Associate Director, Data Science

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago provides superior pediatric care in a setting that offers the latest benefits and innovations in medical technology, research and family-friendly design. As the largest pediatric provider in the region with a 140-year legacy of excellence, kids and their families are at the center of all we do. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is ranked in all 10 specialties by the U.S. News & World Report.

Location

Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center

Job Description

The Associate Director of Data Science and Analytics leads the Data Science and Analytics Service Line (DSASL) within the Quantitative Science Pillar (QSP). This role focuses on supporting the research data science needs of our investigators. The Associate Director oversees a team of data scientists and analysts who provide direct research support to the scientific community through consultations, data requests, grant development, and contributing to projects using a team science approach. The Associate Director will be familiar with the scientific consultation process, developing scopes of work, triaging service requests, assigning projects to team members based on skillset and bandwidth, and maintaining clear and regular communication with researchers that is professional and customer oriented. The Associate Director is responsible for working with their team and the QSP Operations team to continuously refine and optimize service delivery to balance quality of work, timeliness of work, researcher experience, staff satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness. The Associate Director must have the technical and scientific skills to take on their own projects while also mentoring and advising team members on their assignments. The Associate Director serves as a data science leader, educator, and advocate for the research community, and will have appointments to relevant committees and governing bodies, as well as opportunities to communicate more broadly across the institution. As a technical expert, the Associate Director will play a key role in advancing the organization’s research informatics strategy, contributing to the development of technical infrastructure, policies, and service offerings. The Associate Director will help foster a culture of innovation that can lead to meaningful contributions to the scientific community, including through publications, open-source releases, public datasets, and commercialization opportunities. This position will work collaboratively with the other scientific directors and operations within QSP under the direction of the Director of Operations for Quantitative Science and the CRIO of the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute.

Essential Job Functions:

• Lead and oversee the Data Science and Analytics Service Line (DSASL): Direct a multidisciplinary team of data scientists and analysts, ensuring the delivery of high-quality research data services, including consultations, data requests, and grant development, using a team science approach.
• Manage and optimize service workflows: Coordinate the intake, triage, and assignment of research support requests, tailoring the allocation of projects to team members based on expertise and capacity while prioritizing timely and cost-effective delivery.
• Develop and maintain stakeholder relationships: Cultivate strong, customer-oriented communication with researchers, ensuring regular updates on project progress, fostering trust and satisfaction through responsive and professional service.
• Mentor and advise staff on technical and project-related matters: Provide hands-on support and guidance to team members, advising on complex research data science tasks while contributing to individual projects as a technical expert.
• Support professional development: Facilitate workshops, trainings, and continuing education activities to foster the growth and development of data science staff.
• Collaborate on strategic research informatics initiatives: Partner with institutional technology leaders, including the Chief Research Informatics Officer and Senior Director of Research IT, to design and implement infrastructure and policies that advance organizational research goals.
• Contribute to institutional data science leadership: Serve as a key data science advocate, educator, and thought leader, participating in committees, and representing the research data science function across the institution.
• Promote a culture of innovation and scientific contribution: Drive the generation of impactful research outputs, including publications, open-source releases, public datasets, and commercialization opportunities, supporting institutional goals for scientific excellence.
• The authority to hire, separate, promote, demote, write, and administer performance evaluations.
• Other job functions as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• PhD (or equivalent) in a quantitative/computational field, such as data science, computer science, neuroscience, biostatistics, or similar. Preference for biological/physiological applied research.
• Minimum of 10 years of post-graduate experience working in data science, with a strong preference for clinical, research, or healthcare industry experience.
• At least 2-3 of those years should have been in a scientific role at an academic medical center, university, or research institute.
• Scientific team leadership/management experience is strongly preferred.
• Significant track record of managing large and complex data analytic processes, showing a firm grounding in statistical methods, machine learning and AI, and reproducible research.
• Significant track record of proposing, obtaining, and participating in grant-funded research.
• Significant track record of peer-reviewed scholarly publication in a related scientific field.
• Expert written, oral and visual communication skills, with an ability to communicate effectively to a range of audiences.
• Extensive experience with modern scientific software and languages (e.g. Python, R, MATLAB) and general-purpose development tools (git, Docker, etc.).
• Extensive experience working with diverse data types including image or video, EHR records, physiological or wearable sensor waveforms, free text, and geographic or spatiotemporal data.
• Experience producing static and interactive data visualizations for large complex datasets.
• Experience collaborating with data architecture and data engineering teams to deploy complex data science solutions.
• Experience with Epic EHR reporting systems (Clarity and/or Caboodle Data Warehouse) and clinical data models strongly preferred.
• Experience developing for, and working in, cloud environments (ideally Microsoft Azure) preferred.

Education

PhD

Benefit Statement

For full time and part time employees who work 20 or more hours per week we offer a generous benefits package that includes:

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Employer paid group term life and disability

Employer contribution toward Health Savings Account

Flexible Spending Accounts

Paid Time Off (PTO), Paid Holidays and Paid Parental Leave

403(b) with a 5% employer match

Various voluntary benefits:

• Supplemental Life, AD&D and Disability
• Critical Illness, Accident and Hospital Indemnity coverage
• Tuition assistance
• Student loan servicing and support
• Adoption benefits
• Backup Childcare and Eldercare
• Employee Assistance Program, and other specialized behavioral health services and resources for employees and family members
• Discount on services at Lurie Children’s facilities
• Discount purchasing program

There’s a Place for You with Us

At Lurie Children’s we embrace and celebrate diversity and equity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team with a variety of backgrounds, skills, and viewpoints — recognizing that diverse identities strengthen our workplace and the care we can provide to the Chicago community and beyond. We treat everyone fairly, appreciate differences, and make meaningful connections that foster belonging and allyship. This is a place where you can be your best, so we can give our best to the patients and families who trust us with their care.

Lurie Children’s and its affiliates are equal employment opportunity employers. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, pregnancy, protected veteran status, order of protection status, protected genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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