Machine Learning Engineer, Foundation Models (Prescient / AI for Drug Discovery)

The Position

A healthier future. It's what drives us to innovate. To continuously advance science and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need today and for generations to come. Creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love. That's what makes us Roche.

Advances in AI, data, and computational sciences are transforming drug discovery and development. Roche's Research and Early Development organisations at Genentech (gRED) and Pharma (pRED) have demonstrated how these technologies accelerate R&D, leveraging data and novel computational models to drive impact. Seamless data sharing and access to models across gRED and pRED are essential to maximising these opportunities. The new Computational Sciences Center of Excellence (CoE) is a strategic, unified group whose goal is to harness this transformative power of data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist our scientists in both pRED and gRED to deliver more innovative and transformative medicines for patients worldwide.

The Opportunity

At Roche's AI for Drug Discovery (AIDD) group (Prescient Design), we are revolutionizing drug discovery with cutting-edge machine learning techniques. We are seeking talented engineers with a passion for building large-scale, distributed machine learning algorithms and systems that will transform the drug discovery process. AIDD's Foundation Model team is seeking an exceptional Machine Learning Engineer to develop the backend of our internal agents platform and enable the next generation of AI/ML-powered drug discovery applications as part of our broader Lab-in-the-Loop approach. We are looking for someone who is not only passionate about technical problem-solving but also has a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions in AI/ML. The ideal candidate should have extensive experience in leading and managing a team of engineers and scientists, and be able to foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence across the broader Roche organization. The group provides a dynamic and challenging environment for multidisciplinary research, including access to heterogeneous data sources, close links to top academic institutions around the world, as well as collaborations with internal Genentech and Roche teams.

In this role, you will:

• Develop various, cutting-edge internal AI/ML-based applications for drug discovery and development.
• Develop across the lifecycle of LLMs including data engineering, pre-training, fine-tuning, post-training, and evaluation
• Deploy models in production environments, working closely with other engineers to ensure scalability and reliability
• Solve core backend challenges in ML and engineering including the design, implementation, and scaling of our data, training, and deployment pipeline
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams across both AIDD and Roche to solve complex problems in the life sciences

Who you are

• You have a BS/MS in Computer Science, Statistics, related field, or equivalent experience and 2+ years of industry experience in machine learning; or a PhD in Computer Science and related field and 0+ years of industry experience.
• You have demonstrated success in technical capabilities deploying machine learning models in industry-grade production environments
• Experience in back-end development for LLM-powered agents and tools, or working with Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• You have experience in developing LLM/GenAI products and are familiar with open-source AI frameworks like Open WebUI.
• Strong interest in solving problems in drug discovery and biomedical science.
• You have strong programming skills in Python and using deep learning frameworks like PyTorch
• You have extensive experience with deep learning & LLMs.
• A collaborative and open-minded team player who values constructive feedback, refrains from judgment, and fosters a positive and respectful team environment.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences as well as interfacing with scientific and engineering leadership
• A passion for solving complex technical problems and a commitment to staying up-to-date with the latest developments in machine learning
• An extensive track record of delivering innovative solutions in machine learning

Relocation benefits are available for this job posting

The expected salary range for this position, based on the primary location of New York City, is $141,100 - $262,100 of hiring range. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.

Benefits

#ComputationCoE

#tech4lifeComputationalScience

#tech4lifeAI

Genentech is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy and practice to employ, promote, and otherwise treat any and all employees and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence. The company's policy prohibits unlawful discrimination, including but not limited to, discrimination on the basis of Protected Veteran status, individuals with disabilities status, and consistent with all federal, state, or local laws.

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