Cheminformatics Data Scientist - 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

The Cheminformatics Data Scientist will support decision making and data analysis in the early science business, working closely with IT and other informatics professionals, chemists and scientists from all disciplines in direct support of AstraZeneca drug discovery projects.  Knowledge of chemical structures, chemical reactions, the early science data workflow and early discovery scientific information will be key as you will be involved directly in data wrangling, data analysis and problem solving with and on behalf of project teams and individuals. Likewise, good programming skills and knowledge of the user-facing software tools and back-end infrastructure required to store, manipulate, prepare and present such information will be key. Communication between and with IT professionals and scientists and the ability to present complex problems from both disciplines simply and clearly to help impart insight and understand implications and next steps is an essential part of the role. You will be expected to work both as an individual contributor and as part of the wider team in delivering high quality outputs and support to the projects. Maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of the field and ongoing developments in wider data science as they impact early discovery will be essential to fulfilling the role and you will have access to high quality training and development opportunities.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven bio-pharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. But we're more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we're proud to have a unique workplace culture that inspires innovation and collaboration. Here, employees are empowered to express diverse perspectives and are made to feel valued, energised and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.

Department – Data & Analytics, S&EUIT

Science and Enabling Units IT is a global IT capability supporting Drug Research, Drug Development, Product & Portfolio Strategy, Medical Affairs, Finance, HR, Compliance, Legal and Global Business Services.   We are organised around 7 key capability areas: Business Partnering, Solution Delivery, Architecture, Application Support, Data & Analytics, Change & Operations, operating out of sites across the US, UK, Sweden, India and Mexico.

Data & Analytics provides analytics and data insight services and solutions critical to the Data & AI/ML emerging strategy and mission of S&EUIT and AZ.   D&A is organised into teams specialising in Information Architecture, Data Engineering, Data Visualisation, Knowledge Management, Data Science, Data Analysis and Information Governance. 

Role

We are looking for a Cheminformatics Data Scientist to tackle the most challenging informatics problems in the early drug discovery design-make-test-analyse (DMTA) process.

You will be part of a close-knit and technical team of informaticians, data scientists, machine learning and knowledge engineers, delivering data workflows and informatics solutions that will advance the standard of healthcare improving the lives of millions of patients across the globe. Your work will be applied to the full early science drug discovery project cycle to improve access to data, improve the quality and use of data and ultimately improve the quality of candidate drugs delivered out of all early research projects across AstraZeneca.

The ideal candidate will possess a blend of early discovery science skills (,e.g., chemistry, bioscience, DMPK, safety), will have several years of experience of informatics delivery in a scientific environment and will have successful experience of integrating workflows and building quality applications related to DMTA.

Key Accountabilities

• Work closely within the team and with scientific colleagues across AstraZeneca early science units to ensure informatics and advanced analytics solutions meet the ongoing needs of all scientists.
• Develop informatics solutions, e.g., using pipelining approaches, scripting and application integration to address key problems in the early science (DMTA) space.
• Contribute to and potentially lead local and global science IT/informatics projects in DMTA space.
• Understand and seek opportunities to apply artificial intelligence & machine learning to the world of chemistry and biology informatics
• Seek solutions that streamline the data workflow across early science and ensure all scientists have access to the right data required to solve their key business problems at the right time.
• Research external peers, academics and software providers to apply latest methods to relevant business problems.
• Work closely with data scientists, machine learning, engineering and platform teams to leverage latest algorithms to deliver improved data and information to early science project teams.
• Work closely with informatics colleagues in our Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Chennai to deliver high quality informatics solutions.
• Promote AstraZeneca’s informatics and data science reputation through external publications and presentations.

Candidate Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Masters / PhD in (chem)informatics or a pharmaceutical scientific discipline or similar field with a proven record of informatics delivery in a pharmaceutical/biotech setting.
• Strong coding and software engineering skills such as Python, Java, JavaScript, Scripting.
• Experience working with relevant software and toolkits from vendors and providers such as Biovia, Perkin-Elmer, Chemaxon, Openeye, Dotmatics, Certara, Genedata, RDKit etc.
• Experience working directly with relevant vendors as above.
• DMTA cycle pipelining experience, e.g., Pipeline Pilot or Knime,
• Database and semantic skills and experience (e.g. Oracle, MySql, RDF/Triple stores/SPARQL, etc.)
• Knowledge of cloud environment and related technologies.
• Excellent communication skills and facilitation skills with the ability to work with others to achieve objectives
• Ability to explain complex methods and techniques to a non-technical audience
• Good communication, written and verbal skills, fluent English.

Interested in hearing more? Apply now!

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AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.