Staff ML Scientist, AI Research & Development

Passionate about precision medicine and advancing the healthcare industry?

Recent advancements in underlying technology have finally made it possible for AI to impact clinical care in a meaningful way. Tempus' proprietary platform connects an entire ecosystem of real-world evidence to deliver real-time, actionable insights to physicians, providing critical information about the right treatments for the right patients, at the right time.

We are seeking a highly skilled and innovative Staff ML Scientist to join our AI research and development team. Your work will contribute to improving patient care, optimizing clinical workflows, and advancing medical research. This position offers an exciting opportunity to leverage the power of large multimodal models and latest innovations to revolutionize healthcare and make a significant impact on people's lives.

As a Staff ML Generative AI Scientist, you will play a crucial role in designing and developing cutting-edge Large Multimodal Models and Generative AI models and algorithms specifically tailored for healthcare applications. The ideal candidate will possess strong machine learning, specifically in training large multimodal models and generative AI skills, experience with real-world data, and the ability to communicate complex findings to various stakeholders.

What you’ll do:

• Responsible for developing innovative and practical Large Multimodal models and Generative AI models/applications for Tempus product line that solve impactful business challenges at Tempus across all our business units - touching on clinical notes, electronic health records, medical imaging, sequencing data, etc.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other teams to understand needs and requirements, ensuring the Model/algorithms aligns with strategic company objectives; bring Large Language Models to demonstrable business impact across all of Tempus’ business areas.
• Data Expertise: Tempus has one of the largest multimodal patient datasets ever collected, providing a unique opportunity to work with extensive and diverse data. Become an expert in Tempus’ vast epidemiological, clinical, genetic, transcriptomic and imaging data, along with the latest tools and techniques for their analysis and modeling. 
• Innovation: build an LLM driven platform leveraging Tempus’ vast real world database to discover predictive opportunities guiding optimal therapy, fusing features from multiple data modalities, and predictive model prototypes for established oncology therapies.
• Leadership: mentor, strategically lead, and manage delivery from a cross-functional project team.
• Teamwork and collaboration: Work with Data Science, Research, Engineering and Product teams across Tempus’ expansive data science community.
• Clinical and Drug R&D Expertise: Learn from leading professionals in the medical and pharmaceutical industries to gain proficiency in their strategies, drug modalities, and pipelines to identify where the Tempus platform can add value.
• Scientific Communication: Skillfully communicate complex technical results and methodologies to diverse internal and external stakeholders; published in peer reviewed journals.
• Personal development: Continuously immerse yourself in the latest advances in AI in the biomedical setting, to revolutionize clinical care and drug R&D.

Education and Experience : Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field, with 8+ years of industry experience. A strong academic/industry background with a focus on LLMs/Generative AI and healthcare applications is highly preferred.

Required Technical Skills: 

• Deep understanding of machine learning concepts, including large language models (LLMs), transformer architectures, embedding representations, and multimodal fusion techniques.
• Extensive experience working with large-scale, real-world datasets, particularly in complex domains like healthcare.
• Proficient in Python and SQL, along with core machine learning libraries and frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn).
• Hands-on experience with large model training and orchestration frameworks, including NVIDIA NeMo, Hugging Face Transformers, Weights & Biases, and MLflow.
• Familiarity with distributed training, model optimization, and GPU/TPU-based acceleration is a strong plus.

Required Leadership Skills: 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience bringing in thought leadership to the product and team. Bias-to-action, appetite for high-risk high-gain projects with a pragmatic approach to rapid and measurable progress.
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment and willing to shift priorities seamlessly.
• Goal orientation, self-motivation, and drive to make a positive impact in healthcare.

Preferred /Nice-to-Have Skills/Background:

• Previous experience working with real-world data (e.g. from electronic health records), transcriptomic or genetic (NGS) data sets. Experience working with sensitive healthcare data, medical imaging modalities, clinical workflows, and healthcare terminology. Familiarity with electronic health records (EHRs) , and medical imaging formats (e.g., DICOM), molecular data is advantageous.
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Additionally, for remote roles open to individuals in unincorporated Los Angeles – including remote roles- Tempus reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment: engaging positively with customers and other employees; accessing confidential information, including intellectual property, trade secrets, and protected health information; and appropriately handling such information in accordance with legal and ethical standards. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable law, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.