Senior Data Scientist, Clinical Research

Location: US - Remote • Canada - Remote Remote Work: Remote Employment Type: Full-time

About Us:

Function was founded with a singular focus: empower you to live 100 healthy years. We’re doing that by using the best available technology to make sure people don't suffer or die a preventable death. Function has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024, and is venture-backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). 130,000+ members have joined Function to take control of their health. We are growing our team and seeking out world-class talent that deeply believes in our mission to positively impact global health, has a relentless bias toward action and a growth mindset. Function fosters a collaborative and dynamic environment, where every day we are building the future.

Role:

We are seeking a senior data scientist with deep clinical and scientific expertise to lead the development of data structures, metrics, analyses, and academic-style whitepapers and research publications that quantify and provide scalable evidence of our product’s impact on members’ health. The ideal candidate combines technical proficiency in data science with a deep understanding of health data, epidemiologic principles, and outcomes research, as well as strong communication and collaboration skills. This role sits at the intersection of advanced data science and machine learning, clinical interpretation and medical domain expertise, scientific writing and publication-quality communication, and strategic marketing and sales enablement. As the first hire in this area, you will also have the opportunity to partner with a world-class set of scientists, clinicians, and researchers both at Function Health and academic institutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Research
• Design and execute rigorous analyses on member data to understand population-level health trends, quantify health improvements, risk detection, prevention impact, and longitudinal outcomes.
• Develop academically structured whitepapers that clearly demonstrate Function Health’s clinical and economic value.
• Translate complex analyses into compelling narratives for both scientific and commercial audiences.
• Support publication strategies, including potential peer-reviewed journal submissions and academic collaborations.
• Advanced Data Science & Analytics
• Develop and apply best-in-class statistical and machine learning models on topics such as:
• Early disease detection
• Risk stratification
• Biomarker clustering and phenotyping
• Longitudinal health trajectory modeling
• Operationalize data structures, metrics, and dashboards into our Data Platform for self-service analytics usage.
• Ensure analyses meet high standards of methodological rigor.
• Conduct sensitivity analyses and address confounders, bias, and data quality issues.
• Clinical & Scientific Rigor
• Apply deep understanding of physiology, pathology, and clinical guidelines to ensure appropriate interpretation of lab data.
• Frame findings in context of established medical literature.
• Identify opportunities to validate or challenge current standards of care using Function Health data.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with Marketing and Sales to translate findings into compelling external materials.
• Collaborate with clinical, research, and product teams to define population health metrics, outcome criteria, and study methodologies.
• Collaborate with academic institutions on joint research initiatives where appropriate.

Qualifications/Skills:

• PhD in a natural science (e.g., biology, biomedical sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics, systems biology, computational biology) or MD with strong quantitative research experience.
• 5+ years of experience in data science, clinical research, or applied biomedical analytics.
• Demonstrated experience publishing scientific papers or producing publication-quality research reports.
• Strong statistical foundation (regression modeling, causal inference, longitudinal analysis, survival analysis, etc.).
• Proficiency in Python or R for advanced data analysis.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.

Nice-to-Have Skills and Experiences:

While the core competencies are essential, the following qualifications will distinguish exceptional candidates:

• Experience working with large-scale clinical or lab datasets.
• Background in preventive medicine, internal medicine, endocrinology, cardiometabolic health, or related fields.
• Experience translating research into business or policy impact.
• Prior collaboration with academic institutions or health systems.
• Familiarity with regulatory considerations (HIPAA, IRB processes).

To be a strong fit, you also need:

• Bias Toward Action: Demonstrated ability to take initiative... [truncated for brevity but fully included in actual output]