Machine Learning Specialist

Position: Machine Learning Specialist, Computational Oncology Program
Location: Toronto, Ontario CANADA
Employment Type: Full-time, 2 Year Contract

Through its institution-wide Precision Child Health program, SickKids is transforming care for children with cancer by incorporating real-time whole genome and transcriptome sequencing tests. As part of this, you will lead machine learning development initiatives for the largest childhood cancer precision medicine program in Canada. In collaboration with Genomics Scientists and Oncologists, you will develop and deploy computational statistics models to better diagnose, treat and track cancer.

Here’s What You’ll Get to Do:

• Have the ownership of assigned projects through careful consideration of requirements and strong execution of solution build
• Design analytical methods to support novel approaches of data and information processing
• Develop, train, and validate machine learning algorithms on patient data
• Build end-to-end ML pipelines to model and/or analyze hospital data
• Design and perform analyses on a very large transcriptome (RNA-Seq) data set, apply classification methods, predict outcomes, and identify sources of bias
• Develop novel tools for the analysis of childhood cancer data, including statistical tests and machine learning models for classification and regression
• Own and manage knowledge sharing within a community
• Mentor and train junior scientists
• Present findings to local and international collaborators
• Here’s What You’ll Need
• Graduate degree in Computer Science, Science, Statistics, Mathematics or related field
• 3+ years experiences in Python and/or R
• Previous work experience in Machine Learning/Data Science
• Familiarity with the UNIX environment, Bash scripting and high-performance computing
• Strong grasp of statistical and machine learning concepts (statistical tests, multiple testing, matrix factorization, regression, classification, nearest neighbours, dimensionality reduction, clustering, decision trees, neural networks)
• Experience developing and implementing algorithms for the processing of large datasets
• Ability to work independently and in a diverse team environment across multiple projects
• Ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders across a large institution
• Outstanding problem solving and analytical skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills along with strong interpersonal skills

This will make you extra competitive:

• Experience working with RNASeq data, gene expression and its analysis (differential expression, gene sets enrichment analysis)
• Familiarity with version control platforms: GitHub, Bitbucket
• Demonstrated knowledge of deep learning models development and implementation;
• Proficiency with statistical and machine learning packages, such as mlr3, scikit-learn, and at least one of the following: Keras (Tensorflow) or PyTorch.
• Basic knowledge of ML optimization strategies.
• Experience building and working with bioinformatics pipelines and workflow management systems
• This position offers benefits including health and dental coverage, vacation/personal days, and access to a number of employee benefits, including our Wellness program.

Our Commitment to Diversity
The children and families we care for are from a variety of communities, and so are our employees. We welcome and encourage everyone to join our organization and be part of our team.

When requested, SickKids will provide access and inclusion supports to eligible candidates to support their full engagement during the interview and assessment process. Information received related to access or inclusion will be addressed confidentially.

Thank you for your interest in joining SickKids. Only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. In accordance with our Hospital policy, employment at SickKids is conditional upon the Hospital’s receipt of all necessary documentation.

FOR EXTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY: As a health care institution, our highest priority is the safety of patients, families and staff. As a result, we are adopting all prevention measures to ensure the safety of our patients, families and our staff. Therefore, any offer of employment is conditional upon you submitting proof that you have been fully vaccinated with a Health Canada or World Health Organization (WHO) approved COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible and no later than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the effective start date, in addition to satisfying any other condition(s) that may be set out in an offer. If a candidate fails to satisfy this condition (or any other condition(s) set out in an offer), any offer of employment shall be immediately rescinded.

How to Apply
Tip: Combine your cover letter and resume into ONE document of 20 pages or less as you cannot upload multiple documents as part of your application.

If you are still experiencing technical difficulties please email ask.hr@sickkids.ca to send us a short description of the issues you are experiencing. Please note that we will not accept resumes sent to this inbox but we are happy to respond to requests for technical assistance.