Lead Data Science Engineer

About the role

Medidata is seeking a Lead Data Science Engineer to join our team. This role will collaborate closely with various stakeholder functions including product, delivery, data science, engineering, partnerships, and biostatistics.

Responsibilities

• Apply advanced skills in data architecture, data science engineering, data modeling, and data quality using modern cloud-native technologies.
• Develop ETL pipelines, working with vector databases, automation, and CI/CD using tools such as Python, SQL, and Git.
• Establish MCP governance standards for agent interactions, including authentication, authorization, audit logging, context management, and compliance controls.
• Develop LLM applications using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and support fine-tuning for domain-specific tasks.
• Analyze and manipulate both structured and unstructured data sources, ensuring high data quality and readiness for downstream consumers.
• Built agent-driven metadata management solutions to maintain data catalogs, business glossaries, lineage documentation, and governance policies.
• Document and communicate technical work clearly to stakeholders at all levels, both technical and non-technical.
• Collaborate effectively in Agile environments and cross-functional teams, building secure, scalable data pipelines into Snowflake from both on-premise and cloud-based sources.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical or scientific field, such as Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, or similar
• 7+ years of experience in roles such as Data Scientist or Data Engineer with a strong foundation in Enterprise Data Architecture and Engineering
• Hands-on experience with tools and concepts such as Airflow, CDC, batch processing, and job scheduling.
• Experienced in building scalable, cloud-native data pipelines using tools and services like Streamlit, Snowflake and containerization platforms like Docker/Kubernetes.
• Proficient in Git/GitHub, GitHub Actions for CI/CD, and managing infrastructure as code using Terraform
• Experience with clinical trial data is not required, but interest to learn and understand how these data improve medical research is paramount
• Hands-on experience building high-throughput data pipelines across cloud platforms and MCP server environments. Proficient in implementing RAG architectures, vector databases, and low-latency retrieval layers.
• Skilled in integrating AI/ML pipelines into production-grade data infrastructure while establishing MCP governance frameworks, including model access controls, context management policies, auditability, security standards, compliance monitoring, and lifecycle management to ensure secure, scalable, and responsible AI operations.

Pay

The salary range for this position physically based in NYC/NJ Metro Area is $135,000 - $180,000.

Benefits

Medidata offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, life and disability insurance; 401(k) matching; flexible paid time off; and 10 paid holidays per year.

Inclusion Statement

Compensation for the role will be commensurate with experience. The total expected compensation range will be between $135,000 and $180,000, representing the base salary (or annualized salary based on estimated hourly compensation) and target bonus.