Senior Data Scientist (ID: fF2p3tlO)

A venture capital-backed, AI-powered precision ophthalmology company combining retinal imaging and genomics to accelerate the diagnosis and development of treatments for inherited eye diseases worldwide.

Our platform empowers biotech and pharmaceutical companies, clinicians and eye-care professionals to make informed, data-driven decisions that help bring sight-saving treatments to patients sooner. By integrating retinal imaging with genomic analysis, we aim to reduce the diagnostic odyssey faced by patients with rare genetic eye diseases from years to weeks.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Data Scientist to lead the development, deployment and application of our AI models and Software as a Medical Device (SaMD). Working primarily with Python and AWS, you will play a key role in building reliable, scalable and clinically meaningful data science solutions.

This is a hands-on senior position combining applied machine learning, data engineering, statistical analysis and technical leadership. You will oversee the development of production-ready pipelines, models and analytical workflows, ensuring they are robust, reproducible, well tested and appropriately documented.

You will also help ensure that software development and verification activities align with relevant medical device standards, including GAMP 5 and IEC 62304, and are conducted in accordance with our Quality Management System (QMS).

Working closely with developers, scientists, clinicians and quality specialists, you will translate scientific and clinical requirements into dependable, compliant software and analytical solutions.

What you’ll do (Engineering and deployment)

• Lead the design, development, testing and maintenance of data pipelines for processing, transforming and analysing complex datasets, under the guidance of the CTO and Chief AI Officer (CAIO).
• Deploy, manage and optimise data pipelines, AI models and services within AWS.
• Write and review clean, efficient, reproducible and well-documented production code.
• Develop comprehensive unit tests and improve test coverage through automated testing practices.
• Establish and maintain CI/CD pipelines and robust software deployment processes.
• Monitor and troubleshoot system performance, reliability and security, identifying opportunities for optimisation and continuous improvement.
• Data science, analysis and reporting
• Lead statistical analyses that inform scientific research, clinical decisions and product development.
• Oversee the analysis of client data using Eye2Gene’s software and AI models, including downstream statistical and scientific interpretation.
• Validate model outputs and analytical results, ensuring they are robust, reproducible and appropriately documented.
• Develop and maintain dashboards that communicate data, model performance and analytical findings clearly to internal and external stakeholders.
• Prepare and review technical analyses, summaries and reports for both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Quality and regulatory compliance

• Support and uphold a structured software development lifecycle aligned with GAMP 5 and IEC 62304, covering planning, design, verification and validation.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, including software requirements, design specifications, traceability matrices and verification records.
• Ensure development and analytical activities comply with the QMS, with accurate, complete and audit-ready records.
• Contribute to software risk management, hazard analysis and software safety classification, where applicable.
• Maintain effective version control, change control and configuration management processes.

Technical leadership and collaboration

• Lead code reviews and analytical reviews, establishing and promoting high standards of engineering and scientific practice.
• Contribute to technical architecture, analytical methodology and key machine learning decisions.
• Mentor junior data scientists and developers, supporting their professional development and raising the team’s overall technical capability.
• Collaborate with developers, researchers, clinicians and quality colleagues to translate user and clinical requirements into effective, compliant workflows.
• Champion a quality-first culture, scientific rigour and continuous improvement across the organisation.

What we’re looking for (Qualifications)

A PhD in computer science, machine learning, biomedical engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.

Essential experience and skills

• A strong track record of developing, evaluating and applying deep learning models.
• Expert-level Python programming skills and experience with modern machine learning frameworks.
• Experience evaluating models beyond headline accuracy, including calibration, uncertainty estimation, top-k performance, subgroup analysis and external validation.
• Experience working with large, heterogeneous clinical imaging datasets, including data curation, quality control and the challenges of noisy or inconsistent labels.
• A sound understanding of dataset shift and model generalisation across clinical sites, imaging devices and patient populations.
• Knowledge of information governance requirements for patient data, including UK GDPR, NHS data security requirements and data-sharing agreements.
• Experience collaborating with clinical, usability and human factors teams, translating user research findings into improvements to models, workflows or interfaces.
• The ability to lead technical workstreams independently, manage competing priorities and deliver to deadlines.
• A proactive, adaptable approach suited to a fast-paced, growing spin-out environment.

Desirable experience and skills

• Formal training in medical device software standards and regulatory requirements.
• Postdoctoral or equivalent experience applying machine learning to medical imaging.
• Familiarity with retinal imaging modalities, including fundus autofluorescence (FAF), optical coherence tomography (OCT), infrared imaging (IR) and colour fundus photography.
• Knowledge of inherited retinal diseases, clinical genetics, genotype–phenotype relationships and the challenges of class imbalance in rare disease datasets.
• Experience developing multimodal AI models that integrate imaging, genomic and clinical data.
• Awareness of the regulatory pathways for AI-enabled medical devices, including UKCA/MHRA requirements, EU MDR and SaMD classification.
• Experience producing technical documentation for regulated products, including software verification and validation, clinical evaluation support and risk management under ISO 14971.

Why join us?

• Make a meaningful impact: Help develop technology with the potential to improve diagnosis and treatment for people living with genetic eye diseases.
• Work at the forefront of innovation: Join a mission-driven, venture capital-backed company operating at the intersection of AI, genomics and ophthalmology.
• Shape the technology: Take ownership of important technical initiatives and help evolve our platform as the company grows.
• Competitive compensation: Salary of up to £70,000 per year, depending on experience.
• Potential equity participation: Access to an Employee Share Option Pool, with potential equity subject to applicable milestones and scheme terms.

Right to work: Applicants must have the right to work in the United Kingdom.

Relocation:

• Candidates must be able to commute reliably to Paddington or be willing to relocate before starting the role.

If you’re passionate about building high-quality AI systems that address meaningful clinical challenges, and you want to help translate advanced data science into real-world impact for patients, we’d love to hear from you.

Position: Senior Data Scientist - Job Type: Full-Time - Salary: Up to £70,000 per year, DOE - Location: Paddington, Greater London.