Data Science Industrial Placement - Multiple roles within Biostats, Data Management, Real-World Data and more

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

The Product Development Data Sciences and Analytics (PDD) department in Roche's Pharmaceutical Division focuses on three core areas: identifying evidence needed in bringing our drugs to market, making high-quality data accessible and generating insights through data analysis. This involves leveraging diverse datasets from clinical trials, real-world evidence and digital sources to understand patient pathways, disease progression and patient outcomes.

Data science has become essential for extracting meaningful insights from the growing variety and complexity of data enabled by advances in digital technology. In biopharma, each data point represents part of a patient’s journey, contributing to the understanding of disease and the development of better medicines. Maximizing the potential of this data allows for groundbreaking analyses and insights.

The PDD Department in Welwyn Garden City is seeking 10 industrial placement students starting in July 2027 for 13 months to support the advancement of medicines. Successful candidates will be evaluated for one of multiple roles across the department, each requiring a diverse range of skills.

For further information about all of the available roles please see further down in the ad. Candidates will be considered for all roles but please indicate in your cover letter your preferred roles.

Our UK Pharmaceutical head office , one of our primary global offices,  is situated in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire and is surrounded by beautiful countryside. Supported by major motorways and airports, as well as being a 25-minute train ride to central London, access is easy. With over 1800 people occupying our site in Welwyn, you can expect interactions with Product Development (PD), Early Development (pRED), Commercial (Rx) and our corporate function.  The extensive overlap and interaction with other functions means Roche provides an unmatched experience as well as ample networking opportunities.

Degree Requirements

You must be studying for an undergraduate or integrated masters degree, and be eligible to work in the UK.

If you're passionate about making a difference in patients' lives and possess the teamwork and innovation we're looking for, Roche could be the perfect fit for you. In return, we provide a competitive salary and excellent benefits, including a genuine interest in your career development and progression.

Recruitment process:

Phase I:

Submission of Cover Letter (including preferred roles) & CV: Evaluation of skills and motivations.

Phase II:

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online video interview to assess their motivation and passion.

Phase III:

Candidates who pass the video interview stage will be invited to join us for an in-person assessment centre. This will be held on 25th or 26th November 2026 at our Roche UK office in Welwyn Garden City.   Please ensure you are available on these dates to  proceed with your application.

In person Final Assessment Centre: This will involve a full day of interviews, group tasks and a technical aptitude test. We’ll be looking at what motivates you and how you work with others, and assessing your technical aptitude (for those roles which have a technical component). There is also time set aside for building tours and conversations with PDD members of staff. For example, you will be able to get to know PDD members of staff and ask questions on the job and the job environment.

If you are interested in any of these positions and fulfil the degree requirements  please submit your CV & covering letter (including preferred roles) by the application process deadline: Sunday 1st November 2026.

Please note:   Unfortunately  visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Candidates must already hold valid authorisation to work in the UK.

Available roles

Function: Data Management

Data Management involves the collection, cleaning & storing of clinical trial data, utilizing a variety of industry and/or inhouse products and tools. Data Management safeguards data integrity, ensuring patient safety and the quality of data used to support decision-making in drug development. We are offering positions in 3 areas within Data Management:

Role: Data Quality Lead 

DQLs oversee the quality, integrity, and availability of clinical trial data, ensuring it is fit for purpose and ready for analysis by our statisticians. Working with multiple functions, DQLs manage the design and implementation of the study database, and oversee data collection and data cleaning strategies. As a DQL, you will be a key member of the clinical study team, and your ​day to day work will be divided between​ data and people - solving novel data problems, but also learning to lead & influence others​.

Who You Are

Pursuing a degree in Data Science, Life Sciences, or a related field

Strong attention to detail and organizational skills and can adhere to compliance guardrails and departmental procedures.

Demonstrate critical thinking and a willingness to learn.

An effective communicator, able to work collaboratively and learn to influence others in both technical and non-technical roles.

Role: Technical Excellence Specialist

Technical Excellence acts as the key link between the clinical data management team and technical Informatics (IT) colleagues. Rather than working directly on clinical trials, the focus is on understanding user needs and helping to shape the tools, products, and processes that streamline daily work. This role involves listening to business challenges, gathering user feedback, and translating ideas into technical solutions.

Who you are

Pursuing a degree in Data Science, Life Sciences, Bioinformatics, Computer Science or a related field

Strong communication skills, with the capability to bridge technical and non-technical teams effectively

Interest in or ability to use digital tools for project/code management (e.g. Github, Jira)  and in basic programming (e.g. simple Python or R)

Ability to manage time and keep projects on track.

A logical mindset for identifying process improvements and developing practical solutions to everyday problems.

Role: Functional Excellence Specialist

Functional Excellence Specialists play a key role in helping our Data Management group improve how we manage clinical trial data by bridging the gap between new technology and the people who use it. This non-technical role focuses on change management, and making processes more efficient, consistent and scalable.

You will gain hands-on experience in knowledge management, and learn how to improve the quality and longevity of our tools, ensuring they effectively support our colleagues in their day to day work.

Who You are

Pursuing a degree in Data Science, Life Sciences, or a related field

Have an understanding of or a willingness to learn about Change Management & Communication strategies

Have an understanding of or a willingness to learn about Knowledge Management and how it contributes to core performance and compliance

Have an understanding of or a willingness to learn about Process Improvement: to help identify gaps and propose process enhancements.

