Novartis Posted October 27, 2026

Senior Principal, Statistical Programmer

London (The Westworks), United Kingdom FULL_TIME
Notify me about similar jobs

Novartis is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

#LI-Hybrid Location: London, UK Remote working can be consideredThis role is based in London, UK. Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role. Please only apply if this location is accessible for you. Step into a pivotal role where your expertise shapes the future of clinical development. As a Senior Principal Statistical Programmer, you will lead complex programming strategies across high-impact studies and programs, partnering with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality, regulatory-ready outputs. This is your opportunity to influence innovation, drive modern programming practices, and make a tangible difference in bringing life-changing medicines to patients faster.

Key responsibilities: Lead SP activities as Trial Programmer for one or multiple trial(s) or as a Lead/ Program Programmer for a program or an indication.May coordinate activities of internal/ external programmers. Make SP decisions and propose strategies at study, program or indication/ disease level.May act as functional manager of associates including providing supervision and guidance to these programmers on operational / functional expertise and processes.Build and maintain effective working relationship with cross-functional teams, able to summarize and discuss status of deliverables and critical programming aspects (timelines, scope, resource plan), e.g. as SP representative in study- or program-level team.Review eCRF, data structures, and ensure program-level standardization for effective pooling and efficient case record tabulation (CRT) production.Comply with company, department and industry standards (e.g. CDISC) and processes, assess and clarify additional programming requirements, review, develop and influence programming specifications as part of the analysis plans (incl. program-level strategies).Provide and implement statistical programming solutions; ensure knowledge sharing. Act as programming expert in problem-solving aspects.Ensure timely and quality development and validation of datasets and outputs for clinical study reports (CSRs), regulatory submissions/interactions, safety reports, publications, post-marketing activities or exploratory analyses (as required) in the assigned drug development studies/program. Understand Git-based version control workflows and their role in supporting collaborative, traceable, and reproducible programming activities.Responsible for quality control and inspection readiness of all assigned statistical programming deliverables as well as accuracy and reliability of statistical analysis results. Establishes robust expectations and frameworks for reproducibility, documentation, and code quality across complex workflows; leads refinement of templates, standards, and governance.Maintain up-to-date advanced knowledge of statistical programming languages (e.g. R, SAS, ) as well as industry requirements (e.g. CDISC, eCTD, Define.xml), act as an expert for advanced analysis, reporting, automation and enterprise-scale workflow optimization, and drive adoption of reusable solutions and modern approaches across studies or programsEssential Requirements: BS/MS degree in statistics, computer science, mathematics, data science, life science or equivalent relevant degreeExtensive experience and deep expertise in Statistical programming languages (e.g., R, SAS, or Python) to drive standardization across studies or programs and effectively adopt R packages (e.g. Tidyverse), R Shiny Applications, AI-enabled tools etc. to support data visualization, version control (e.g. Git-based), and reproducible workflows.Advanced experience in contributing to statistical analysis plans and/or constructing technical programming specificationsAdvanced knowledge of industry standards including CDISC data structures as well as a solid understanding of the development and use of standard programsGood understanding of regulatory requirements relevant to Statistical Programming (e.g. GCP, study procedures)Proven communications and negotiation skills, ability to work well with others globally and influenceExperience as Trial/Lead/Program Programmer for several studies or project-level activities, including coordination of team of internal or external programmers on a given study/program, ability to transfer own knowledge to others  Benefits & Rewards At Novartis, we’re committed to reimagining medicine together - and rewarding the people who make it happen. Expected Annual Base Salary Range for role: £49,140.00 - £91,260.00 Annual The base salary offered is determined based on gender-neutral objectives, such as relevant skills, competencies and experience in accordance with the Novartis pay setting policy and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. In addition to your base salary, you may be eligible for a performance-based bonus depending on certain performance parameters. The rewards of being part of our team go far beyond base pay and incentives. We also offer a variety of competitive benefits in kind to help you thrive personally and professionally, such as insurance plans, retirement plans, wellbeing resources and global recognition programs. In addition, we provide flexible and hybrid working options, where possible, and minimum 14 weeks paid parental leave. Pay equity is a fundamental principle of our employment policy and reflects our commitment to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment that treats all employees with dignity and respect, as outlined in our Code of Ethics. Read our brochure to learn more about our global total rewards offering:https://www.novartis.com/sites/novartis_com/files/novartis-life-handbook.pdf Note: Benefits and compensation may vary by country and are subject to local legal requirements, including provisions of collective bargaining agreements where applicable. A full overview of your compensation package, including any relevant collective bargaining agreement details applicable to your role based on your employment location and Novartis employer entity, will be communicated separately to you during the application process. Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion / EEO paragraphNovartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams’ representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Job details

Seniority
Principal
Function
Biostatistics & Data Science
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
London (The Westworks), United Kingdom
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Biostatistics & Data Science role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 141 comparable Principal Biostatistics & Data Science roles across 30 biopharma companies.

141Comparable roles tracked
128Currently active
30Companies hiring similar roles
19Countries represented

Salary context

55 of 141 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Statistical Programmer · Johnson & Johnson $106,000/yr – $170,200/yr
Peer group range $138,100 – $288,000 (median $186,375)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 141 comparable roles

United States82
India14
United Kingdom9
China5
Spain4
Canada4

+ 13 more countries

Seniority mix

141 of 141 peers have a known seniority level

Senior71
Principal42
Director28

Therapeutic area mix

14 of 141 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology7
Oncology3
Rare Disease2
Neuroscience1
Cardiovascular / CVRM1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Research UK Limited Uk, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Vertex UK Int'l HQ/R&D Paddington, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
IQVIA Reading, United Kingdom Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
50%similar
UCB Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom Senior
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
Merck KGaA Feltham, London, United Kingdom Senior
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
Novo Nordisk London, United Kingdom Senior
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Statistical Programmer job in the United Kingdom, and choose locations and companies.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Senior Principal Statistician, Biostatistics
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Research UK Limited · Uk, United Kingdom · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Biostatistician (Immunology) - FSP
IQVIA · Reading, United Kingdom · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
50%
Senior Machine Learning Scientist (London, London, GB)
Novo Nordisk · London, United Kingdom · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
45%
Principal Data Scientist, 340B Strategy & Analytics
AbbVie · Mettawa, IL · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.