Staff Scientist, Data Science - Hybrid

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
We are seeking a Staff Scientist to join the Data Science unit at our Cambridge, MA office to develop our core Caris data products. This role calls for a technical expert excelling at both (i) hands-on work with real-world clinico-molecular data and (ii) communicating and educating internal and external partners.
Caris has collected an extensive multimodal clinico-molecular dataset with immense potential to impact cancer precision medicine – ranging from early target discovery efforts, through clinical trial design, as well as impacting patient care today. The scientist will work on a team with deep expertise in computational biology, data science, genomics, and pharma/biotech partnerships – with the unified goal of deriving maximal value from Caris’ data for external and internal research efforts to advance cancer care.
 

Job Responsibilities

• Apply bioinformatics, data science, molecular biology, and computer science expertise to drive projects developing and refining Caris’ clinico-molecular data products for use by both external partners and internal Caris R&D.

• Communicate with external and internal partners on strategy as well as technical details of Caris data products.

• Educate partners on the use of Caris data products.

• Drive innovation by staying abreast of emerging data science tools, techniques, and best practices, and strategically incorporating them into our data products and workflows.

• Collaborate with research, clinical, and bioinformatics scientists to execute projects that translate scientific and clinical questions into analytical workflows, and exercise skill in delivering accurate data processing, quality control, and statistical analysis.

• Act as a subject matter expert on data science, collaborating with internal stakeholders, external partners, and customers to provide technical expertise, foster collaborations, and contribute to the development of joint research projects.

Required Qualifications

• Education: PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics, genomics, or related quantitative fields.

• Experience: At least five years post-PhD work experience

• Strong technical competency: Deep experience analyzing and deriving insight from standard genomic data types (e.g., gene expression, whole exomes). Strong programming skills (python required) and experience working collaboratively on software development. Strong attention to detail and drive for scientific and technical rigor.

• Strong communication skills: A primary responsibility of this role is external communication at both general and specialist levels. The ability to clearly present nuanced technical material to a variety of stakeholders is critical.

• Experience working with large datasets (e.g., hundreds, or thousands of bams).

• Enthusiasm for working in a highly collaborative environment.

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.

• Proven ability to manage time effectively, respond quickly to changing priorities, and adapt within a fast-paced environment.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Word, Excel, Outlook, and general working knowledge of Internet for business use.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in an industry setting.

• Experience working with real-world datasets.

• Domain experience in oncology or immunology.

• Experience working in cloud (preferred) or high-performance compute (HPC) clusters.

Physical Demands

• Will work at computer most of the time

Training

• All job specific, safety, and compliance training are assigned based on the job functions associated with this employee.

Other

• This position requires only rare travel and some evenings, weekends and/or holidays.

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.