Principal Data Scientist - Computational Precision Health

Are you enthusiastic about driving the next generation of real-world data solutions that will change the lives of patients with cardiometabolic diseases? Are you a knowledge leader in applying novel statistical and machine learning methods to drive collaborative evidence generation in drug discovery? If yes, then this opportunity could be right for you! 

The position 

The department of Computational Precision Health supports decision-making and drug discovery in Research & Early Development. As the Principal Data Scientist, you will contribute with statistical, analytical and advanced programming expertise to a team of research scientists, statisticians, machine learning experts and epidemiologists that, together with stakeholders from across the organisation, create actionable insights and evidence from real-world data. Our data comes from academic-industry partnerships, in-licensed databases of electronic medical records or health insurance claims, observational cohorts, and other sources. 

Your main responsibilities will be:  

• Apply state-of-the-art methods within statistical, ML and AI analysis, programming, and visualisation to generate real-world evidence.  
• Drive innovation and application of novel methods and current trends in real-world data analyses for research and drug discovery. 
• Develop and lead educational and scientific activities to further strengthen our advanced analytical expertise within the real-world data space.  
• Engage with research scientists, pharmacologists, medical doctors, epidemiologists and other stakeholders to identify real-world evidence gaps in the preclinical pipeline and suggest appropriate and innovative analytical solutions to address these gaps.  
• Participate in designing, planning, developing, and documenting studies to make informed business decisions based on data. 
• Analyse data for scientific publications and support the publication process in collaboration with epidemiologists, cross-functional collaborators, and external partners. 
• Implement and maintain local and cloud-based data and computational environment to integrate data and solutions from different sources. 
• Write, document, and maintain code in R and Python to transform, standardise and aggregate data to create analysis-ready data sets from large amounts of raw data. 
• Strengthen partnerships with leading data science knowledge centres in industry and academia.  

Qualifications 

We realize that few people are experts at everything. But if you can nod your head at the following attributes, then you could be the person we are looking for: 

• PhD in Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Mathematics/Mathematical Modelling, Physics, Data Science, or equivalent quantitative fields, combined with hands-on experience in the pharmaceutical industry, consultancy or startup in the medical/biological field. 
• Extensive experience in classical statistical methods, including model design, comparison and validation, regression analyses and survival analyses with competing risk. 
• Experience with machine learning methods, such as clustering and/or classification problems. 
• Significant experience working with real-world data (RWD), such as medical records or health insurance claims. 
• Strong programming skills with the ability to write clean, maintainable code in R and Python and experience with version control (e.g. Git). 
• Experience managing large data (e.g. transforming tabular data with millions of rows), including writing performant, scalable software and optimizing queries. 
• Proven ability to manage stakeholders effectively by quickly understanding their needs and communicating complex statistical and data science concepts, while translating these insights into actionable solutions through programming and analysis. 
• Proven track record of project ownership and informal leadership. 

Additionally, it could be beneficial if you bring experience with:  

• Epidemiology (RWD/RWE) and translation of epidemiological questions into advanced data analysis solutions.   
• Statistical methods on causal inference. 
• Advanced machine learning techniques (e.g. transformers, deep learning) and foundation models (e.g. large language models, retrieval augmented generation). 
• SQL, creating dashboards using R/Shiny or other software. 
• Cloud computing environments (AWS / Microsoft Azure), Linux, shell scripting (e.g. Bash), and/or high-performance computing services. 
• Databases, data lakes and similar storage solutions, including writing SQL queries and managing database connections. 
• Project management and scientific writing. 

We prioritize accountability and achieving goals through teamwork. Therefore, it's crucial that you leverage your strong interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate effectively with others. You thrive on responsibility, are prepared to take on informal leadership roles and complete your tasks proactively and within deadlines. 

About the department 

The Computational Precision Health department operates in Måløv/Hellerup (Denmark) and London (UK). This position is based in Måløv/Hellerup (Denmark). 

As part of the Artificial Intelligence and Digital Research (AIDR) area within the broader Digital Science & Innovation (DSI) organization, Computational Precision Health plays a crucial role in supporting the digital journey across all therapy areas in Novo Nordisk Research and Early Development. The department focuses on deriving insights and understanding causal relationships from real-world data using advanced statistical and machine learning methods. By analyzing various data sources, we generate evidence to support drug discovery and preclinical drug development projects. 

Working at Novo Nordisk 

At Novo Nordisk, we don’t wait for change. We drive it. We’re a dynamic company in an even more dynamic industry, and we know that what got us to where we are today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future. We embrace the spirit of experimentation, striving for excellence without fixating on perfection. We never shy away from opportunities to develop, we seize them. From research and development, through to manufacturing, marketing, and sales – we’re all working to move the needle on patient care. 

Contact 

For further information, please contact Suvi Hokkanen, Senior Director, Computational Precision Health, at [email protected]. 

Deadline 

March 16th, 2025.  

If you see yourself in the description above, please apply sooner rather than later, as we review applications and schedule interviews on an ongoing basis. 

You do not need to attach a cover letter to your application, but please include a few sentences about why you are applying in your resume or CV. To ensure an efficient and fair recruitment process, please refrain from adding a photo to your CV.  

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. 

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.