Data Scientist III - Quality & Patient Safety Initiative (QPSi)

Classification Title:

Data Scientist III

Classification Minimum Requirements:

A Bachelor’s Degree in data science, statistics, bioinformatics, analytics, or similar field and five years of experience; Master’s Degree in data science, statistics, bioinformatics, analytics, or similar field and three years of experience; Doctoral Degree in data science, statistics, bioinformatics, analytics, or similar field and one year of experience.

Job Description:

This Data Scientist III will play a pivotal role in collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to design, develop, and implement AI-driven solutions to advance initiatives under the UF College of Medicine’s Quality and Patient Safety Initiative (QPSi). This position will partner with health care professionals, UF faculty, data science teams, and others to create and deploy advanced data analytics and AI models that address clinical questions related to quality improvement, patient safety, and medical operations.

Leveraging expertise in statistical analysis, machine learning, and programming, the incumbent will drive data-centric solutions to enhance health care outcomes. Strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential, along with the ability to independently select appropriate methods and techniques to deliver impactful results for quality improvement initiatives.

About This Role:

Data Science & AI Model Development

• Develop, train, tune, and evaluate highly performant machine learning and AI models (including deep learning, natural language processing, and other advanced techniques) to address quality improvement and patient safety challenges in a hospital setting, with a focus on handling complex and sensitive healthcare data such as electronic health records (EHRs). 
• Rapidly prototype and implement methods for local application within a learning health center environment, ensuring that models are clinically relevant and actionable through close collaboration with healthcare professionals. 
• Contribute robust, clean, and maintainable code to standard AI and machine learning pipelines, ensuring reproducibility and efficient collaboration across the team, with an emphasis on explainability and interpretability of models to support clinical decision-making. 
• Leverage modern software engineering practices (version control, code reviews, unit testing) to maintain high-quality model development processes, while also adhering to ethical considerations and patient privacy regulations such as HIPAA. 
• Stay current with state-of-the-art clinical machine learning and AI techniques by reading relevant literature, attending conferences, and engaging with the broader AI research community, with a particular focus on applications in healthcare and patient safety.

Feature Engineering & Collaboration with Data Engineers

• Partner with data engineers to gather, preprocess, and transform both structured (e.g., EHR data) and unstructured (e.g., clinical notes, imaging) datasets into optimized feature sets for AI model development.
• Design and implement feature extraction workflows, including handling missing data, categorical encoding, and creation of derived variables.
• Work alongside database architects and data engineers to define data schemas and pipelines that accommodate large-scale datasets, ensuring reliability and scalability.
• Provide specifications for data ingestion and transformation processes that align with best practices in healthcare data governance and privacy standards.

MLOPS & Clinical Deployment

• Collaborate with MLOps staff to deploy models into clinical production environments, ensuring continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), automated testing, monitoring, and model retraining.
• Contribute to the development of containerized solutions and microservices that streamline the deployment and scaling of AI models.
• Establish robust metrics and feedback loops to monitor real-world model performance, detect model drift, and ensure reliability and clinical relevance over time.
• Define processes for model updates based on new data, changes in clinical practice, or evolving organizational needs.

Knowledge Sharing & Communication

• Create clear, actionable reports and visualizations to communicate model performance, results, and insights to clinicians, administrators, and other decision-makers.
• Develop interactive dashboards and other reporting mechanisms that facilitate real-time analytics and model insights.
• Lead and contribute to manuscripts, presentations, and white papers that detail novel AI methodologies and outcomes for internal stakeholders and external conferences/journals.
• Participate in the development of educational resources and training materials on AI, machine learning, and data science best practices for a wide range of healthcare professionals.

About COM's Quality and Patient Safety Initiative (QPSi):

The UF College of Medicine's Quality and Patient Safety Initiative (QPSi) is dedicated to enhancing patient care quality and safety through innovative research, education, and collaboration. This initiative focuses on implementing evidence-based practices, advancing patient safety initiatives, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the College of Medicine. 

QPSi's mission is to drive excellence in healthcare delivery by integrating clinical expertise, data-driven insights, and cutting-edge technology. The initiative engages healthcare professionals, students, and stakeholders in efforts to elevate patient care standards and outcomes. 

For more information about the Quality and Patient Safety Initiative, visit UF College of Medicine's QPSi. 

We Offer Exceptional Benefits:

• Low-cost State Health Plans: Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance 
• Life and Disability Insurance 
• Generous Retirement Options to secure your future
• Comprehensive Paid Time Off Packages: (includes over 10 paid holidays, as well as paid family, sick and vacation leave) 
• Exceptional Personal and Professional Development Opportunities: Access to UF Training & Organizational Development programs, leadership development, LinkedIn Learning, and more
• Tuition Assistance through the UF Employee Education Program
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Eligible Employer

About Gainesville, Florida:

Home to the University of Florida, one of the nation's top public universities, Gainesville offers vibrant academic and healthcare communities alongside an affordable cost of living, no state income tax, and mild winters. Enjoy the outdoors with over 30 miles of bike trails, freshwater springs, and numerous water activities, plus easy access to beaches and world-class theme parks.

Gainesville combines historic charm with modern amenities, including a great school system, a lively downtown, and a thriving local culture with farmers' markets and craft breweries. Discover professional growth and quality of life in Gainesville—where community, innovation, and work-life balance meet!

For more information, check out: The Guide to Greater Gainesville and Explore Gainesville in 60 seconds

Expected Salary:

$88,000 - $105,000 annually; commensurate with education and experience.

Required Qualifications:

A Bachelor’s Degree in data science, statistics, bioinformatics, analytics, or similar field and five years of experience; Master’s Degree in data science, statistics, bioinformatics, analytics, or similar field and three years of experience; Doctoral Degree in data science, statistics, bioinformatics, analytics, or similar field and one year of experience.

• Preferred:

The ideal candidate will possess: 

• Master’s degree or PhD in computer science, statistics, information systems, or related field and four years of relevant experience.
• Advanced knowledge of machine learning libraries and frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn), programming languages (Python, R, SQL), and cloud/HPC environments.
• Familiarity with healthcare data (EHR systems, clinical ontologies, privacy regulations) and experience applying AI methods in clinical settings.
• Excellent interpersonal skills for cross-functional teamwork with clinicians, data engineers, MLOps professionals, and other stakeholders. 
• Ability to translate emerging academic research in AI and machine learning into practical, production-ready solutions for quality improvement and patient safety.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work assignments.
• Ability to work effectively and independently.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

To be considered, please upload the following documents with your application:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Contact information for three professional references

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD).

Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.

Health Assessment Required: No