Data Scientist, Oncology; Associate Director

Job Summary & Responsibilities

Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world.

For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at

This position is based in Northbrook, Illinois. Hybrid work from certain states may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines. Candidates interested in hybrid work are encouraged to apply.

We are hiring an experienced real-world data scientist to join our Real-World Data Science (RWDS) team. As an Associate Director of RWDS, you will be an analytic researcher informing and conducting Real World Data (RWD) studies at any time in the drug lifecycle.

You will work directly within the RWDS team to execute observational studies for internal and external consumption and partner closely with Development, Medical Affairs, and Pharmacovigilance/Pharmacoepidemiology colleagues in their research. Additionally, you will collaborate closely with others in RWDS, Biostatistics and the broader Quantitative Sciences & Evidence Generation department to enhance our RWD and analytics offerings.

RWDS is multidisciplinary and provides RWE strategic input, study design, statistical and programming support to projects. Team members apply their unique knowledge, skills and experience in teams to deliver decision-shaping real-world evidence.

• Provide best-in‑class data science support to Astellas drug development programs & marketed products in relation to RWD
• Design of observational studies (primary and/or secondary data)
• Execute (program and analyze) observational studies using in‑house RWD or oversee vendors or other RWDS staff in executing observational studies
• Write, review, or contribute to key study documents to ensure optimal methodological & statistical presentation. These documents include protocols, analysis plans, tables and figure (TLF) specifications, study reports, publications
• Ensure efficient planning, execution and reporting of analyses
• Advise as subject matter expert in specific data access partnerships
• Represent the company on matters related to RWD analysis at meetings with regulatory authorities, key opinion leaders and similar experts/bodies as needed
• Contribute to vendor selection with partner functions
• Participate in the creation and upkeep of best practices, tools/macros, and standards related to methods, data and data analysis at Astellas
• Collaborate with RWDS and Biostatistics colleagues and cross‑functional teams in Development, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance
• Mentor and guide junior members of the RWD Analytics team

• A doctorate or master's degree in statistics, data science, pharmacoepidemiology or a similar discipline
• More than 6 years of pharmaceutical industry hands‑on experience in design and execution of observational studies and analyzing RWD, including major EHR and claims databases from the US, UK, EU, and/or Japan
• Experience in analyzing a diverse set of RWD study types (description, association, prediction, causation), including incidence & prevalence, treatment pattern, healthcare resource utilization, cost, outcomes, and effectiveness
• Advanced and broad knowledge of statistical methods, along with understanding of industry practices & guidelines related to the analysis of RWD
• Proficiency in SQL, and SAS or R required, with working knowledge of Python beneficial
• Well‑versed in data visualization, statistical analysis, and machine learning methodologies
• Proficiency in non‑interventional research…