Associate Principal Scientist, PharmaR&D

Passionate about precision medicine and advancing the healthcare industry?

Recent advancements in underlying technology have finally made it possible for AI to impact clinical care in a meaningful way. Tempus' proprietary platform connects an entire ecosystem of real-world evidence to deliver real-time, actionable insights to physicians, providing critical information about the right treatments for the right patients, at the right time.

The Associate Principal Scientist, PharmaR&D will design, propose and execute research projects for Tempus’s top biopharmaceutical partners.  This role will require staying up to date in research and industry trends in oncology drug development to identify specific areas where the Tempus platform can provide impact to our partners portfolio. This role involves performing complex computational analyses and guiding algorithm development for advancing cancer precision medicine for patients across the Tempus network.  The ideal candidate will possess strong genomic analytical skills, experience in applying machine learning and statistical models to big data, and the ability to communicate complex findings to various stakeholders.

• Scientific Communication: Expert in navigating client interactions; Present highly technical results and methods clearly and meaningfully to diverse sets of external stakeholders

• Computational Analysis & Insight Generation: Perform robust, reproducible analyses integrating genomic, transcriptomic, imaging, and clinical data. Apply appropriate statistical and computational methods to derive insights related to clinical trial design, patient selection, treatment response, resistance mechanisms, and disease biology.

• AI & LLM Innovation: Incorporate LLMs, agentic workflows, foundation models and other AI tools into day-to-day workflows to accelerate code development, discovery, documentation, review, and insight generation. 

• Collaboration:  Work with Research, Engineering & Data Science teams across Tempus’ expansive data science community to develop and deliver innovative computational solutions.

• Drug R&D: Partner with big pharma clients.  Become proficient in the clients’ strategies, drug modalities and pipeline to identify where the Tempus platform can add value.  

• Continuous Improvement: Stay current with industry trends, best practices, and advancements in computational oncology research. Apply this knowledge to enhance research methodologies and improve overall research quality 

• Education and experience: 

  • Experience at a Pharmaceutical company or in a client facing analytical role

  • Either

    • PhD and additional 4+ years of working experience 

    • Masters and additional 6+ years of working experience

  • Combining:

    • Quantitative and computational skills (e.g. Computational Biology, Biostatistics/Statistical Genetics, Machine Learning, or Bioinformatics).

    • Biological or medical knowledge (e.g. Oncology, Immunology, or Human Disease).

    • Genomics and transcriptomics.

    • Target, drug or diagnostic discovery or clinical development.

• Technical/Scientific Skills: 

  • Expertise in one of the following: in vitro data analysis, translational research, integrative analysis of multi-modal data, real world evidence and outcome analysis.

  • Proficient in R, Python, and SQL, and respective packages for computational biology. 

  • Strong understanding of cancer biology.

  • Strong peer-reviewed publication record.

  • Applicable knowledge of machine learning and statistical modeling.

• Communication Skills: 

  • Expert in navigating client interactions; Present scientific findings clearly and meaningfully to diverse sets of external stakeholders. 

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences. 

• Motivated: Excel in a dynamic environment, seamlessly adapting to shifting priorities, and self motivated to explore portfolio related opportunities. 

Preferred Skillsets/Background

• Goal orientation, self motivation, and drive to make a positive impact in healthcare.

• Previous experience working with large transcriptome and NGS data sets.

• Generative AI: Practical experience configuring or adapting LLMs, or using related tools/frameworks, to support scientific work.

• Specialized Modeling: Expertise in one or more of the following: Real-world evidence (RWE), survival analysis, causal inference, network/systems biology, or multi-modal integration.

• Experience with: Package development,  tidyverse, Git, matplotlib, Pandas, Jupyter Notebook

CHI: $155,000-$200,000 USD
NYC/SF: $165,000-$210,000 USD

The expected salary range above is applicable if the role is performed from Illinois and may vary for other locations (California, Colorado, New York). Actual salary may vary based on qualifications and experience. Tempus offers a full range of benefits, which may include incentive compensation, restricted stock units, medical and other benefits depending on the position.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.