Scientific Lead - Health Data Research (f/m/x)

Permanent employee, Full-time · Berlin, Potsdam

Hi there!

Are you eager to learn new things and implement your own ideas while working with an international and passionate team of professionals? Would you like to contribute to digital research solutions that have a meaningful impact on healthcare and science?

As our Scientific Lead – Health Data Research, you will own and drive D4L’s applied research agenda at the intersection of science, product, and strategy.

You will be accountable for translating scientific opportunities into product-relevant initiatives, leading a multidisciplinary team, and ensuring that research outcomes create measurable value for our partners, products, and mission.

This is a leadership role with responsibility for people, project portfolio, and cross-functional alignment.

Your future role

Lead, develop, and grow a team of data scientists and researchers, including goal setting, performance management, and hiring
Provide clear direction and prioritisation across projects, enabling the team to operate effectively in a fast-paced, product-oriented environment
Translate scientific opportunities into product-relevant use cases, and actively shape the product roadmap together with Product and Engineering
Ensure that research initiatives are aligned with D4L’s strategic priorities and partner needs, including external stakeholders such as the Hasso Plattner Foundation
Own and prioritise a portfolio of applied research projects, balancing scientific impact, product relevance, and resource constraints
Manage multiple concurrent initiatives across teams, ensuring timely delivery and scientific quality
Communicate scientific strategy and results to senior stakeholders, including management and external partners, in a clear and actionable way
Lead cross-functional initiatives involving Product, Engineering, and Business Development, without direct authority over all contributors
Contribute to grant proposals, ethics applications, and scientific evaluations (e.g., D4L Impact Program)

What you need to succeed

Demonstrated ability to connect scientific work to product strategy, organisational goals, or business impact
Experience working in industry, startup, or applied research environments, not only academia
Proven experience leading teams in an organisational setting, including direct reports and/or cross-functional teams
Experience managing performance, priorities, and delivery in a non-academic environment
Experience communicating with senior stakeholders (e.g., leadership teams, partners, funders) and influencing decisions
Hands-on expertise with RWD/RWE, solid skills in R, Python and AI/ML visualization, knowledge regarding FHIR, OMOP and OHDSI tools
Knowledge of ETL processes, SQL databases (PostgreSQL), deidentification, and handling unstructured data
Track record of translating research into real-world impact (e.g., product features, policy influence, partnerships, or deployed solutions)
PhD (or MD/MS or equivalent) in Data Science, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Public Health, or a related discipline with profound publishing activities
Languages: Must: English; desirable: German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean

Why you will love working with us

Nonprofit work with a clear purpose: Make the world a healthier place. With us, you will find a fulfilling and meaningful task in a nonprofit environment that will advance our society.
A diverse and international team of professionals working together at 3 locations (Potsdam, Berlin and Singapore).
Real work life balance with flexible working hours, 30 days of paid vacation, and the possibility for mobile work.
The option to work abroad remotely up to 2 months per year from various countries, depending on your role and responsibilities.
Support in the areas of private healthcare and sustainable mobility.
Employee driven initiatives like the climate initiative and the DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion) initiative.

Good to know

We especially welcome applicants from the LGBTQI+ community, people with a migration background, people of color, and individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses to the team.
If you need support or special assistance during the application or interview process due to a disability, please feel free to let us know and we are happy to accommodate you as much as possible.
This position offers an unlimited contract.
In this position you will be working from our Berlin/Potsdam office.
Please enclose your complete documents (CV, letter of motivation, references, salary expectations and earliest possible starting date) with your application.

Apply for this job

About us

Data4Life is a nonprofit organization with the vision of making the world a healthier place. With an international team, we work together on the mission to digitize health research. By linking technology and research, we make health data available to research in a comprehensive, digital and secure way. Our interdisciplinary team in Potsdam, Berlin and Singapore brings together experts from fields such as product development, digital engineering, data security and science. Data4Life was founded in 2017 and is funded by the Hasso Plattner Foundation.

We care about Diversity: Many different lives, careers, and development paths lead to Data4Life. We welcome experts from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences to our international team, offering everyone equal opportunities to be themselves and develop to the best of their abilities. Diversity, equality, and inclusion are not just nice words at Data4Life – we put them into practice in all of our activities and projects, striving to incorporate them in our everyday lives. For this reason, we signed the Charta der Vielfalt (Diversity Charter) in 2022.

Hallo!

As our Scientific Lead – Health Data Research, you will own and drive D4L’s applied research agenda at the intersection of science, product, and strategy.

