AI Engineer at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Morrisville, NC

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Office

Job Description

The Clinical Research Group (CRG) of Thermo Fisher Scientific delivers industry-leading clinical trial services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations. CRG Digital is an enterprise-wide digital function dedicated to accelerating CRG’s transformation into the most digitally enabled CRO in the industry.

CRG Digital leads the strategy, governance, development, and lifecycle management of digital, data, and AI products across the organization. Our mission is to power clinical development with modern digital capabilities, improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer experience, unlocking insights from data, and enabling next-generation clinical innovation.

Position Summary
We are seeking a highly motivated AI Engineer to help design, build, deploy, and optimize AI solutions that advance CRG’s digital strategy. In this role, you will design, implement, and optimize AI models that support data analysis, automation, and innovation within clinical research and development operations. You’ll collaborate with data scientists, software engineers, and domain experts to translate business needs into scalable, intelligent solutions.

The ideal candidate will be proficient in applying statistics, programming, data modeling, simulation, and advanced mathematics to business questions, with a specific focus on Generative AI. Proven experience with exploratory data analysis techniques, machine learning algorithms (including generative models), model validation techniques, and data visualization techniques. Strong knowledge in technical areas such as SQL, Python, Spark, Jupyter, and associated packages and libraries, specifically tailored to Generative AI.

This is a remote position in North Carolina.

Responsibilities:

AI and Machine Learning Development

• Design, develop, and deploy machine learning and generative AI models to support CRG Digital priorities including predictive analytics, text/NLP solutions, automation, and intelligent decision support.
• Apply statistics, programming, data modeling, simulation, and advanced mathematics to business problems.
• Evaluate and optimize model performance using appropriate validation metrics and techniques.
• Build reusable model pipelines, APIs, and components for scalable AI product deployment.

Data Engineering and Data Management

• Preprocess, clean, transform, and integrate structured and unstructured datasets from clinical and operational sources.
• Build and maintain ETL/data workflows that support ML and generative AI workloads.
• Work with relational, document, columnar, graph, and object store systems; design schemas for AI and analytics use cases.
• Ensure data quality, reproducibility, lineage, and governance compliance.

Digital Product Integration and Lifecycle Management

• Collaborate with software engineering and platform teams to integrate AI models into production systems with appropriate monitoring and observability.
• Support documentation, traceability, and regulatory readiness (e.g., auditability, GxP considerations).
• Contribute to CRG Digital’s product development lifecycle including discovery, prototyping, testing, deployment, and iteration.

Innovation, Partnerships, and Enablement

• Stay current on emerging AI and ML technologies, evaluating opportunities for CRG Digital roadmaps.
• Contribute to an innovative ecosystem involving external partners and technology collaborators.
• Support internal digital and AI upskilling through documentation, best practices, and knowledge sharing.

Tools, Technologies, and Platforms
Programming: Python, SQL, Spark
Libraries and Frameworks: TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, scikit-learn, LangChain/LangGraph, OpenAI/other LLM SDKs  
Data Tools: Pandas, NumPy, Jupyter
Cloud and Platforms: Databricks, AWS, Azure GCP; S3 or Azure Blob Storage
Version Control: Git/GitHub

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent and relevant formal academic/vocational qualification 
• Master's degree preferred. 
• Previous experience in machine learning, AI model development, or data science that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job (comparable to 2+ years). 
• In some cases, an equivalency, consisting of a combination of appropriate education, training, and/or directly related experience, will be considered sufficient for an individual to meet the requirements of the role. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proficiency in modern SQL, Python, Spark, and associated AI/ML packages.
• Experience with generative AI, large language models, NLP, prompt engineering, and LLMOps best practices.
• Strong exploratory data analysis skills: ability to validate, visualize, and communicate model behavior.
• Experience with cloud architecture, distributed computing, and modern ML platforms.
• Familiarity with data governance, data security, and compliance requirements (preferably in a regulated or clinical environment).
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a matrixed environment.
• Excellent analytical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, we are committed to fostering a healthy and harmonious workplace for our employees. We understand the importance of creating an environment that allows individuals to excel. Please see below for the required qualifications for this position, which also includes the possibility of equivalent experience:

• Able to communicate, receive, and understand information and ideas with diverse groups of people in a comprehensible and reasonable manner.
• Able to work upright and stationary for typical working hours. 
• Ability to use and learn standard office equipment and technology with proficiency.
• Able to perform successfully under pressure while prioritizing and handling multiple projects or activities. 
• May require as-needed travel (0-20%). 

Location: Remotely based in North Carolina, no relocation sponsored.

*Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
 
*Must be able to pass a comprehensive background check, which includes a drug screening (US).
 

The US annual salary range estimated for this position in North Carolina is $85,000 - $95,000 USD. This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. 

We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes: 

• A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs
• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement
• At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy
• Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan
• Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount 

For more information on our benefits, please visit: https://jobs.thermofisher.com/global/en/total-rewards