Head of Data Operations

Owkin

Owkin

IT, Operations
London, UK · Paris, France · France · Paris, France · Nantes, France · United Kingdom · Remote
Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2023

About us

Owkin is an AI biotechnology company that uses AI to find the right treatment for every patient. We combine the best of human and artificial intelligence to answer the research questions shared by biopharma and academic researchers. By closing the translational gap between complex biology and new treatments, we bring new diagnostics and drugs to patients sooner.

Owkin has raised over $300 million and became a unicorn through investments from leading biopharma companies (Sanofi and BMS) and venture funds (Fidelity, GV and BPI, among others).

Owkin is seeking the best and brightest to join our fast-growing and dynamic team.

About the role:

As a Director of Data Operations, you will be leading most of the efforts of the company related to collection and curation of multimodal data. You will lead the team whose role spans from extracting the raw data in our data partners information systems to providing a fit-for-AI dataset which then can be used by data scientists. This involves many steps such as extraction, cleaning, curation, imputation, pseudonymisation, jointure of different datasets (e.g. histology slides with patient tabular information), alignment to a common data model and design of connectors to these data.

Owkin has a particular focus on multimodal datasets including histology and genomics data on top of clinical data. Our projects span various therapeutic areas and medical expertise (oncology, cardiovascular, immunity and inflammation). The team is in charge of managing the process of data curation across all modalities, with a particular expertise on clinical data.

Day to day you will interact with our data partners, often large hospitals, to extract and prepare specific datasets with the goal of using them later in data science driven biomedical research. You will have to drive the interactions with all stakeholders and data operations to produce a final clean and fit-for-AI dataset that is matching the project requirements.

Additionally, you will manage the process for generation of rich datasets using the latest technologies available in the field of genomics and single cell omics. This will involve participation in the definition of the acquisition pipeline and most importantly the organization of all the relevant data management activities.

You will also initiate the development of innovative approaches to curate data through automated tools, in order to optimize and scale the process of getting data on Owkin’s platform for biomedical research.

In particular, you will:

  • Be responsible for the delivery of high quality multimodal datasets matching expectations of our internal clients, i.e. the data science and biomedical teams.
  • Lead and grow a team of data stewards and data engineers to deliver all operations related to multimodal data.
  • Lead data operation transformation and strategy development. Define the data operations strategy and propose & implement a roadmap. Propose a strategy to scale the activity
  • Drive excellence in delivering all operations related to data quality. Audit current ways of working and propose external partnerships to optimize our processes. Propose standard documentation and processes.
  • Lead interactions with data providers (e.g. hospitals) and develop excellent relationships with key stakeholders (EU and NA)Lead the budget (design, approval and monitoring) of the data operations team
  • Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers complementing internal resources.
  • Develop strong partnerships with CROs and other service providers. Contribute to selection and supervision as well as organization and monitoring of external partners.

Position is based either in the Paris, Nantes or London office or full remote, under the responsibility of the SVP Partnerships.

The responsibilities missions described are not an exhaustive list; additional tasks may be assigned or the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands.

About you

Required qualifications / experience:

  • BS/MSc/PhD in Health Informatics, biomedical research, clinical studies or an associated field
  • Proven experience in healthcare data management including an experience in running clinical studies involving the collection of multimodal datasets used for data science and/or delivering research ready datasets.
  • Excellent understanding of technical aspects related to data management, including pseudonymisation methodologies;
  • Experience in building team and developing talent, including technical expertise
  • Experience of the organization of large hospitals and understanding of project management in this context.
  • Experience working with private and sensitive personal information, including ethical and regulatory constraints
  • Excellent task management strategies, with a sense of urgency and managing business priorities.

Bonus:

  • Knowledge of healthcare Information System and main softwares
  • Data engineering skills;
  • Knowledge of histology, genomics and/or single cell genomics is a significant plus
  • Professional experience in multicultural environment, and ideally one successful experience working on data operations projects outside Europe

#LI-MD1

What we offer

  • Flexible work organization and access to remote work
  • Friendly and informal working environment
  • Opportunity to work with an international team with high technical and scientific backgrounds

Recruitment Process & Security

  • Please complete the form and submit your CV.
  • Owkin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status or on the basis of disability.
  • Owkin is a great place to work. Unfortunately, being a coveted workplace means we are vulnerable to recruitment phishing scams. We urge all job seekers and candidates to be wary of potential scams. Most of these have individuals posing as representatives of prominent companies, including Owkin, with the aim of obtaining personal, sensitive, or financial information from applicants. These scams prey upon an individual’s desire to obtain a job and can sometimes “feel” like a genuine recruitment process. Some red flags are identified below. Should you encounter a recruitment process that claims to be for Owkin but is not consistent with the below, please do not provide any personal or financial information:
  • Legitimate Owkin recruitment processes include communication with candidates through recognized professional networks, such as LinkedIn.
  • Communication is always through an official Owkin email address (from the @owkin.com domain), over the phone or though our applicant tracking system (Greenhouse).
  • The Owkin talent team do use platforms such as LinkedIn and Job Teaser, however if you have any concern or doubt about this contact, please ask for them to send an email from @Owkin.com.
  • The Owkin talent team will not solicit personal data from candidates during the application phase including, but not limited to, date of birth, social security numbers, or bank account information;
  • Legitimate Owkin interviews may be conducted over the phone, in person, or via an approved enterprise videoconferencing service (Google Meets). They will not occur via Signal, Telegram or Messenger
  • Owkin offers of employment are based on merit and only extended once a candidate has interviewed with members of the talent and hiring team. Offers will be extended both verbally and in written format.

If you think that you have been a victim of fraud,