Senior AI Scientist

Job Title: Senior AI Scientist

Job Location: Durham, United States of America

Job Location Type: Home-based

Job Contract Type: Full time

Job Seniority Level:

AI Scientist – Generative AI & Machine Learning

R&D Solutions | IQVIA

Are you looking to work at the forefront of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence?
Would you be excited to apply cutting‑edge Generative AI technologies to solve complex, real‑world problems with meaningful impact in life sciences and healthcare?

The AI Scientist Group within R&D Solutions (R&DS) at IQVIA is a strategic, customer‑facing team helping pharmaceutical and life sciences organizations design, build, and scale advanced AI/ML solutions. Our team of AI scientists, consultants, and engineers works closely with customers to unlock transformational business value through applied AI innovation.

About the Role

As an AI Scientist, you will work hands‑on with Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and agent‑based systems to design and deliver bespoke AI solutions for pharmaceutical and life sciences customers. You will collaborate with cross‑functional teams and clients to take ideas from use‑case discovery and proof‑of‑concept through scalable production deployment.

This role combines deep technical expertise, innovative problem solving, and consultative delivery in a highly collaborative environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Fine‑tune and distill Large Language Models (LLMs) for a variety of customer use cases.
• Transform raw structured and unstructured data into high‑quality, trainable datasets for LLM fine‑tuning and distillation.
• Design and implement AI agents within IQVIA’s Agentic AI framework.
• Build proof‑of‑concepts (PoCs) that demonstrate the potential and value of Generative AI solutions.
• Stay current with the latest advancements in Generative AI and Machine Learning, and apply them to real‑world business challenges.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to team members.
• Present and clearly explain AI solutions to non‑technical stakeholders in customer‑facing engagements.
• Apply consulting principles to deliver tailored AI solutions aligned with customer needs.
• Collaborate with internal teams and directly with pharmaceutical and life sciences clients to address business challenges using Generative AI.
• Partner with multidisciplinary teams to build, deploy, and scale AI/ML solutions in production environments.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• PhD in Computer Science or a closely related field.
• Proven experience fine‑tuning and/or distilling Large Language Models.
• Deep understanding and hands‑on experience with:
  • Supervised Fine‑Tuning (SFT)
  • Direct Preference Optimization (DPO)
  • Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO)
  • Reward modeling
• Publications in top‑tier AI conferences are a strong plus.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Hands‑on experience with the LangChain / LangGraph ecosystem.
• Experience deploying machine learning models at scale on cloud platforms (e.g., Azure, Databricks), including Azure OpenAI Services.
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills with the ability to think creatively and critically.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast‑paced, client‑focused environment.
• A strong desire to work in a collaborative, team‑oriented culture.

Why IQVIA

At IQVIA, you’ll have the opportunity to apply advanced AI technologies to some of the most impactful challenges in global healthcare and life sciences—working with world‑class talent, industry‑leading data, and innovative platforms to drive real outcomes.

IQVIA is a leading global provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries. We create intelligent connections to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative medical treatments to help improve patient outcomes and population health worldwide. Learn more at https://jobs.iqvia.com

IQVIA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by applicable law. https://jobs.iqvia.com/eoe

IQVIA is committed to integrity in our hiring process and maintains a zero tolerance policy for candidate fraud. All information and credentials submitted in your application must be truthful and complete. Any false statements, misrepresentations, or material omissions during the recruitment process will result in immediate disqualification of your application, or termination of employment if discovered later, in accordance with applicable law. We appreciate your honesty and professionalism.

The potential base pay range for this role, when annualized, is $108,000.00 - $270,000.00. The actual base pay offered may vary based on a number of factors including job-related qualifications such as knowledge, skills, education, and experience; location; and/or schedule (full or part-time). Dependent on the position offered, incentive plans, bonuses, and/or other forms of compensation may be offered, in addition to a range of health and welfare and/or other benefits.

This job is curated by Lifelancer.

Lifelancer is a talent-hiring platform in Life Sciences, Pharma and IT. The platform connects talent with opportunities in pharma, biotech, health sciences, healthtech and IT domains.

Please apply via Lifelancer platform to get connected to the application page and to find similar roles.

Originally posted on Himalayas