Data Scientist - Artificial Intelligence Initiatives

Department:

RI Administration

-----

Research Informatics – AI

Position Title:

Data Scientist - Artificial Intelligence Initiatives

Job Family Group:

Professional Staff

Job Description Summary:

The Data Scientist will play a key role in advancing human-centered AI research at the University of Kansas Medical Center’s Enhanced AI Center. This position supports interdisciplinary teams by developing, validating, and deploying data-driven models and analytics pipelines that address complex challenges in healthcare, biomedical research, and public health. Working under the guidance of senior researchers and program leads, the Data Scientist will contribute to research design, data preparation, model development, and results interpretation. The role offers opportunities to engage in grant-supported projects, collaborate across KU campuses and health system partners, and help shape the Center’s growing data science core. As a key contributor, the Data Scientist will help drive the Enhanced AI (eAI) Center for Human-Focused Research’s mission by enabling cutting-edge research through advanced data science methods, supporting secure and scalable computing environments, and embedding AI expertise within collaborative teams. This role will directly support transformative projects across KU’s campuses and The Health System, advancing responsible and ethical AI that improves lives.

Job Description:

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Develop, train, and validate machine learning and AI models, including physics-informed and hybrid approaches.

• Collaborate with faculty, clinicians, and research teams to design studies, define data strategies, and determine analytic feasibility.

• Use and harmonize diverse datasets (e.g., EHR, imaging, wearables, surveys) for research projects, applying methods to address missingness, site variation, and data quality issues.

• Build, maintain, and document reproducible analytics workflows, including code, versioning, and orchestration aligned with Center standards.

• Contribute to the development of Center-wide standards, guidelines, and best practices for data science, reproducibility, and ethical AI.

• Create and maintain documentation (e.g., model summaries, data dictionaries, pipeline guides) to ensure reproducibility, compliance, and smooth knowledge transfer across teams.

• Scale experiments using high-performance computing (HPC) and/or cloud platforms, optimizing workloads and resources.

• Conduct model tuning, cross-validation, calibration, and sensitivity analyses to ensure robust and generalizable results.

• Assess and mitigate algorithmic bias; apply explainable AI techniques to promote stakeholder trust and compliance readiness.

• Provide technical support for grant proposals, including methods, figures, and preliminary results.

• Develop and deliver training sessions, workshops, and tutorials for faculty, staff, and students on data science methods, reproducible workflows, and AI best practices.

• Mentor students or junior staff and communicate progress and technical findings to eAI Center leadership, collaborators, and external partners.

• Ensure activities are conducted in a professional and ethical manner, and in accordance with KUMC Policies and applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations.

• Performs job responsibilities in a safe and secure manner.

• Ensure coordination of area work with other areas of KUMC to ensure integration and support of KUMC goals and objectives.

• Develop, maintain and expand job-specific knowledge and skills to keep pace with industry changes and support the university's commitment to excellence and innovation.

• May participate in relevant committees, task force, or other similar activities.

• Maintain confidentiality of medical center, employee, and patient information. Handle sensitive data with discretion and in accordance with KUMC policies and legal requirements.

• Maintain the highest standards of integrity, respect, professional conduct, and ethical standards.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. It is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, duties, and assignments. Furthermore, job duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Required Qualifications

Work Experience:

• 5 years of experience in Data Science, analytics, or ap