Assistant Director of AI and Data

Axle is a bioscience and information technology company that offers advancements in translational research, biomedical informatics, and data science applications to research centers and healthcare organizations nationally and abroad. With experts in biomedical science, software engineering, and program management, we focus on developing and applying research tools and techniques to empower decision‑making and accelerate research discoveries. We work with some of the top research organizations and facilities in the country including multiple institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

• Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays
• 401K match up to 5%
• Educational Benefits for Career Growth
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Flexible Spending Accounts:
  • Healthcare (FSA)
  • Parking Reimbursement Account (PRK)
  • Dependent Care Assistant Program (DCAP)
  • Transportation Reimbursement Account (TRN)

Axle is seeking a visionary and operationally astute Assistant Director of Artificial Intelligence, Modeling, and Data to lead our charge at the frontier of biomedical innovation. In this pivotal leadership role, you will architect the future of AI‑driven discovery, bridging the gap between advanced computational science and life‑saving clinical research.

Sitting at the nexus of our Data Science and Biomedical Research divisions, you will oversee the strategic development and deployment of high‑performance AI/ML solutions that empower federal health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). You will be the technical conscience and strategic driver for a diverse portfolio of projects, ranging from the optimization of our open‑source Polus platform to the implementation of Generative AI pipelines for drug discovery and high‑dimensional data analysis.

This is not merely a management role; it is a mission‑critical position for a leader who is passionate about the "public good" of science. You will galvanize interdisciplinary teams of PhD scientists, machine learning engineers, and software architects to solve complex health challenges, such as pandemic preparedness and rare disease treatment. As an Assistant Director, you will combine deep technical expertise with executive presence, serving as a trusted advisor to government stakeholders and a key architect of Axle’s long‑term growth in the federal health IT sector.

Visionary Architecture: Architect and execute a comprehensive AI/ML strategy that aligns Axle’s technical capabilities with the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science (2025–2030). You will define the long‑term vision for integrating Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and Agentic Workflows into federal research environments, moving beyond static analysis to active, AI‑assisted discovery.

Platform Evolution (Polus): Spearhead the evolution of the Polus platform, transitioning it from a robust image analysis tool into a fully integrated, multi‑modal research ecosystem. You will oversee the roadmap for new feature development, ensuring scalability, security, and interoperability across cloud environments (AWS/GCP/Azure) using containerized architectures (Docker/Kubernetes).

AI Governance & Compliance: Establish and enforce rigorous AI Governance frameworks. You will operationalize the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (RMF) across all projects to ensure fairness, interpretability, and compliance with federal ethical standards. You will lead "Gap Analysis" and "Risk Management" exercises to ensure all AI deployments are trustworthy and transparent.

Petabyte‑Scale Engineering: Direct the design and implementation of high‑throughput data pipelines capable of ingesting and analyzing petabyte‑scale datasets (genomics, proteomics, EHR). You will ensure these systems adhere to FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), facilitating seamless data sharing across NIH institutes and global research centers.

Translational Science De‑risking: Oversee the development of predictive…