Scientific Knowledge Engineer

Company:  APR Consulting
Location: Durham
Closing Date: 05/11/2024
Hours: Full Time
Type: Permanent
Job Requirements / Description

A healthcare client is looking for a Scientific Knowledge Engineer


Location: Durham, NC (100% remote)

Position: Scientific Knowledge Engineer (Remote)

Pay Rate: $87/hr

Duration: 12 months (potential for extension and/or conversion)

Expected Shift: Monday – Friday 8-5pm


Job Summary:

The Onyx Research Data Platform organization represents a major investment by GSK R&D and Digital & Tech, designed to deliver a step- change in our ability to leverage data, knowledge, and prediction to find new medicines. We are a full-stack shop consisting of product and portfolio leadership, data engineering, infrastructure and DevOps, data / metadata / knowledge platforms, and AI/ML and analysis platforms, all geared toward:

Building a next-generation, metadata- and automation-driven data experience for GSK’s scientists, engineers, and decision-makers, increasing productivity and reducing time spent on “data mechanics”

Providing best-in-class AI/ML and data analysis environments to accelerate our predictive capabilities and attract top-tier talent

Aggressively engineering our data at scale, as one unified asset, to unlock the value of our unique collection of data and predictions in real-time


The Scientific Knowledge Engineering team, which sits within the Onyx Product Management organization, is responsible for the data modeling, ontology definition and management, vocabulary mapping, and other key metadata activities that ensure Onyx platforms and data assets speak scientific language. They are a core factor in delivering the GSK R&D Knowledge Graph – the semantic layer that connects all of our data and metadata systems – as well as the core metadata experiences that ultimately allow us to build products and services that both delight our customers and enable impressive automation and intelligence.


This role is responsible for maximizing the value of our data assets over a lifetime to bring purpose to data by acting as translators of highly technical information from domain experts into an appropriate data model – complete with significant ontology and vocabulary -- that can be utilized to effectively structure and index the data. Specifically working with Product managers and R&D subject matter expertise to define the language (data models, ontology, standards, etc.) of science into data products by acting as the voice of “Knowledgebase” and interoperability/value of asset. This includes responsibility for the understanding and translation of computational methods back through the data chain to maximize the quality and speed of data from source to drive experimental multi-variant analysis and data driven decision-making.


Definition of schemas and data models of scientific information required for the creation of value adding data products. This includes accountability for the quality control and mapping specifications to be industrialized by data engineering and maintained in platform provisioned tooling.

Accountable for the quality control (through validation and verification) of mapping specifications to be industrialized by data engineering and maintained in platform provisioned tooling – e.g., models, schemas, controlled vocab.

Working with Product managers/engineers confidently convert business need into defined deliverable business requirements to enable the integration of large-scale biology data to predict, model, and stabilize therapeutically relevant protein complex and antigen conformations for drug and vaccine discovery.

Collaborate with external groups to align GSK data standards with industry/ academic ontologies ensuring that data standards are defined with usage/analytics in mind. They may also provide data source profiling and advisory consultancy to R&D outside of Onyx.

Support effective ingestion of data by GSK through understanding the entry requirements required by platform engineering teams and ensuring that the “barrier for entry” is met e.g. Scientific information has the appropriate metadata to be indexed, structured, integrated and standardized as needed. This may require articulation of GSK engineering standards and metadata information needs to third parties to ensure efficient and automate ingestion at scale.

Provides bespoke subject matter expertise for R&D data to translate deep science into data for actionable insights


Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree (Bioinformatics, Biomedical Science, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biology, or Computer Science)

Biologist related work experience

5-8 years job-related experience with an established track record of delivery

Working experience querying relational databases - SQL

Experience with industry standard data management / metadata platforms e.g. Collibra, Datahub, Datum, Informatica

Data modeling, quality, analysis, profiling (working experience with any data quality tool, SAS, Ataccama, Informatica Data Quality, Talend, OpenRefine)

Experience with industry standard tools for building data protocols e.g. Avro, Protocol Buffers, Thrift

Experience with at least one programming language – e.g. Python – for scripting vocabulary mappings, building data models, etc.

Awareness of RDF, Ontology, reference data

Experience with open-source ontology tools, data formats, languages (Protégé, SPARQL, OWL, SKOS, SHACL, RML)

Specific experience with Knowledge Graph efforts, experience using ontology/taxonomy tools such as Centree, TopBraid, Smartlogic Semaphore etc

Experience with at least one programming language – e.g. Python – for scripting vocabulary mappings, building data models, etc.


Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated comfort operating and leading across organizational boundaries a matrixed team

Membership of data standards group, industry committee, board, or consortium

Specific experience with ontology, Knowledge Graph efforts

Experience in technical writing, documentation


GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organization where people can thrive. Getting ahead means preventing disease as well as treating it, and we aim to impact the health of 2.5 billion people around the world in the next 10 years.


Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it’s also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a place where people feel inspired, encouraged and challenged to be the best they can be. A place where they can be themselves – feeling welcome, valued and included. Where they can keep growing and look after their wellbeing. So, if you share our ambition, join us at this exciting moment in our journey to get Ahead Together.



About Our Client


Our client is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so they can positively impact the health of billions of people

and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organization where people can thrive. Getting ahead means preventing disease as well as treating it, and they aim to impact the health of 2.5 billion people around the world in the next 10 years.


Since 1980 APR Consulting, Inc. has provided professional recruiting and contingent workforce solutions to a diverse mix of clients, industries, and skill sets nationwide.


We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity! If you feel your experience is a match for this position please apply today and join our team. We look forward to working with you!

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