Principal Data Scientist
- Salary
- $204,500 - $267,000
- Level
- Principal
- Work type
- Hybrid · New York
Not stated in the posting: visa.
Open. First seen 2 October 2026.
About the role
Formation Bio's standard text
About Formation Bio
Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development.
Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in-licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients.
The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others.
You can read more at the following links:
- Our Vision for AI in Pharma
- Our Current Drug Portfolio
- Our Technology & Platform
At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.
About the Position
As a Principal Data Scientist at Formation Bio, you will be at the forefront of revolutionizing drug development through AI and advanced analytics. In this role, you'll lead crucial initiatives that directly impact our drug development portfolio, from developing sophisticated models for patient selection to creating AI-powered solutions for clinical trial optimization. You'll work at the intersection of computational biology, machine learning, and drug development, collaborating with cross-functional teams to translate complex biological data into actionable insights.
This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of pharmaceutical development by leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies while making a meaningful impact on patient lives.
Responsibilities
- Lead and execute complex data science projects that directly advance our drug development portfolio
- Develop and implement sophisticated models for therapeutic hypothesis evaluation, including patient stratification and biomarker identification
- Design and create AI models for modernizing clinical trial evaluations, including surrogate endpoints
- Aid in the development and training of AI agents to automate and optimize biomedical workflows
- Collaborate cross-functionally with clinical, technical, and research teams
- Present complex analytical findings to senior stakeholders, including executive leadership
About You
Required Qualifications
- PhD in computational sciences or life sciences
- 5+ years of post-academic experience in life sciences (biotech, pharma, consulting)
- Strong programming skills, particularly in Python
- Extensive experience in multi-modal bioinformatics analysis
Preferred Qualifications
- Proven expertise in cloud computing environments, including proficiency with tabular and/or graph databases
- Strong background in machine learning and deep learning, particularly in biological applications
- Experience with large language models (LLM)
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with engineering teams on production systems
- Strong communication skills with proven ability to present complex technical findings to senior stakeholders
Total Compensation Range: $204,500 - $267,000
Compensation Individual compensation is determined by several factors, including role scope, geographic location, and skills & experience. Your offer will reflect where you fall within the range based on these considerations. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, comprehensive benefits, and generous perks. If the posted range doesn't match your expectations, we still encourage you to apply!
Where We Hire Formation Bio is prioritizing hiring in key hubs, primarily the New York City and Boston metro areas, with a hybrid model requiring 3 days per week in office. Applicants from the Research Triangle (NC) and San Francisco Bay Area may also be considered. Please apply only if you reside in these locations or are willing to relocate.
Formation Bio's standard text
Equal Opportunity Formation Bio is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
We've seen a rise in recruiting impersonation scams across the industry, where fake profiles pose as recruiters aiming to trick candidates into sharing personal and financial information through illegitimate interviews and job offers. All legitimate recruiting communications from Formation Bio will come from a @formation.bio email address. If you receive outreach from someone claiming to work at Formation Bio through any other domain or channel, please disregard it and do not share any personal information.
What this role asks for
Standard for data science / ML roles
LLM · Machine Learning · Python
Common in data science / ML postings at any company.
52% of this description is written for the role. The rest is Formation Bio's standard text, folded away below.
Read against Formation Bio's other open postings on this site.
The team: Data Science
This role is one of 6 open in Data Science.
WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS
Python (5 of 6), Deep Learning (4 of 6), LLM (4 of 6), Machine Learning (3 of 6), Computer Vision (2 of 6), PyTorch (2 of 6), TensorFlow (2 of 6)
OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM
- Associate Director/Director, Data Science (Real World Data) posted Apr 30
- Senior Data Scientist - Real World Data posted Mar 30
- Senior Data Scientist, Medical Imaging posted Jan 8
- Principal Data Scientist, Medical Imaging posted Jul 22
- Senior Data Scientist posted Feb 12
From the team and dates on Formation Bio's own job board.
Salary context
5 other open postings titled Principal Data Scientist state a salary: median USD 190,000 to USD 236,500 a year.
See Data Scientist salaries in New York →
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