Data Science - Engagement Lead

About the role

Roche is seeking a Data Science - Engagement Lead to join the Global Analytics and Technology Center of Excellence (GATE) in San José, Costa Rica. In this senior technical‑leadership position you will design enterprise AI solutions, mentor data‑science talent and act as a strategic AI consultant for global business units.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and mentor senior data scientists across predictive AI and causal experimentation teams, establishing coding standards and MLOps best practices.
• Serve as a trusted AI advisor to executive stakeholders, translating complex healthcare challenges into actionable AI strategies.
• Shape GATE‑wide product roadmaps, talent enablement programs and standard methodologies.
• Design and deliver proofs of concept, prototypes and business cases to demonstrate ROI and secure executive buy‑in.
• Architect robust predictive models, causal inference frameworks and enterprise generative AI solutions (RAG, fine‑tuning, agentic AI workflows).
• Partner with data‑engineering and MLOps teams to build, operationalise and monitor scalable ML pipelines.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Data Science, Statistics, AI/ML, Computer Science or a related field.
• 12+ years of experience in data science/AI, including 5+ years leading AI product lifecycles and mentoring teams.
• Proven track record with predictive modelling, causal inference, LLMs and generative AI frameworks.
• Exceptional communication and consulting skills; experience in pharmaceutical or healthcare domains is a plus.
• Must be based in Costa Rica or hold valid work authorization for San José.

Required skills

• Python and SQL programming.
• Data‑pipeline tools such as dbt and PySpark.
• MLOps platforms: MLflow, Kubeflow, AWS SageMaker.
• Containerisation and orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes.
• Cloud environment: AWS.