Senior Data Scientist (ML & Statistical Modelling)

Do you want to help shape tomorrow’s healthcare with AI? At Pacmed, we combine technology and humanity to keep healthcare accessible and future-proof. We are a growing AI company with solutions already running in multiple hospitals, and we are actively scaling further across the Netherlands.

With our software, we help healthcare professionals make better real-time decisions, use capacity more efficiently, and ensure smooth patient flows, from the emergency department and ICU to the clinic. Our mission is to help hospitals accelerate their care transformation and digitalization goals, so that every patient receives the right care at the right time.

Does this sound exciting? Then we have the perfect role for you! We are looking for a Data Scientist, focussed on machine learning and statistical modelling, who will strengthen our core model-development capacity: making our models better, improving their performance and reliability, and building new ones.

As a Senior Data Scientist, you will sit (or stand, if you prefer) right at the heart of our modelling process. You will report to our Head of Engineering & Data Science, and work closely with a group of talented and driven developers, engineers, data scientists, designers and clinical experts in the Product Engineering team. Your focus will be on the full machine learning lifecycle: improving existing models and building new ones, diving deep into heterogeneous clinical datasets, and delivering production-quality ML. As we move toward capacity management, this increasingly includes statistical modelling beyond single-patient prediction: combining multiple prediction models into unit- and hospital-level capacity insights. We're looking for someone with energy, curiosity, and a product mindset, who takes ownership and is motivated to keep learning, bring new techniques and ideas into the team, and help others grow along the way.

Why Pacmed is a great place to work

• We're a dynamic startup committed to improving healthcare in the Netherlands.

• We're committed to creating an inclusive environment for our team.

• We're a talented bunch dedicated to helping each other grow.

• We foster a culture of kindness and respect.

• We're a team of ambitious and fun-loving people, with regular team events!

What would be expected of you

• Own the development and deployment of machine learning models trained on large-scale medical data end-to-end, improving their predictive performance, calibration, and robustness.

• Lead our statistical modelling for capacity management: combining and extending our prediction models (e.g., admission inflow, discharge, survival models) into unit- and hospital-level insights, with attention to uncertainty, calibration, and simulation of patient flow.

• Drive all stages of the ML process for new products: from problem definition and algorithmic approach through analysis, pipelining, experimentation, interpretation, certification, and implementation, all the way to post-market monitoring and reporting.

• Scope and drive medium- and long-term modelling projects, working with team leads and product managers to plan work and resources.

• Dive into heterogeneous healthcare datasets to improve data quality and model reliability, while building scalable, generic solutions applicable across hospitals.

• Set the bar for methodological and code quality: writing professional, maintainable, well-tested code following best practices for medical applications, and reviewing and mentoring colleagues to do the same.

• Drive R&D and bring new techniques and ideas into the team.

• Use AI tooling wisely and responsibly to assist you in your work.

• Participate in validation and verification activities, according to the latest medical and information security regulations.

• Be present in the office a couple of days per week. We are flexible, and at the same time we love seeing each other regularly and working together in person.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of professional experience developing, deploying, and maintaining machine learning models in production

• A Master's degree (or equivalent demonstrated experience) in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or a similar field

• Strong proficiency in Python, including commonly used libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, pandas/polars, numpy), and strong statistical foundations

• Deep, demonstrated experience across the entire machine learning lifecycle: from data exploration and preprocessing to model experimentation, development, validation, deployment, and monitoring in production

• Energy, curiosity, a product mindset and a learner's mindset; a good team player

• Fluency in written and spoken English

• Eligible to work in the Netherlands (EU). Unfortunately we are not able to sponsor visas at the moment.

At Pacmed, we think there is strength in diversity. Studies show that women and members of underrepresented communities apply for jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Does this sound like you? If so, Pacmed encourages you to reconsider and apply! Building responsible AI requires diverse perspectives, equitable practices, and integrity every step of the way. This is our commitment.

Note: we have a similar vacancy tailored for junior/medior candidates. If you think you are a good fit for this position, but you feel like you might not have the necessary experience, check it out on our Careers page!

Be aware that we plan on hiring only one person for this position, regardless of seniority.

Working at Pacmed

The perks our team loves

🚀 You'll get a stake in Pacmed's success through our Stock Appreciation Rights (SAR) program

💡 Development Day once a month – spend 5% of your work time for personal development!

