Principal ML Scientist

We are seeking a Principal Machine Learning Scientist with deep expertise in multimodal data (e.g., genomic, transcriptomic, clinical, and/or imaging) to help us unlock transformative insights in precision medicine. In this senior technical leader role, you will lead the development of novel machine learning and AI approaches to power next-generation insights in precision medicine, translational research, and drug development.

You will partner with scientists, engineers, and product teams to translate cutting-edge Machine Learning into real-world impact, spanning research, development, and production environments. You will have the opportunity to drive scientific innovation with direct translational impact, collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of domain experts, clinicians, and technologists and access to unique, large-scale multimodal datasets and high-performance computing infrastructure. 

Responsibilities

- Lead the design and development of machine learning models that integrate multimodal data sources (e.g., WGS/WES, RNA-seq, clinical records, pathology images, real-world data).

- Develop novel algorithms and adapt state-of-the-art architectures (e.g., transformers, graph neural networks, diffusion models, embedding models) for biological and clinical applications.

- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define scientific questions, shape the ML roadmap, and prioritize data problems aligned with our strategic objectives.

- Design and run rigorous experiments to evaluate model performance, interpretability, robustness, and fairness in high-stakes biomedical contexts.

- Guide the creation of scalable, reproducible pipelines for training, evaluating, and deploying models, serving as a bridge between research innovation and production deployment.

- Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and scientists, contributing to a culture of scientific and technical excellence.

- Publish high-impact research and contribute to open-source projects or industry consortia to extend the impact of your work.

Requirements

- PhD in Computer Science, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Statistics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

- 10+ years of experience applying machine learning to real-world problems, including at least 4+ years in biology (e.g., genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) or precision medicine domains.

- Expertise in handling and modeling large-scale, high-dimensional biological data (e.g., sequencing, imaging, clinical records).

- Deep understanding of modern ML/AI methods (e.g., deep learning, probabilistic models, representation learning) and their application to complex real-world data.

- Experience integrating and modeling multimodal dataset (e.g., genomics + clinical or imaging data).

- Strong programming skills and familiarity with ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Pandas/NumPy, MLFlow).

- Proven ability to work across disciplines and communicate complex results clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with modern ML architectures, including transformer-based models and/or alternatives suited for biological, multimodal, or structured data.

- Contributions to scientific publications, preprints, or open-source projects in the genomics/ML space.

- Experience with building or deploying ML systems using cloud-based infrastructure (e.g., AWS)

The pay range is listed and actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, years & depth of experience, certifications and specific office location. This may differ in other locations due to cost of labor considerations.Remote USA$188,800—$235,950 USD

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.

WHAT WE OFFER

Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more. We also offer a generous employee referral program!

For more information, visit www.natera.com.

Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents. 

Link: https://www.natera.com/notice-of-data-collection-california-residents/

Please be advised that Natera will reach out to candidates with a @natera.com email domain ONLY. Email communications from all other domain names are not from Natera or its employees and are fraudulent. Natera does not request interviews via text messages and does not ask for personal information until a candidate has engaged with the company and has spoken to a recruiter and the hiring team. Natera takes cyber crimes seriously, and will collaborate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute any related cyber crimes.

For more information:
- BBB announcement on job scams 
- FBI Cyber Crime resource page