Senior Principal Scientist, Translational AI Lab (TRAIL)

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 the 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

The Translational AI Lab (TRAIL) is a division within the newly formed AI Biology & Translation (AIBT) department in gRED’s Computational Sciences Center of Excellence (CS-CoE). TRAIL’s mission is to harness the power of AI to unlock new biological insights by translating foundational models into applied impact—driving discovery in target identification, disease understanding, and therapeutic exploration.

As a Senior Principal Scientist (SE8), you will lead complex, cross-functional scientific initiatives that bridge cutting-edge AI capabilities and real-world biological application. This role is ideal for a leader with a record of scientific excellence, cross-disciplinary fluency, and deep translational curiosity.

You’ll work in close partnership with:

• BRAID (Biology Research AI Development), our internal AI model development team,

• Computational Biology & Medicine (CBM) and therapeutic area scientists,

• Experimental and data-generating partners across Genentech R&D (i.e. Research, Translational Medicine, Cellular & Tissue Genomics etc).
   

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a small team that focuses on high-impact projects that apply and adapt AI models to translational challenges in disease biology, biomarker discovery, and target exploration.

• Frame biological problems in computational terms and design solutions that are biologically meaningful, interpretable, and experimentally testable.

• Collaborate with BRAID to guide model application, validation, and refinement.

• Partner with experimental and clinical teams to ensure scientific questions are addressed with computational rigor and domain awareness.

• Act as a recognized scientific thought leader and strategic contributor to decisions that shape the direction of Genentech’s discovery and translational pipeline.

• Mentor junior and senior scientists across AIBT and partner organizations.

• Represent TRAIL and AIBT in cross-functional efforts, governance forums, and external collaborations.
   

Who You Are

• PhD (or equivalent) in a quantitative discipline (e.g., Computational Biology, Computer Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics) or in a biological field (e.g., Oncology, Immunology, Molecular Biology) with demonstrated computational fluency.

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in drug discovery, translational biology, or related computational science fields.

• Consistent and sustained record of scientific excellence, including:

  • High-impact publications or patents

  • Regulatory filings or internal reports

  • Key contributions to molecule advancement decisions

  • Thought leadership in a relevant scientific domain

• Proven ability to lead and influence in a cross-functional, matrixed environment.

• Strong mentoring record and demonstrated investment in talent development.

• Recognized internally or externally as a domain expert and innovator, capable of shaping scientific direction and organizational strategy.

• External collaborations, invited talks, and involvement in scientific communities are valued.

About AIBT and the CS-CoE

AI Biology & Translation (AIBT) brings together model deve