelligence focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation.

Caris is committed to quality and excellence at our state-of-the-art laboratories. Learn more about our tissue lab and the advanced technologies that are helping improve the lives of cancer patients.