Lead Data Scientist

Job Description

Are you passionate about leveraging data to drive impactful decisions? Join our company as a Lead Data Scientist and be at the forefront of innovative health solutions.

Our mission is to save lives by advancing the prevention and treatment of diseases, and our team is dedicated to workforce analytics, serving HR and the workforce as our clients. As a key member of our team, you will design and implement advanced models, enhance AI/ML capabilities, and collaborate with various stakeholders to deliver actionable insights. If you are driven by curiosity and have a knack for solving complex problems, this is the perfect opportunity for you to make a difference.

Your Core Responsibilities

• Design, develop, enhance, and implement models that delve deep into our workforce data, ensuring high standards of quality, relevance, and usability

• Boost AI/ML capability within the team, using the latest methods and tools to extract insights from text, activity, behavioral, and network data

• Develop and deploy solutions that are robust, scalable, and meet the needs of a diverse user base, including supporting an LLM-based app in production with thousands of users

• Collaborate with data scientists, data engineers, devops engineers, solution architects, and the data science community of practice, to amplify data science capabilities and drive innovation

• Work closely with our client-facing teams to address business needs, providing research solutions that are both insightful and actionable

• Act as an AI/ML expert, advising HR colleagues and end users on the best usage within the HR domain

• Technically lead and mentor a team of data scientists and data engineers, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment

• Manage research projects from inception to completion, ensuring agile delivery and alignment with business goals, while also managing relationships and influencing non-technical stakeholders

Who You Are (Education minimum requirements subject to change based on country)

You are ready if you have:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in data science or machine learning engineering with a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or another related field. (With a Master's degree, minimum experience is 8 years)

• Expertise in using Python, R, and SQL to execute a solid portfolio of data science projects involving statistical inference, classical machine learning, and deep learning frameworks

• Solid understanding of NLP tools, methods, and pipeline design, including experience using large language models (LLMs)

• Proven leadership in team project settings

• Experience with cloud computing platforms, such as AWS and Databricks, and related tools

• Familiarity with version control systems

• Openness to coaching and learning from team members with different specializations

• Exceptional initiative, curiosity, communication skills, and a team-first orientation

• Demonstrated interest in projects focused on the workforce

• Familiarity with product management and agile methodologies

Nice to have, but not essential:

• MLOps experience is a big plus, and LLM app deployment experience is ideal

• Ability to manage relationships, influence non-technical stakeholders, and tell a great data story

• Understanding of HR data, processes, information systems, and governance

• Ability to conduct literature reviews and leverage external research to stay on top of best practices in AI/ML and data science in human capital management

What we offer (The primary location is Czechia, benefits in other country may vary)

• Exciting work in a great team, global projects, international environment 

• Opportunity to learn and grow professionally within the company globally 

• Hybrid working model, flexible role pattern 

• Pension and health insurance contributions 

• Internal reward system plus referral programme 

• 5 weeks annual leave, 5 sick days, 15 days of certified sick leave paid above statutory requirements annually, 40 paid hours annually for volunteering activities, 12 weeks of parental contribution 

• Cafeteria for tax free benefits according to your choice (meal vouchers, Lítačka, sport, culture, health, travel, etc.), Multisport Card 

• Vodafone, Raiffeisen Bank, Foodora, and other discount programmes 

• Up-to-date laptop and iPhone 

• Parking in the garage, showers, refreshments, library, music corner 

• Competitive salary, incentive pay, and many more 

Ready to take up the challenge? Apply now 
Know anybody who might be interested? Refer this job 

The date shown below is the earliest possible closing date for this posting. However, we sometimes extend the job posting period as needed, so please feel free to apply anytime you see the "Apply" button available. You may also reach out to the recruiter directly via

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Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Required Skills:

Cloud Computing, Deep Learning, Large Language Model (LLM) Fine-Tuning, Leadership, Machine Learning, Machine Learning Operations, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Python (Programming Language), R Code, R Programming, R Script, Statistical Inferences, Structured Query Language (SQL), Version Control System

Preferred Skills:

Job Posting End Date:

09/13/2025

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:R321934

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