Senior Data Scientist - Real World Data
Formation Bio · New York, NY
Pay
$186k–232k
Setting
On-site
Back to jobs
Senior Data Scientist - Real World Data
New York, NY; Boston, MA; San Francisco, CA; Raleigh-Durham, NC
Apply
About Formation Bio
Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development.
Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in-licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients. The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others.
You can read more at the following links:
Our Vision for AI in Pharma
Our Current Drug Portfolio
Our Technology & Platform
At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.
About the Position
We're looking for a Senior Data Scientist to join the Scientific Data Intelligence (SDI) team at Formation Bio to help transform Real World Data (RWD)—spanning electronic health records, claims, and other longitudinal patient data sources—into structured, analytics-ready assets. In this role, you'll be partnering closely with our Data Science team not only to model and transform data, but also to actively analyze it: answering research questions, generating evidence, and supporting scientific decision-making across our drug portfolio.
This position sits at the intersection of healthcare data engineering, real-world evidence analysis, and generative AI. While a strong foundation in building reliable, scalable pipelines is essential, you'll be equally expected to roll up your sleeves and work directly with the data—constructing cohorts, running analyses, and translating findings into actionable insights for scientific and business stakeholders.
The ideal candidate is a hybrid of data engineer and applied scientist: someone who can build the infrastructure and then use it, with familiarity in RWD study design, GenAI fluency (e.g., LLM-based entity extraction, summarization, classification), and strong technical expertise with modern data tooling. You'll play a key role in shaping how real-world patient data becomes discoverable, structured, and impactful across the organization.
Responsibilities
Model and transform raw EHR and claims data into clean, canonical, and analytics-ready datasets using SQL, Python, and clinical standards like OMOP.
Build and manage scalable data pipelines using Dagster for orchestration, dbt for transformation, and Snowflake as the primary compute and storage engine.
Conduct hands-on RWD analyses to answer scientific and strategic research questions—including disease epidemiology, treatment patterns, patient journey characterization, and comparative effectiveness.
Partner with Data Scientists and clinical leads to design and execute observational studies, translating scientific questions into well-structured, reproducible analyses.
Implement data validation, completeness, and observability frameworks to ensure real-world datasets are accurate, comprehensive, and trustworthy for downstream research and product use.
Apply Generative AI techniques within transformation and analysis layers to accelerate data structuring and insight generation.
Communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including summaries for portfolio teams and leadership.
About You
You have 5+ years of experience, ideally with at least 2 years working in healthcare or life sciences, including direct exposure to EHR or claims datasets.
You have experience with ontologies and biomedical schemas (e.g. UMLS, LOINC, ICD9/10, MeSH) and understand the modalities found within RWD — billing claims, lab results, visit notes.
You're fluent in SQL and Python, and you've built and maintained production-grade pipelines that support analytics or scientific workflows.
You have experience building longitudinal patient cohorts from EHR or claims data, including index date logic, washout periods, and follow-up window construction.
You have a solid understanding of the causal inference frameworks such as potential outcomes and target trial emulation.
You have working familiarity with real-world evidence study design concepts—such as active comparator new user designs, time-to-event outcomes, confounder adjustment, and causal discovery algorithms—sufficient to partner effectively with Data Scientists on causal inference workflows.
You value clarity, documentation, and structured thinking—especially when working with complex healthcare data.
You have hands-on expertise with modern data infrastructure, such as Snowflake, dbt, and Dagster.
You can balance upfront design with speed to execution, slowing down when it counts without getting stuck in the details.
Bonus: You've worked in regulated or privacy-sensitive data environments and are familiar with governance models for PHI or sensitive data.
Bonus: You have prior experience working with commercial RWD vendors (e.g. Truveta, Optum, Komodo, IQVIA) and understand the nuances of licensed claims and EHR datasets, including longitudinal patient journey construction and line-of-therapy sequencing.
Total Compensation Range: $185,500 - $232,000
Compensation Individual compensation is determined by several factors, including role scope, geographic location, and skills & experience. Your offer will reflect where you fall within the range based on these considerations. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, comprehensive benefits, and generous perks. If the posted range doesn't match your expectations, we still encourage you to apply!
Where We Hire Formation Bio is prioritizing hiring in key hubs, primarily the New York City and Boston metro areas, with a hybrid model requiring 3 days per week in office. Applicants from the Research Triangle (NC) and San Francisco Bay Area may also be considered. Please apply only if you reside in these locations or are willing to relocate.
Equal Opportunity Formation Bio is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
Get new jobs like this in your inbox
We'll email you when Formation Bio posts a job like this one.
Create alert
Apply for this job
*
indicates a required field
Autofill my application
First Name*
Last Name*
Email*
Phone
Country
Phone
Resume/CV*
Attach
Attach
Dropbox
Google Drive
Enter manually
Enter manually
Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf
Cover Letter
Attach
Attach
Dropbox
Google Drive
Enter manually
Enter manually
Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf
LinkedIn Profile
Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?*
Select...
Are you located in or willing to relocate to NYC, Boston, San Francisco, or Research Triangle Park?*
Select...
If hired by Formation Bio, will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H-1B, TN, OPT, etc)?*
Select...
What AI tools have you used, whether in your personal or work life?*
What is your highest level of education*
Select...
Voluntary Self-Identification
For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.
As set forth in Formation Bio’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.
Gender
Select...
Are you Hispanic/Latino?
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions
If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:
A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.
Veteran Status
Select...
Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability
Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 07/31/2029
Why are you being asked to complete this form?
We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.
Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.
How do you know if you have a disability?
A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:
Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
Blind or low vision
Cancer (past or present)
Cardiovascular or heart disease
Celiac disease
Cerebral palsy
Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
Diabetes
Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
Intellectual or developmental disability
Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
Short stature (dwarfism)
Traumatic brain injury
Disability Status
Select...
PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.
Submit application
Powered by
Listed by Formation Bio for a position based in the United States. Employers on this board attest they are hiring domestically.