Senior Data Scientist

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 development of the most effective therapeutics and guide them to the right patients at the right time.

Role Summary The Data Science team supports all data, machine learning, bioinformatics, statistical and analytical approaches across Xilis. In this role, you will lead data analysis projects in support of our novel 3D organoid-based assays and products at the forefront of precision cancer therapeutics. You will tackle some of the most interesting biological and technical questions related to functional cancer therapeutics. You will help lead the design and implementation of pipelines and classification algorithms that combine and harness diverse data sources in order to extract biological and clinical insights.  You will contribute to multi-omic, imaging and flow cytometry-based assays - enabling both successful biopharma partnerships and internal product development.  You will work closely with the data science team, experimental scientists, device engineers, R&D, business development, software and operations to deliver solutions to further precision oncology. You will be part of a fast-paced early-stage startup and have the opportunity to shape the data science and biopharma strategy and product development.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in bioinformatics, data science, bioengineering, or a related discipline with 3+ years industry experience or MS with 5+ years of industry experience (Bonus: Experience in drug discovery or drug development)
• Expert knowledge of biostatistical methodologies
• Extensive knowledge of molecular biology and cancer genomics
• Expertise in scripting languages – Python, R and Linux shell environment (Bonus: experience developing novel / custom algorithms, experience with version control, and good software design practices)
• Experience with NGS data and landscape of bioinformatics tools
• Experience with machine-learning based approaches
• Experience working with experimental scientists on Design of Experiment (DOE) and familiarity with best practices (Bonus: Experience with single-cell RNA, proteomics, immunoassays, image processing, microscopy, flow cytometryStrong verbal and written communication skills)
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup environment, delivering high-quality results under tight timelines
• Strong team player: ability to work together with your team as well as cross-functionally and across institutions, to accomplish your goals