Research Scientist (PhD)

Layer Health (Headquarters: Boston / NYC)

Research Scientist PhD AI ML LLM NLP Python GCP PyTorch TensorFlow Healthcare Clinical Data Publications Algorithm Development AI Engineer Data Science

Company: Layer Health is a rapidly growing AI/ML startup (fresh $21M Series A, backed by Define Ventures, GV, Flare Capital Partners) spun out of MIT. We are building an enterprise LLM platform to transform clinical data understanding and tackle the $2B/year problem of manual patient chart abstraction in healthcare. Our AI-powered platform reasons longitudinally across patient charts, aiming to surpass human performance and unlock value for health systems and life science organizations. Join our team of ~18 (growing to 40-50) with deep research/ML backgrounds.

Role Overview: As a Research Scientist, you will drive the scientific innovation behind Layer Health's AI capabilities. You will conduct cutting-edge research in machine learning, NLP, and large language models, specifically tailored to the challenges of understanding complex, longitudinal clinical data. Your work will directly influence the core technology of our platform and contribute to publications and intellectual property.

Responsibilities:
*   Conduct original research in areas relevant to clinical data understanding using AI/ML, including NLP, LLMs, time-series analysis, causal inference, and responsible AI.
*   Develop novel algorithms and models to address specific challenges in clinical chart review and data abstraction.
*   Design and execute rigorous experiments to validate research hypotheses.
*   Collaborate closely with ML Research Engineers and ML Engineers to translate research findings into practical applications.
*   Publish research findings in top-tier conferences and journals.
*   Stay at the forefront of academic and industry research in relevant fields.
*   Contribute to the intellectual property portfolio of the company.
*   Mentor junior researchers and engineers.

Required Skills:
*   PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, Bioinformatics, or a related quantitative field.
*   Proven track record of impactful research demonstrated through publications in leading AI/ML/NLP conferences or journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, NAACL, JAMA, Nature).
*   Deep expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing.
*   Strong programming skills (Python preferred) and experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow).
*   Ability to formulate research problems, design experiments, and rigorously evaluate results.
*   Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills.
*   Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Ideal Candidate:
*   Research experience specifically with large language models (LLMs).
*   Experience working with clinical or healthcare data.
*   Experience in causal inference, time-series modeling, or reinforcement learning applied to healthcare.
*   Familiarity with cloud computing environments (GCP preferred).
*   Passion for advancing the state-of-the-art in AI for healthcare improvement.
*   Ability to work hybrid (2-3 days/week) in either our Boston (Back Bay) or NYC (Grand Central) office.

Location: Boston or NYC (Hybrid 2-3 days/week)
Apply: Email mike-c@layerhealth.com