We are hiring a Senior AI Scientist to support the company in delivering its mission of improving the lives of patients by transforming research into mental illness and dementia. The company is working in this highly innovative area to accelerate the development of new treatments, improve healthcare services, and advance our understanding of complex, debilitating conditions like Major Depressive Disorder, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Alzheimer’s disease.

To do this, we curate a globally unique dataset of more than 4.6 million patients’ anonymised psychiatric electronic health records (EHRs) for research use. A crucial part of our curation process is the application of AI-enable natural language processing algorithms to structure the free text elements of the EHR (clinical notes, letters, reports etc). Development of these NLP models is the primary focus of our in-house AI team, in which this role sits.

The AI Team are primarily responsible for developing and training the Natural Language Processing models that underpin Akrivia’s data structuring pipeline. The goal of this activity is to develop accurate, clinically valid, explainable, and scalable NLP models to extract new structured data from EHR free-text fields. The AI Team collaborate closely with the Research Team (to match the outputs of their models to research needs), the Engineering Team (to embed their models into Akrivia’s data processing pipeline), and with the Client Engagement team (to help platform users apply their model outputs effectively). The AI Team also carry out exploratory research to develop new applications of AI for improving mental health research and treatment.

The role will require strong technical skills with a focus on artificial intelligence approaches to natural language processing. A successful candidate will work on developing our existing technology solutions, develop novel applications of AI to solve challenges in the mental health space, and support our users in industry, academia and the NHS to apply our AI-derived data for their own research programs. The role would suit candidates with a strong interest in healthcare applications of AI and NLP, and/or explainable, transparent AI methods. Further details of the duties are provided below.

Duties

Lead and manage a team of AI scientists and healthcare data analysts, providing mentorship, guidance, and support in their professional development and project execution.
Take joint accountability (with the Head of AI/Research) for the accuracy, clinical validity, transparency and efficiency of models created by the AI team.
Carry out prototyping, exploratory research and literature review to develop novel applications of AI and related technologies to improve the breadth, depth and accuracy of our data structuring pipeline.
Work with the Head of AI/Research to plan the AI Team’s development roadmap, set the strategic direction for AI at Akrivia Health, and communicate these plans to the wider company.
Work with the Research Team to ensure that Akrivia’s data structuring models can best serve research applications.
Work with the Data Engineering team to embed models developed by the AI Team into Akrivia’s automated data processing pipeline.
Work with the Data Engineering and Platform Development teams to ensure our AI model outputs are presented accurately, and in a way that supports their effective research application.
Work with the Client Engagement team to ensure Akrivia’s AI models meet user requirements, and to communicate our AI development work in a transparent and comprehensible way to non-technical users.
Disseminate the AI Team’s work via peer reviewed publication, client presentations and conference attendance.
Grow the AI Team’s network of academic, healthcare and industry collaborators in the clinical AI space.
Identify and prepare grant applications to support Akrivia-led and collaborative AI development projects.

YOU BRING WITH YOU:

PhD-level qualification (or equivalent industry experience) in a field with a substantial component of applied AI methods
High level of knowledge of machine learning methods, applications & validation methods.
High level of knowledge of NLP techniques, including experience applying Large Language Models for text processing.
Proficient in Python (or another language plus a foundational python skills)
Experience as a team leader, mentor or supervisor, with a desire to help grow our team of AI scientists through line management and technical leadership.
Keen interest in mental health and dementia.
Strong interpersonal, teamwork and collaboration skills.
Ability to translate complex concepts and communicate these with a variety of non-expert stakeholders in multiple formats e.g. verbal, written documents, presentations.

…HIGHLY DESIRED:

Experience in line management.
Sector experience in mental health research, data and/or care provision (especially in the NHS)
Experience working in a collaborative version control workflow (e.g., Git, Bitbucket)
Knowledge of SQL (especially postgreSQL)

YOU ARE:

Committed to continuous learning and development - both for yourself and your whole team. You encourage an environment of constant learning.
Effective Communicator. You communicate eloquently and succinctly. You are able to deliver information with impact - in person and in writing.
Personable. You are an outstanding relationship manager - with your team and customers alike.
Technologist. You love technology and data and believe in its power to transform organisations.
Work Ethic. You are willing to go the extra mile to hit your goals and bring in new business. You set the example for your team.
Transparency. You have unquestionable integrity and character that demonstrates ethical behavior.
Passionate for our company's mission, we want to achieve great things together.

WE OFFER:

£50,000 - £60,000 per annum
25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays.
3 additional days of annual leave after 3 years of employment.
Health insurance plan including 24/7 virtual GP, mental health support, money towards dental treatment, sight tests (plus additional plan for dependents), and health/wellbeing discounts (including gym membership).
6% company contributory pension.
Fresh fruit and drinks in the office.

WHO WE ARE:

Cristal Health Limited (trading as Akrivia Health) has been established as a spin out company by the University of Oxford. Akrivia Health’s primary purpose is to help to accelerate improvements in medical research, service delivery and health outcomes for patients with mental illnesses and dementia through the provision of advanced data analytics services.

Akrivia Health jobs

Senior AI Scientist