Senior Data Innovation Specialist (RWD)

This role is based in the Real-World & Clinical Data Strategy (RWCDS) team which drives data excellence and analytics to power enhanced decision-making and evidence-generation within Roche Product Development. We develop and implement data strategies that unlock the value of clinical, operational, and real-world data to accelerate evidence generation, decision-making, and innovation across PD and beyond. By embedding FAIR principles, advancing data governance, and enabling data productization, RWCDS ensures that data is not only findable and usable, but also a driver of scientific rigor, regulatory readiness, and AI-powered transformation. Through deep partnerships with internal functions and external collaborators, we shape a future-ready data ecosystem that supports personalized healthcare and efficient drug development.

The Opportunity

The Senior Data Innovation Specialist (RWD) helps identify, prototype, and scale novel methods and technologies that transform how data is used across product development. Reporting to the Data Innovation Lead, you will drive emerging capabilities such as agentic AI, semantic integration, and knowledge graphs to unlock new use cases for clinical, real-world, and operational data.  You will design and build AI-enabled tools and agentic workflows that transform how RWD analyses are performed. This includes developing reusable analytical components, enabling models and agents to interact with data and tools, automating parts of scientific workflows, and creating scalable solutions that can be adopted across projects and teams.  You will collaborate with scientists, engineers, product teams, and external partners to design proof-of-concepts, validate innovative solutions, and assess long-term feasibility. This role requires curiosity, strong technical grounding, and a mindset oriented toward experimentation and continuous learning.

In this role, you will have the chance to lead technical evolution and drive high-impact data initiatives across the organization:

• Drive Innovation: Apply specialized knowledge of emerging data types, technologies, and methods to lead innovation activities and complex analytical projects.
• Collaborative Piloting: Partner with cross-functional teams to pilot data innovations and integrate them into clinical development and data science workflows.
• Platform Development: Design, build, and evaluate agentic workflows that enable models to use tools, access data, execute analytical tasks, and support scientific.decision-making while maintaining scientific rigor, traceability, and human oversight
• Strategic Evaluation: Proactively identify innovation areas through competitive landscaping and evaluate the feasibility and quality of unconventional data sources.
• Framework Creation: Develop tools and frameworks that support the scalable evaluation, reuse, and streamlining of experimental data approaches and workflows.
• Subject Matter Expertise: Serve as an expert on innovation methodology, guiding peers through new data modalities and mentoring junior team members.
• Compliance & Governance: Ensure all activities maintain strict compliance with data privacy and security regulations, including HIPAA and GDPR.

Who You Are

We are looking for a visionary professional who thrives at the intersection of technology and healthcare:

• Educational Background: You hold a Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Life Sciences, Data Science, or a related field.
• Proven Experience: You bring 5+ years of experience in data science or healthcare innovation, with a track record of implementing successful AI-driven pilots or products.
• Strategic Agility: You possess strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills, coupled with the ability to make independent decisions based on sound principles.
• Innovation Mindset: You are familiar with agile, product-thinking, and innovation frameworks such as Lean Startup or Design Thinking.
• Agentic AI: Hands-on experience designing and building production-oriented AI agents or agentic systems, including capabilities such as tool/function calling, retrieval, structured outputs, routing or orchestration, and multi-step or multi-agent workflows
• Communication & Collaboration: You have excellent verbal and written communication skills and demonstrate deep respect for cultural differences in a global workplace.

Preferred:

• Exposure to real-world data or research informatics in a biomedical setting
• Interest in emerging technologies such as machine learning, knowledge graphs, or clinical AI
• Ability to summarize results for both technical and non-technical audiences

This position is based in South San Francisco, CA and relocation benefits are not available for this posting  

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of South San Francisco, CA is $117,600.00 - $218,400.00 USD Annual.  Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law.  A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance.  This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.

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