(Senior) Machine Learning Research Team Lead (d/f/m)

Why us?

We believe that AI has the potential to revolutionize how cancer and other complex diseases are diagnosed and treated. We also believe that AI is a tool, not an identity – without access to high-quality data and a scientifically rigorous, transparent approach to model development, AI is just a buzzword. That's where we come in.

Aignostics is a spin-off from one of Europe's largest and most prestigious university hospitals (Charité), with employees in Berlin and New York. We have received over $50M in funding from leading investors and are a growing team of over 120 interdisciplinary professionals. We work with academic partners as well as leading global life sciences companies.

As a (Senior) Machine Learning Team Lead at Aignostics’, you lead a team of (senior) machine learning research scientists towards advancing the state of the art in machine learning models for digital pathology. As team lead, you put the impact of your team first over your individual contributions. You coordinate interdisciplinary stakeholders, align and facilitate collaboration with other teams, and orchestrate the team internally, enabling team members to innovate, deliver, and grow. Having a deep understanding of machine learning and the literature, you provide guidance, reviews, and share knowledge to empower the team. Being involved with shaping our strategy, you translate company objectives into team goals and milestones, and report progress to diverse stakeholders.

This is a unique opportunity to join a fun, diverse, and growing team of 120+ data scientists, software developers, biologists, and pathologists to shape the next generation of cancer treatments. You will be part of a driven community that works in an agile, supportive and interdisciplinary research environment where your results make a difference to patients. In our established startup you have the opportunity to grow personally and technically, take responsibility and benefit from a dynamic work environment.

At Aignostics, we believe that fighting cancer is a job for people of all identities, backgrounds, and cultures. We value and celebrate diversity and inclusion and are committed to offering equal employment and promotion opportunities for all applicants and employees. Applicants will be considered regardless of their age, disability, ethnicity, race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, etc. We thrive through collaboration and believe the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

Where your expertise is needed

• Team Ownership : You take ownership of your team and its output, shaping its spirit and contributing to Aignostics culture. You promote the growth and development of your individual team members. You take responsibility for the motivation and happiness of your team members and provide psychological safety. You have a positive drive and show resilience, while setting healthy boundaries to ensure long-term personal and team sustainability.
• Scientific Leadership : Having a strong track record and deep understanding of machine learning yourself, you derive joy from leading a machine learning team (5-10 members) with scientific and operational excellence towards meaningful impact. You provide guidance, reviews, and share knowledge to empower team members. You coach your team through difficult problems, facilitating team members to find solutions, learn, and grow. Having sufficient breadth of machine learning knowledge, you have the ability to dive deep when needed, showing strong curiosity and drive to advance the current state of the art.
• Strategic Thinking : You contribute to Aignostics’ overall machine learning strategy, shape the team accordingly, and translate company objectives into team goals and milestones. You proactively coordinate with stakeholders to maximize your team’s impact. Understanding the bigger picture, you think critically and adapt to changing circumstances and prioritize with your team accordingly.
• Technical Project Management: You scope, plan, and execute the research and development of innovative machine learning solutions end to end, owning your team’s roadmap. You manage your team’s workload, prioritize to unblock others, and delegate effectively. You identify risks early, develop mitigation strategies, and balance short-term delivery with long-term sustainability.
• Communication : You communicate team progress, challenges, and blockers proactively with stakeholders and explain stakeholder decisions to the team. You communicate clearly to align within the team, ensuring that priorities for all team members are understood at all times. You have the ability to explain technical subject matters to diverse, interdisciplinary stakeholders. In particular, you facilitate close collaboration and alignment between your team and relevant software engineering teams to ensure successful cross-team tech initiatives.

What we are looking for

• Passion for growing and developing team members
• Excellent communication and team working skills
• PhD in relevant field (e.g. Machine Learning, Computer Science, or Bioinformatics) or comparable scientific industry experience
• At least 5+ years of professional experience, with at least 2+ years of leadership experience in a research or development context
• Eagerness to lead initiatives, learn new technologies, and excel in a complex space
• Solid theoretical foundations and deep understanding of machine learning
• Understanding of software development, cloud computing and machine learning software stacks
• Highest standard for quality assurance, ensuring scientific and operational excellence
• Value flat rather than steep hierarchies in a thriving environment of like-minded people

Ideally, you also have:

• Prior experience with digital pathology or medical imaging
• Experience with developing large-scale self-supervised deep learning models ("Foundation Models") for vision and language applications

We are still keen to hear from you if you don't match all the above points! Our needs are diverse and growing and you are encouraged to apply if you have a strong combination of the above skills.

Our offer

• Join a purpose-driven startup: We are working collectively to fight cancer and improve patient outcomes. Come help us make a difference!
• Fun, cutting-edge AI research and development, with involvement of Charité, TU Berlin and our other partners
• Work with a welcoming, diverse, and highly international team of colleagues
• Ability to take responsibility and grow your role within the startup
• Competitive remuneration package in addition to perks and benefits
• Expand your skills by benefitting from our Learning & Development yearly budget of 1,000€ (plus 2 L&D days), language classes and internal development programs
• Mentoring program, where you'll learn from and mentor great experts
• Flexible working hours and teleworking policy
• Enjoy your well-deserved time off with 30 paid vacation days per year
• We are family & pet friendly and support flexible parental leave options
• Pick a subsidized membership of your choice among public transport, sports, and well-being
• Enjoy our social gatherings, lunches, and off-site events for a fun and inclusive work environment
• Optional company pension scheme