Senior Director of Data Science

Skills :     Data Scientist

Job Description:

Xilis, Inc. is an innovation-driven biotech company developing its proprietary MicroOrganoSphere (“MOS”) Technology for functional precision oncology. Xilis’ MOS Technology enables rapid and scalable generation of patient tumor models that retain patient-specific tumor biology and tumor microenvironment, representing one of the most translationally relevant ex vivo technologies for precision oncology drug discovery and development. Located in Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, Xilis is building a functional precision medicine platform that incorporates scaled multi-modal profiling of therapeutic activity and AI/ML-enabled analytics to catalyze functional precision medicine drug discovery, development, and diagnostics. Collectively, Xilis aims to harness its MOS Platform to enable the development of the most effective therapeutics and guide them to the right patients at the right time.

We're seeking an experienced and dynamic Senior Director of Data Science to lead our data science initiatives and drive innovation at Xilis. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in machine learning, MLOps, and computer vision, coupled with extensive knowledge of biology, particularly cancer biology.

This role will shape the data science team and future data vision of Xilis. You will conceive and drive novel applications of machine learning techniques that will support and expand the capabilities of Xilis’ patient-derived 3D model platform toward precision oncology drug development. You will drive initiatives across multimodal data generation, analysis, infrastructure, and interpretation, using diverse technologies such as flow cytometry, -omics, and brightfield/confocal microscopy experiments. You will lead the design and implementation of computational pipelines and image segmentation algorithms that harness multiple sources of data in order to garner biological and clinical insights from large discovery efforts. You will develop scalable approaches to extracting relevant signals from 3D microscopy images and other data types, using state-of-the-art computer vision techniques. This role will include a mix of team- and project-leadership as well as hands-on analysis and algorithm development.

You will work closely with experimental scientists, R&D, automation, software and operations teams to deliver solutions to further the Xilis platform. You will be a key leader of a fast-paced early-stage startup and have the opportunity to shape the data science team and product development.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the data science team, setting strategic direction and fostering a culture of strong execution, scientific innovation, and industry-grade best practices.
• Develop and implement advanced ML and computer vision solutions to analyze and interpret biological data, with a focus on cancer biology and microscopy image analysis
• Oversee the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle, from ideation to production deployment
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams of biologists, clinicians, and data scientists to identify opportunities for data-driven solutions in cancer research
• Establish best practices for MLOps, ensuring scalable and maintainable AI/ML systems in a biological context
• Stay current with the latest advancements in data science, AI, and computational biology

Requirements

• PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related field
• 8+ years of industry experience in data science applied to biological problems, with at least 3 years in a leadership role
• Strong background in biology, with significant experience or knowledge in cancer biology
• Proven track record in developing and deploying ML and computer vision solutions for biological data analysis
• Demonstrated ability to generate meaningful insights from complex biological datasets using ML tools
• Strong understanding of MLOps practices and tools
• Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS) for large-scale biological data processing
• Experience working in a fast-paced biotech startup environment, delivering high-quality results under tight timelines

Preferred Skills

• Experience with microscopy image analysis, particularly cell painting techniques

If you're passionate about leveraging cutting-edge data science to generate insights from biological data and make a real impact in cancer research, we want to hear from you!

Xilis was created when its three founders — an engineer, a physician, and a biologist — decided to come together and commercialize their technology to transform cancer care. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. Furthermore, even if your work experience isn't perfectly aligned with what we've described above, if you're excited about what we're building then we want to talk to you!

Xilis offers comprehensive health, vision, dental & retirement plans, and unlimited PTO. We are a remote-friendly team: our headquarters are in Durham, North Carolina, but we have team members across the US (and beyond!).