Associate Principal Scientist, DSCS Digital Technologies–Laboratory Automation, Semantic Technologies & Scientific Data Integration

Job Description

Primary Responsibilities:

We are a global biopharmaceutical leader with a portfolio of prescription medicines oncology vaccines and animal health products. We are driven by our purpose to develop and deliver innovative products that save and improve lives. With 69000 employees operating in more than 140 countries we offer state-of-the-art laboratories plants and offices that are designed to inspire our employees as we learn develop and grow in our careers. We are proud of our over 125 years of service to humanity and continue to be one of the worlds biggest investors in Research & Development.

In the Development Sciences and Clinical Supply (DSCS) organization we believe digital is the force multiplier that enables faster experiments smarter decisions more robust supply chains and is ultimately redefining how we bring medicines to patients.

Within DSCS the DSCS Digital Technologies (DDT) team is building the next generation of data-rich connected lab environments where hardware software and AI-driven tools work together to accelerate pharmaceutical development. Our goal is simple but ambitious: embed advanced digital capabilities into the DNA of how we work. We believe this future starts with a strong foundation of laboratory tools: innovative robotics process analytical technology (PAT) high-throughput technologies reliable instrumentation and integrated systems that seamlessly contextualize data and transition it from the physical labs to the digital world. Our innovation is fueled by teams coming together to build technologies that truly impact how our scientists conduct research. Were looking for an Associate Principal Scientist to help realize this vision.

In this role the chosen candidate will work with a team of scientists tasked with identifying developing and deploying digital and data-rich technologies aimed at improving Process Product and Analytical understanding. The tools that we develop are as the team developing them and in this role the chosen candidate will leverage digital technologies to enable chemistry manufacturing and controls (CMC) activities across our small molecule biologics and vaccines portfolio.

This role will focus on developing and applying ontology-driven and semantic technologies that transform complex scientific information into structured contextualized and reusable knowledge. This includes leveraging knowledge representation semantic enrichment metadata strategies and scientific data integration approaches to connect laboratory systems instruments data platforms and scientific workflows. The successful candidate will help establish the semantic foundation that supports next-generation digital laboratories AI-enabled scientific workflows and connected pharmaceutical development.

Working at the intersection of pharmaceutical science digital technologies and data integration the candidate will support the development of semantic models ontologies and knowledge graph frameworks that improve interoperability traceability discoverability and consistency across scientific systems. Through these efforts the candidate will help enable FAIR AI-ready scientific data ecosystems that accelerate research enhance decision making and improve the way scientific knowledge is generated managed and reused across the development lifecycle.

One of the most unique aspects of this role is the opportunity to work directly with scientists developing biologics vaccines and small molecules while helping build the semantic and digital foundations that power next-generation pharmaceutical development. Rather than operating as a traditional informatics or IT function this role is deeply embedded within scientific research and development ensuring that emerging digital and semantic capabilities create meaningful impact for laboratory scientists and development teams.

How Youll Make an Impact

• Design the lab of the future by developing automation systems that integrate robotics instrumentation equipment and software into cohesive high-performing solutions
• Translate science into systems by partnering with researchers to understand experimental needs and integrate them with scalable digital workflows
• Work at the intersection of disciplines collaborating with experts in automation data science modeling IT knowledge capture and the CMC community at large
• Lead high-impact projects from concept through deployment working across teams and stakeholders to deliver meaningful outcomes
• Continuously improve existing automation platforms to enhance performance usability and reliability
• Connect the ecosystem by integrating instrument and equipment platforms with semantic context and data systems to enable end-to-end digital workflows
• Empower others by providing hands-on partnership support troubleshooting and training to scientists using these technologies

Education Minimum Requirement:

• A Ph.D. in Chemistry Biochemistry Engineering (i.e. Mechanical Electrical Chemical) Physics Biology Pharmaceutical Sciences Computer Science Material Science or a closely related field with at least 3 years of relevant experience
• A M.S. in Chemistry Biochemistry Engineering (i.e. Mechanical Electrical Chemical) Physics Biology Pharmaceutical Sciences Computer Science Material Science or a closely related field with at least 5 years of relevant experience
• A B.S. in Chemistry Biochemistry Engineering (i.e. Mechanical Electrical Chemical) Physics Biology Pharmaceutical Sciences Computer Science Material Science or a closely related field with at least 7 years of relevant experience

Required Experience and Skills:

• Understanding of (bio)pharmaceutical process research and development drug product development and/or analytical development
• Demonstrated ability to work in an entrepreneurial and independent manner on cross-functional teams
• Understanding of ontologies taxonomies controlled vocabularies metadata and semantic data concepts
• Working knowledge of ontology design FAIR principles data/metadata standards and scientific data management practices
• Understanding of semantic modeling knowledge representation and scientific data contextualization approaches
• Experience working with heterogeneous scientific data sources and integrating information across multiple systems or domains
• Highly motivated and technology-centric scientist passionate about modernizing development practices across biologics vaccines and small molecule modalities
• Background and experience in data-rich technologies data engineering or scientific data integration
• Demonstrated scientific ability through publications and presentations in scientific conferences
• Excellent communication skills demonstrated creativity and effective interpersonal skills
• Ability to deliver complex solutions under compressed timelines in a dynamic environment
• Ability to work in a team environment with cross-functional interactions

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Proven experience in ontology development or management preferably in the Life Science domain.
• Proficiency in ontology languages and tools such as OWL RDF Protégé or similar.
• Strong understanding of knowledge representation and reasoning techniques.

• Ability to model concepts entities relationships and rules in a machine-readable way
• Familiarity with RDF OWL SPARQL SKOS or related semantic standards

• Experience connecting heterogeneous data sources and resolving differences in terminology structure and quality

• Familiarity with data integration and interoperability challenges in the Life Science sector.
• Familiarity with ontological standards semantic web technologies and data modelling principles.
• Experience developing or supporting knowledge graph initiatives and graph-based data architectures
• Familiarity with life-science data standards including Allotrope CDISC or comparable frameworks
• Understanding of data science and AI/ML concepts and their application to data contextualization
• Experience enabling AI-ready data through semantic technologies metadata strategies and scientific data integration
• Background in leveraging a broad range of data engineering and data science technologies including digital integration of analytical instrumentation

• Experience in new technology research including a demonstrated track record of identifying developing and deploying digital and data-rich methodologies.

• Wet lab experience in (bio)pharmaceutical drug substance drug product and analytical research and development
• Motivated to learn new skills willingness to take on new challenges and scientific curiosity

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

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The salary range for this role is

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employees position within the salary range will be based on several factors including but not limited to relevant education qualifications certifications experience skills geographic location government requirements and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical dental vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family) retirement benefits including 401(k) paid holidays vacation and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at can apply for this role through (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

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