🎪 Regular social events, with quarterly outings and yearly off-site

👵🏽 Sponsored contribution of an equivalent of 6% of your salary to a private pension fund

👶 Extra paid additional birth leave and maternity leave

🏠 Flexible working arrangements in working hours and working from abroad

…but also:

🏝 25 paid holidays per year based on full time employment

➕ The option to buy 5 extra holidays based on full time employment

🏖️ Possibility to take a 3-months sabbatical once employed with a permanent contract

🥗 Lunch provided daily at the office, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options

🏋🏽 A ClassPass and OpenUp subscription

🙏🏻 Option to customize public holidays: swap some standard public holidays for alternative days to accommodate personal or religious observances

🖥️ Company laptop, phone allowance and home office equipment provided

Our Tech Stack

Our software is written in Python and Javascript (Typescript), with Azure as our cloud provider. On the data science side, you will work mostly in Python: we process clinical data with Pandas, Polars, and (Py)Spark, and we train and evaluate our models with scikit-learn and related libraries (e.g., scikit-survival, LightGBM). Interpretability and explainability are central to how we build: our predictions only create value when users understand, trust and use them. Around all this sits our product stack — FastAPI, SQL, VueJS, Docker — which you will encounter when your work finds its way into the product. Of course, no single person knows and uses all these tools! So don't worry if you don't know some of them. And if you are curious about any new tool, you will definitely have the chance to pick them up and learn on the job.

At the same time, we are always eager to add beneficial new technologies to our stack. If you want to contribute your expertise with a specific tool that you love, we have a Tech Funnel process to evaluate and possibly adopt anything that might be interesting and beneficial to the team and/or our product.

Growing at Pacmed

At Pacmed we are fully committed to help you grow in the direction that you envision for yourself. Together with your manager, you will craft a development path to guide you in the process. Every quarter you will review your individual growth goals, both with your manager and your team lead, to make sure that you are working on the right things and achieving the goals you have set for yourself.

As a successful Senior Data Scientist, here's an example of what the next years at Pacmed could look like. Of course, this is just a hypothetical path: everyone's professional growth looks different, and every step of the way is highly dependent on a number of factors, including but not limited to one's own performance, but also the needs of the team and the availability of positions.

In the short term (1-2 years), you would establish yourself as a modelling anchor of the team: owning big parts of our data science work; designing and executing complex analyses and experiments; scoping and driving medium- and long-term projects; contributing to the strategic vision of the product and tech team; and helping colleagues grow their modelling skills.

In the longer term (2-5 years), you would deepen either the Individual Contributor or the Manager track. As an individual contributor, you would move into a Staff role, lead the data science and modelling strategy of the team, being responsible for our largest analytical and technical decisions and for delivering data science work of the highest quality. As a Lead/Manager, you would move into leading teams and managing direct reports, contributing to the company and product strategy, helping to draft goals, manage resources, hiring, etc.

Hiring process

Note: we will not ask you to do a take-home coding challenge for this position. We value your time, and we do not believe in asking candidates to do unpaid work.

1️⃣ ✨ Introductory chat

• With whom? One of our engineers or data scientists.

• How long? 15-30 mins

• How? Online (MS Teams)

• What? A short call to align on the fundamentals and practicalities: salary expectations (both ways), motivation, and main requirements. You will hear more about Pacmed and you will be asked some questions to check that we can proceed to the next stage.

2️⃣ 🖥️ First Interview

• With whom? Two of our colleagues from the Product-Tech Team.

• How long? 45 minutes

• How? Online (MS Teams) or in our Amsterdam office. This could be combined with step 3.

• What? This will be a way to get to know each other, talk about your background, experience, and motivation, and to see whether Pacmed could be a great fit for you, and what you could bring to the team. We'll also tell you a bit more about the company, team, way of working, and the product, and you can ask any questions you might have about Pacmed or the position.

3️⃣ ⚜️ Technical Interview

• With whom? Two of our data scientists.

• How long? 1.5 hours

• How? In person at our office, but possible to arrange it online if needed. This could be combined with step 2. (If you are applying from outside of the Netherlands and are therefore unable to make it to the office at this stage, don't worry – it will not influence your chances in any way!)

• What? This is where you will be able to shine. We will go in depth on the machine learning lifecycle, statistical modelling, and code quality, working together on a modelling case and some fun, realistic problems.

4️⃣ 🤙🏻 Final chat (+ optional lunch at the office)

• With whom? Michele (Head of Engineering and Data Science) and/or Bas (CTO).

• How long? 45min

• How? In person at our office, but possible to arrange it online if needed. (If you are applying from outside of the Netherlands and are therefore unable to make it to the office at this stage, don't worry – it will not influence your chances in any way!)

• What? This will be an informal chat with the CTO and your future manager, to go more in depth about your growth plans, motivation, way of working, and culture fit/add. It will also be a chance for you to ask all the questions you might still have after going through the interviews. In addition, if you are able to come to the office, we would love for you to have lunch with the rest of the team, to get to know them and have a chance to experience what it means to work from the Pacmed office.

We're looking forward to meeting you!