Moderna Therapeutics Inc. Looking for Principal R&D Data Scientist and AI Knowledge Management at Cambridge, Massachusetts Full Time

The Role

Moderna is seeking a talented and experienced leader in Knowledge Management (KM) and Natural language processing (NLP) to join our R&D Data Science and AI (DSAI) team. This role will lead a group of data scientists focusing on natural language processing for our internal databases and documents, leveraging large language models as well as traditional information retrieval methods. They will work with our Product Leads, Machine Learning (ML) platform and software engineering teams to build fit-for-purpose in-house solutions for stakeholders throughout R&D.

We are looking for someone who is deeply curious, exhibits an excellent work ethic, and has a desire to bring novel mRNA therapeutics and vaccines to the market that will improve the lives of patients.

Here’s What You’ll Do

• Lead and support the KM and NLP team in wide-ranging projects spanning from text mining, information retrieval, document classification summarization and question-answering systems

• Oversee and guide all aspects of the ML-life cycle, including data procurement, modeling methodology, validation, deployment and monitoring

• Collaborate with product teams to engage and align with stakeholders to build impactful products and capabilities to support Moderna’s R&D

• Mentor and develop a growing team of data scientists and research associates to collaborate with stakeholders across R&D

• Identify impactful opportunities to apply recent advances in machine learning and NLP and keep up to date with the latest advances in the field

• Foster collaboration with other data scientists, engineers, research scientists

• Employ and encourage data science and software engineering best practices

• Communicate findings internally and externally

Here’s What You’ll Need (Minimum Qualifications)

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Engineering, Statistics, or related data-intensive discipline with 6 years of job relevant experience, or a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Engineering, Statistics, or related data-intensive discipline with 8 years of job relevant experience

• 5+ years’ experience delivering NLP and Knowledge Management projects, preferably in an industry setting

• Prior experience in leading, mentoring, and developing data science teams.

• Proficiency in Python, especially NLP libraries such as NLTK, spaCy, and HuggingFace

• Working knowledge of relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL)

Here’s What You’ll Bring to the Table (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience with industry-leading tools and techniques for information retrieval, such as Lucene, Solr, Elasticsearch or comparable systems

• Exceptional communication skills (verbal, written, and remote)

• Experience working in a matrixed environment

• Experience with large language models such as OpenAI’s GPT series and understanding of their deployment in practical applications

• Familiarity with best practices in software development, including Amazon Web Services, Docker, version control (Git), and documentation

• Ability to manage multiple projects and effectively collaborate in a dynamic, cross-functional environment

• A desire to make an impact as part of a high-growth, transformational company that is Bold, Relentless, Curious, and Collaborative.

Moderna is pleased to provide you and your family with a comprehensive and innovative suite of benefits, including:

• Highly competitive and inclusive medical, dental and vision coverage options
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical expenses and dependent care expenses
• Lifestyle Spending Account funds to help you engage in personal enrichment and self-care activities
• Family care benefits, including subsidized back-up care options and on-demand tutoring
• Free premium access to fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness classes
• Exclusive preferred pricing on Peloton fitness equipment
• Adoption and family-planning benefits
• Dedicated care coordination support for our LGBTQ+ community
• Generous paid time off, including:
  • Vacation, sick time and holidays
  • Volunteer time to participate within your community
  • Discretionary year-end shutdown
  • Paid sabbatical after 5 years; every 3 years thereafter
• Generous Paid Leave offerings, including 18 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for all new parents
• 401k match and Financial Planning tools
• Moderna-paid Life, LTD and STD insurance coverages, as well as voluntary benefit options
• Complimentary concierge service including home services research, travel booking, and entertainment requests
• Free parking or subsidized commuter passes
• Location-specific perks and extras!

About Moderna

In over 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for rapid clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune diseases. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past seven years. To learn more, visit (url removed).

Moderna is a smoke-free, alcohol-free and drug-free work environment.

Moderna is a place where everyone can grow. If you meet the Basic Qualifications for the role and you would be excited to contribute to our mission every day, please apply!

Moderna is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.

Moderna is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person’s race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry or citizenship, ethnicity, disability, military or protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, or any other personal characteristic protected under applicable law. Moderna is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

Belonging, Inclusion, and Diversity are critical to the success of our company and our impact on society. We’re focused on attracting, retaining, developing, and advancing our employees and believe that by cultivating diverse experiences, backgrounds, and ideas, we can provide an environment where every employee is able to contribute their best.

Moderna is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants with disabilities. Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the Talent Acquisition Partner or contact the Accommodations team at (url removed). (EEO/AAP Employer)

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