Associate Director, Data Science, R&D (Molecular Epidemiology)

Job Title:

Associate Director, Data Science, R&D (Molecular Epidemiology)

Location:

San Diego, CA

Position type:

FLSA:

Full time

Exempt

Department:

Finance ID:

AI & Data Science

7300-2023-1-P

Strive to Bring a Profound Difference to our Patients

At Avidity Biosciences, we are passionate about the impact of every employee in realizing our vision of improving people’s lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics. Avidity is revolutionizing the field of RNA with its proprietary AOCs, which are designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to address targets and diseases previously unreachable with existing RNA therapies. If you are a committed, solution-oriented thinker, join us in making a difference and become part of our growing culture that is integrated, collaborative, agile and focused on the needs of patients. 

Avidity Biosciences, Inc.'s mission is to profoundly improve people's lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics - Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs™). Utilizing its proprietary AOC platform, Avidity demonstrated the first-ever successful targeted delivery of RNA into muscle and is leading the field with clinical development programs for three rare muscle diseases: myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Avidity is broadening the reach of AOCs with its advancing and expanding pipeline, including programs in cardiology and immunology through internal discovery efforts and key partnerships. Avidity is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information about our AOC platform, clinical development pipeline, and people, please visit www.aviditybiosciences.com and engage with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Molecular Epidemiologist with experience in population genetics, AI/ML, and biostatistics to lead early-stage research into new indications, biomarkers, and disease mechanisms. This role sits at the intersection of computational biology, epidemiology, and translational research, leveraging large-scale datasets to uncover insights that drive drug discovery and development, reporting to the VP of AI/ML.You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including AI/ML scientists, biologists, clinical teams, and therapeutic area leads to integrate multi-omics, real-world evidence (RWE), and AI-driven modeling to identify novel disease signatures and therapeutic targets.If you are passionate about leveraging molecular epidemiology and AI to drive transformative breakthroughs in RNA therapeutics, we invite you to join our mission at Avidity Biosciences.

What You Will Contribute

• Lead research in molecular epidemiology and population genetics to identify novel biomarkers, gene targets, receptors, and indications for RNA-based therapeutics.
• Develop AI/ML models for analyzing genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical data, leveraging deep learning, Bayesian methods, and causal inference techniques.
• Integrate multi-omics data (genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics) with epidemiological datasets to uncover disease mechanisms.
• Apply statistical genetics and biostatistical methods to analyze large-scale population and clinical datasets (e.g., GWAS, UK Biobank, All of Us, clinical genomic registries).
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams in early research, preclinical development, and translational medicine to advance therapeutic hypotheses.
• Stay at the forefront of AI-driven biomarker discovery, precision medicine, and epidemiological methodologies.
• Drive publication and external engagement through high-impact research papers, conferences, and industry partnerships.

What We Seek

• PhD in Molecular Epidemiology, Population Genetics, Computational Biology, Biostatistics, or a related field with a strong disease genetics focus.
• Minimum 6+ years of experience in pharma/biopharma applying epidemiological methods to biomarker, new target discovery, and therapeutic research.
• Deep expertise in genomic epidemiology, including GWAS, polygenic risk scores (PRS), and functional genomics approaches.
• Strong proficiency in AI/ML applications for molecular epidemiology, including neural networks, probabilistic models, and graph-based methods.
• Industry experience with clinical and population health datasets (e.g., EHR-linked genomic databases, RWE, longitudinal cohort studies).
• Hands-on experience with bioinformatics pipelines and statistical computing tools (e.g., Python, R, TensorFlow, PyTorch, PLINK, Hail).
• Ability to translate complex genetic and epidemiological insights into actionable therapeutic strategies.
• Strong communication skills to work across scientific, clinical, and AI/ML teams.

What We Will Provide to You:

• The base salary range for this role is $194,750 - $215,250. The final compensation will be commensurate with relevant experience, skillset, internal equity and market factors.
• Avidity offers competitive compensation and benefits which includes the opportunity for annual and spot bonuses, stock options and RSUs, as well as a 401(k) with an employer match. In addition, the comprehensive wellness program includes coverage for medical, dental, vision, and LTD, and four weeks of time off.
• A commitment to learning and development which includes a variety of programming internally developed by and for Avidity employees, opportunities for job-specific training offered by industry, and an education reimbursement program.

Avidity Biosciences

10578 Science Center Dr. Suite 125

San Diego, CA

92121

O: 858-401-7900

F: 858-401-7901

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