Function: Analytical Data Sciences

Analytical Data Sciences mission is to ensure the timely, accurate, and compliant analysis of clinical trial data to support regulatory submissions, drive informed decision-making and, with the integration of the latest tools and technologies, ultimately help bring safe and effective new therapies to patients. We are offering positions in 2 areas within Analytical Data Sciences:

Role: ADS (Analytical Data Scientist)

Analytical Data Scientists (ADS) are responsible for providing analytical and programming expertise for the reporting and analysis of clinical trials and related submissions to Health Authorities worldwide. We work closely with other members of Data Sciences, in particular biostatistics and data management, to ensure quality and integrity of study data. We also collaborate with other functional experts to determine appropriate analysis of data for respective disease areas.

Role: DSX (Data Science Acceleration) Data Scientist

The Data Science Acceleration (DSX) team is responsible for developing scalable data engineering and analytical tools, environments, and workflows that enable efficient, high-quality statistical computing across Product Development Data Sciences and Analytics (PDD). They focus on creating and maintaining next-generation capabilities that support automation of programming workflows, generation of reusable coding macros, and advanced data visualization.

Who You Are (applies to both Analytical Data Sciences roles)

Pursuing a degree in Mathematics, Data Science, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative or computational field

Good problem solving and logical thinking skills, as well as a keen interest in analytics

Knowledge of some programming languages (R, SAS, Python) beneficial

A curious mindset with an eagerness to learn about what we do as a business as well as strengthening your technical skills.

Able to perform well as part of cross-functional and interdisciplinary development teams under general supervision.

Strong communication skills, with the capability to bridge technical and non-technical teams effectively

Ability to manage time and keep projects on track.

Function: Biostatistics

As a trusted analytical partner in drug development, Biostatistics provides strategic leadership and drives data-led decision making to bring safe, effective medicines to patients faster.  We are responsible for designing robust clinical trials and analysis plans that safeguard data integrity, ensure regulatory compliance, and maximise the statistical success rate of our studies. Our team operates at the frontline of the industry by identifying opportunities to implement innovative statistical methods across the wider organization. We are offering 1 position within biostatistics.

Role: Biostatistician

Statisticians use their statistical expertise to design, analyse and interpret the results of clinical trials. We are a key member of cross functional teams, working closely with both technical (data management, statistical programming) and non-technical (clinical science, safety science, regulatory) colleagues to ensure the quality, integrity and regulatory compliance of our studies and their results. We also conduct complex exploratory analyses, by applying novel statistical methodologies to answer critical healthcare questions and to fully understand our clinical trial data.

Who You Are

Pursuing a degree in Mathematics, Data Science, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field

Knowledge and understanding of basic statistics, with an interest in developing your statistical skills further

Knowledge and experience programming in R or SAS (among other languages) beneficial

Comfortable working as part of teams consisting of both technical and non-technical colleagues

Function: Real World & Clinical Data Strategy 

The Real-World & Clinical Data Strategy (RWCDS) team at Roche develops and implements  data strategies that unlock the value of clinical, operational, and real-world data to accelerate drug development and evidence generation. We are offering positions in 2 areas within RWCDS:

Role: Data Steward

Data Stewards ensure that clinical and real-world datasets are documented, accessible, trustworthy, and findable by assisting with provenance tracking, defining metadata, and cataloging datasets. Working across operational, clinical trial, and real-world data, they produce interactive catalogue entries, aligned and standard data dictionaries that enable scientists to locate and reuse data, while ensuring compliance with data privacy and security regulations such as HIPAA and GDPR.

Role: Data Strategy & Analytics Specialist

The Data Strategy & Analytics Specialist (DSAS) designs and executes data analyses to support decision-making while translating complex scientific and research questions into structured data requirements. They work with multi-modal data spanning clinical trials, operational metrics, and real-world data to produce analysis reports or dashboards alongside mapped technical specifications for clinical use cases.

Who You Are (applies to both RWCDS roles)

Pursuing a degree in Life Sciences, Pharmacoepidemiology, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field

Have strong critical thinking and a desire to learn or build on basic programming skills in Python, R, or SQL

Excited to learn about real world and clinical trial data, data modeling, metadata, clinical trial systems, or global data standards and privacy (GDPR/HIPAA) under the guidance of senior specialists

Function: Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology 

The Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology department within pRED, which is outside of the PD organisation but supports projects through both early and late stages, requiring strong collaboration with our PD colleagues.  Our aim is to select the safest, efficacious dose and dosing schedule through analysis of pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamic (PD), efficacy and safety data. We also provide a quantitative basis for drug discovery & development decision-making using translational modelling & simulation, pharmacometrics, disease modeling and data science.

Role: Clinical Pharmacology Data Scientist

Clinical Pharmacology Data Scientists (CPDS) supports the Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology department by creating ready to use analysis datasets, providing graphical evaluation of the data and conducting exploratory analysis. We work closely with Clinical Pharmacologists to analyse and report data from clinical studies. We also work closely with Pharmacometricians who use modelling and simulation techniques to support the drug development process.

Who You Are 

Pursuing a scientific, or data related degree

Have good problem solving and logical thinking skills,

Have R programming experience (or other coding language), including data visualisation

Have an interest in how biological systems work

Have some familiarity with Microsoft Office, or Google equivalent

Are able to work independently and as part of a team

 

 

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of Roche Products Ltd. At Roche Products we believe diversity drives innovation and we are committed to building a diverse and flexible working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability or age. We recognise the importance of flexible working and will review all applicants’ requests with care. At Roche difference is valued and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where you are encouraged to bring your whole self to work.