Real World Data Scientist - Associate Director

At AstraZeneca we turn ideas into life changing medicines. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. We're focused on the potential of science to address the unmet needs of patients around the world. We commit to those areas where we believe we can really change the course of medicine and bring big new ideas to life.

The Real World Science & Digital team is a growing group within AstraZeneca's Global Evidence function which is driving the scientific use of Real World Data to accelerate the way patients access innovative medicines. AstraZeneca has a rich history in Real World Evidence, having developed a coherent strategy to develop and internalize data assets the group is now amplifying those investments through a dedicated Real World Data Science capability. Real World Data Scientists who are successful in this role will work on challenging problems, using innovative approaches to accelerate the delivery of Real World Insights and Evidence for key internal and external stakeholders.

The ideal candidate for this role will bring a proven track record of delivering value through the leverage of routinely collected data from healthcare settings or observational studies to provide health analytics and insights in a range of contexts including Public Health, Pharmaceutical Research and Development, and Commercial/ Payer.

They will work closely with the Vaccine & Infections Units Real World Data Science Director to strategize and deliver the exciting medical portfolio of work for key disease areas including COVID-19 & RSV. They will collaborate with colleagues in Epidemiology, Statistics and Health Economics to craft the Real World Data Science delivery of Medical and Payer Evidence studies. They may support pharmacovigilance through contextualization with RW data. They will provide methods expertise and deliver a range of analyses of real world data to support the business and give expert scientific and technical mentorship on study design, RW data selection and best practice in RW data utilization.

What you'll do:

* Deliver/Implement advanced secondary analyses of data from EMR, claims and primary observational data required by Therapeutic Area (TA) RWE strategies.
* Provide expert scientific guidance on the application of Real World Evidence and observational research data to address issues related to their TA across the Biopharmaceuticals business units
* Provide expert technical input, options and directions to strategic decisions made by AZ observational study teams on study design, data partner selection and best practices in RWE data utilization
* Mentor/coach and support the education and technical training of Real World Data Scientists
* Provide support for strategic decisions on AZ Medical Evidence and Observational Research external collaborations in the US and other markets
* Collaborate with Real World Strategy Director to evaluate and assess strengths and weaknesses of external RW data sources, and potential partners for advancing the data strategy for specific therapeutic areas
* Maintain a strong insight into the capabilities of potential external partners in RWE, especially for US and emerging markets.
* Promote best practice in Real World Data Science across multiple domains, and/or stakeholder groups.



Essential for the role

* PhD or MS in statistics, mathematics, data science or other advanced degree in life sciences
* This is a hands on role - so be excited to code!
* Enthusiastic about building on and learning new methods and ways to use real world data to change the practice of medicine
* Experience in real-world evidence and familiarity with health economics/epidemiology, and quantitative science such as health outcome modelling
* Hands-on experience with EMR/Health IT, disease registries, and/or insurance claims databases
* Experience with in clinical data standards, medical terminologies and controlled vocabularies used in healthcare data and ontologies (ICD9/10/SNOMED)
* Experience in supporting pharmacoepidemiology studies with proven track record of advancing approaches with statistics/machine learning/data science
* Ability to lead & manage multi-disciplinary data science projects
* Familiarity in Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) generation and execution for observational studies
* Proficient in SQL
* Proficient in R



Desirable for the role

* Demonstrated ability to build long-term relationships with stakeholders , understand relevant scientific/business challenges at a deep level and translate into a programme of data science activities to deliver value to the business
* Experience in advanced visualisation and visual analytics of routinely collected healthcare data
* Experience in the application of pharmacovigilance from RW data
* Experience working in a global organization and delivering global solutions
* Experience in infectious diseases
* Proficient in Python

So, what's next?

This is an exciting opportunity for professional growth in areas of drug development, science, and leadership. Come and join a talented and agile team that focus on what really matters. A team that's inspired by the direct link between what we do, how this helps to accelerate the business and, ultimately, how this benefits peoples' lives across the world.

Are you already imagining yourself joining us? Good, because we can't wait to hear from you.
Welcome with your application, no later than January 15th, 2023.