Data Science & AI Manager

About the Position

Join iLOF to manage the day-to-day delivery of the Data Science team, working with physicists, biologists, and engineers to turn optical measurements into validated models for blood-based diagnostics. You will work with iLOF’s scientific and executive leadership, take the company's priorities and turn them into clear plans, and make sure the team delivers rigorous, well-engineered work on time. You will also own how the team learns and grows, and lead iLOF's strategy for adopting AI tools in Data Science work.

This is a hands-on management role for someone who has led technical teams in industry. You do not need to be a physicist, but you will be comfortable with signal data and able to speak the language of the teams you work with.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Data Science team day-to-day: set clear expectations, run 1:1s, give regular feedback, support development plans, and handle performance.
• Turn priorities set by scientific and executive leadership into sprint and project plans; allocate people, manage dependencies, and track milestones.
• Be the first point of call for prioritization questions, escalating trade-offs early and keeping the team focused on what matters most.
• Keep projects on track from scoping through validation and hand-over, flagging risks and slippage early.
• Make sure software is built properly: version control, code review, testing, reproducible pipelines, and documentation, working closely with the software team.
• Bridge the gap between development and production-ready requirements, so prototypes and models move into robust, validated, and deployable products.
• Bring structure to how the team works: lightweight processes, clear definitions of done, and standards for analysis review and model validation.
• Work across Biology, Photonics, Engineering, and Clinical teams so data acquisition, analysis, and product needs stay aligned.
• Train and upskill the team: identify skill gaps, run structured training, pair programming, and code/analysis reviews, and bring in external courses or experts where needed, so the team keeps pace with modern data science, ML, and software practice.
• Lead AI tools strategy and implementation: set the strategy for how the team uses AI tools (coding assistants, LLMs and agents, AutoML, and experiment tooling), select and roll out tools, define guidelines for safe and rigorous use, including data protection and validation of AI-generated work, measure the impact on productivity and quality, and share what works with the wider company.
• Report progress, risks, and decisions clearly to leadership.
• Contribute to hiring and onboarding into the team.

Requirements

Must have

• Several years of industry experience leading data science, machine learning, or engineering teams to delivery (managing people, not only projects).
• Degree (MSc or PhD preferred) in a quantitative field such as electrical engineering, signal processing, physics, applied mathematics, statistics, or computer science.
• Hands-on background in data science or ML, with a working understanding of modeling, validation, and the pitfalls of small or noisy datasets.
• Strong software engineering practice: you can set and enforce standards for code quality, testing, and reproducibility.
• Hands-on experience leading the adoption of AI tools in a technical team: choosing tools, rolling them out, setting usage guidelines, and showing measurable gains.
• A track record of developing people: designing training, coaching, and mentoring that visibly raised a team's skills.
• Proven project and delivery management: planning, prioritization, risk management, and stakeholder reporting.
• Experience running Agile delivery (for example, Scrum or Kanban): sprint planning, backlog management, stand-ups, and retrospectives.
• Hands-on proficiency in Python, SQL, and Git, and practical experience building with agentic AI (LLM agents, tool use, and multi-step automated workflows).
• Excellent communication in English with technical and non-technical colleagues.

Strong plus

• Experience with signal or sensor data (signal processing, spectroscopy, time series, instrumentation).
• Experience in a scale-up or start-up with an AI or deep-tech component.
• Work experience on clinically certified or other regulated products (for example, CE-IVD or FDA-cleared devices, or software as a medical device), or wider exposure to medtech and diagnostics.

We Offer

• An exciting future with a deep-tech company selected by Financial Times and CB Insights as one of the most transformative companies in the world.
• A high-paced, flexible environment: adaptable working hours, strong remote work culture.
• A stimulating atmosphere with room for creativity – fast-paced, fun, and energetic start-up with a friendly culture.
• Weekly happy hours with amazing food and drinks.
• Free coffee and snacks ☕.
• The opportunity to work with a world-class, talented team – and potentially change healthcare as we know it for millions of patients living with complex diseases around the globe 🧑‍⚕️.

About the Company

iLOF in a nutshell 💡

As personalized medicine becomes the norm, scientists, patients, and healthcare systems worldwide face massive barriers in providing the right treatment to the right patient.

Recognized by CB Insights and Financial Times as one of the most promising Digital Health companies in the world, iLOF is building an AI-powered platform capable of transforming precision medicine.

Our goal is to become the platform that democratizes access to personalized medicine for millions of people living with complex diseases around the globe.

Thanks to our proprietary optical fingerprint library of disease biomarkers and biological profiles, we can offer personalized patient screening and stratification in a faster and more affordable way, saving up to 40% of the cost and 70% of the time while enabling a more human patient experience.

Supported by leading institutions like Microsoft Ventures, Mayfield, and the Oxford University, iLOF is currently focusing on validating its platform technology in one of the biggest challenges of our times: Alzheimer's, while maintaining ongoing verticals on Digestive Cancer, Stroke, and Infectious diseases.

Our Team 🧑🏻‍💻

We are a mix of scientists, entrepreneurs, and inventors based in London and Porto, with a passion for healthcare!

Recognized by CB Insights as one of the most promising Digital Health companies in the world and by the Financial Times as a Transformational Business in Healthcare, iLOF has been regularly featured in leading outlets like Tech Crunch, Wired, and Sifted and listed as a rising star in AI-Driven Drug Discovery, Health Screening & Data Analytics.

What we value

• A Be Kind attitude is the main guideline within iLoF.
• A hand in the hammer and another free to support your co-workers as a true team player.
• An honest and egoless attitude towards discussions and critics working in good faith.
• The braveness to speak your heart in any situation.
• Through words or actions, be always sure to make a difference at any moment!
• Be proud to drive your responsibilities to success and help others do the same, embracing ownership!

We share a passion for being part of a mission that matters, and we are always looking for curious and collaborative people who share our values and want to be part of our journey.

If that sounds like a fit for you, click the apply button and join us.

You’ve read all this way but you’re missing a skill or two? No problem, it’s our job to upskill you to take your career to the next level. What we’re trying to say is, don’t be afraid to apply if you don’t tick all the boxes.