This is a leadership role with responsibility for people, project portfolio, and cross-functional alignment.

Deine zukünftige Rolle

Lead, develop, and grow a team of data scientists and researchers, including goal setting, performance management, and hiring
Provide clear direction and prioritisation across projects, enabling the team to operate effectively in a fast-paced, product-oriented environment
Translate scientific opportunities into product-relevant use cases, and actively shape the product roadmap together with Product and Engineering
Ensure that research initiatives are aligned with D4L’s strategic priorities and partner needs, including external stakeholders such as the Hasso Plattner Foundation
Own and prioritise a portfolio of applied research projects, balancing scientific impact, product relevance, and resource constraints
Manage multiple concurrent initiatives across teams, ensuring timely delivery and scientific quality
Communicate scientific strategy and results to senior stakeholders, including management and external partners, in a clear and actionable way
Lead cross-functional initiatives involving Product, Engineering, and Business Development, without direct authority over all contributors
Contribute to grant proposals, ethics applications, and scientific evaluations (e.g., D4L Impact Program)

Was Du für Deinen Erfolg brauchst

Demonstrated ability to connect scientific work to product strategy, organisational goals, or business impact
Experience working in industry, startup, or applied research environments, not only academia
Proven experience leading teams in an organisational setting, including direct reports and/or cross-functional teams
Experience managing performance, priorities, and delivery in a non-academic environment
Experience communicating with senior stakeholders (e.g., leadership teams, partners, funders) and influencing decisions
Hands-on expertise with RWD/RWE, solid skills in R, Python and AI/ML visualization, knowledge regarding FHIR, OMOP and OHDSI tools
Knowledge of ETL processes, SQL databases (PostgreSQL), deidentification, and handling unstructured data
Track record of translating research into real-world impact (e.g., product features, policy influence, partnerships, or deployed solutions)
PhD (or MD/MS or equivalent) in Data Science, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Public Health, or a related discipline with profound publishing activities
Languages: Must: English; desirable: German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean

Das erwartet Dich bei uns

Nonprofit work with a clear purpose: Make the world a healthier place. With us, you will find a fulfilling and meaningful task in a nonprofit environment that will advance our society.
A diverse and international team of professionals working together at 3 locations (Potsdam, Berlin and Singapore).
Real work life balance with flexible working hours, 30 days of paid vacation, and the possibility for mobile work.
The option to work abroad remotely up to 2 months per year from various countries, depending on your role and responsibilities.
Support in the areas of private healthcare and sustainable mobility.
Employee driven initiatives like the climate initiative and the DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion) initiative.

Gut zu wissen

We especially welcome applicants from the LGBTQI+ community, people with a migration background, people of color, and individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses to the team.
If you need support or special assistance during the application or interview process due to a disability, please feel free to let us know and we are happy to accommodate you as much as possible.
This position offers an unlimited contract.
In this position you will be working from our Berlin/Potsdam office.
Please enclose your complete documents (CV, letter of motivation, references, salary expectations and earliest possible starting date) with your application.

Apply for this job

Über uns

Data4Life ist eine gemeinnützige Organisation mit der Vision, die Welt gesünder zu machen. Mit einem internationalen Team arbeiten wir gemeinsam an der Mission, die Gesundheitsforschung zu digitalisieren. Durch die Verknüpfung von Technologie und Forschung machen wir Gesundheitsdaten umfassend, digital und sicher für die Forschung nutzbar.
Unser interdisziplinäres Team in Potsdam, Berlin und Singapur vereint Expert:innen aus Bereichen wie Produktentwicklung, Softwareentwicklung, Datensicherheit und Wissenschaft. Data4Life wurde 2017 gegründet und wird von der Hasso-Plattner-Stiftung finanziert.

Vielfalt ist uns wichtig: Verschiedene Lebens- , Entwicklungs- und Karrierepfade führen zu Data4Life. Wir heißen in unserem internationalen Team Expert:innen mit den unterschiedlichsten Hintergründen und Erfahrungen willkommen und bieten allen die gleichen Chancen, sie selbst zu sein und sich bei uns bestmöglich zu entfalten. Vielfalt, Gleichheit und Inklusion sind bei uns nicht nur schöne Worte, sondern werden in aktiven Taten und Projekten konkretisiert, mit dem Ziel, diese in unserem Alltag umzusetzen und zu leben. 2022 haben wir deshalb die Charta der Vielfalt unterzeichnet.

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Your application

Thank you for considering a career at Data4Life. Please fill out the following form. In case you are experiencing problems with the document upload, mail your documents to jobs@data4life.care.