AI Research Lead, Foundation Models

AI Research Lead, Foundation Models

Barcelona, Spain

Introduction to role

In 2025 within just the United States, over 2 million people are projected to be diagnosed with cancer. Along with heart disease, cancer is the leading cause of death across all ages. Cancer patients’ remaining lives are often measured in months, not years. How can we extend the recent advances in ML and AI to tackle cancer? How do we determine which patients should receive which drugs, especially if the drugs are still being developed? Or whether the drugs will be safe? Or how much or how often a drug should be taken? Or what combination of drugs?

Accountabilities

You will help build next-generation AI models to power AstraZeneca’s bold ambition to launch 20 new medicines by 2030. You will bring your deep knowledge of machine learning and superior software engineering skills to accelerate delivery of large-scale foundation models. You will leverage data from real patients tested with real drugs to model and understand treatment outcomes. You will devise creative solutions to scale up and model multimodal datasets (e.g., DNA, RNA, protein, tumor imaging, tissue imaging, doctor’s notes). You will work collaboratively in a close-knit team, bringing your unique skillset, and with a sense of urgency to do what it takes for the team to win.

Essential Skills/Experience

• PhD in a computational discipline (e.g., bioinformatics, computer science, computational biology, computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics) and at least 8 years’ experience in a machine learning & AI research & development setting
• Exceptional software engineering skills; knowledge of computing hardware a plus
• Deep understanding of machine learning fundamentals, plus technical domain expertise in one or more of the following areas:
  
  LLMs and transformer models (algorithms, training, fine-tuning); Neural architecture optimization (e.g., NAS, model compression, computational efficiency); Multimodal modeling (e.g., vision-language models, multi-task models); Model interpretability; Datasets and benchmarks; Agentic AI; Generative AI
   
• First author publications in high-profile journals or leading ML conference or otherwise have tangible, significant contributions (e.g., open-source projects, relevant work experience) in one or more of the above technical domains
• Demonstrated capability to plan and develop AI strategy and manage multiple stakeholders.
• Deep, up-to-date knowledge of ML literature and connections with the ML community (e.g., conference publications, presentations, or collaborations).
• A problem-solving mindset (do you get to the basics and identify root causes?)
• Integrity, responsibility, humility, and open-mindedness (do you own your failures, have a growth mindset, and embrace problems?)
• Initiative, proactivity, practicality, independence, and ownership
• Team-oriented mindset (do you do what’s best for the team, even if it is at personal cost?)
• Ability to execute and iterate at pace
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Join us on our journey to create the future of medicine as we work towards our ambition to become a healthcare provider beyond medicines. A place to be truly patient-centric, we use technologies to better understand diseases, develop new medicines and support patients with all aspects of their disease. It means new ways of working, new technologies and new ways to interact with patients.

Be part of making the entire Research & Development cycle digitally-enabled: improving clinical trials and data collection, Digital therapeutics for rapid diagnostics, wearables, machine learning and visual analytics for informed decision-making, integrated data to improve patient outcomes, and insights to inform the next generation of products.

Be empowered to act; here you can explore and disrupt whilst working on the cutting-edge. It takes a can-do, positive and resilient mindset, often overcoming setbacks as we evolve and innovate at the same time. If you thrive on adapting your skills and learning from failures, then this is the place for you.

Research & Development is at the heart of AstraZeneca. Take our pipeline to the next level using the latest technologies and backed by our ethos to follow the science. Help to lead a changing industry as we work at the forefront and partner across the healthcare ecosystem.

Ready to make a difference? Apply now!

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.