Pathology Research Scientist (contract)

About Rancho BioSciences, LLC

Rancho BioSciences is a San Diego–based provider of biomedical data curation and data science services for pharma and biotech, spanning drug discovery through translational research. Our teams of scientists, data engineers, and software experts deliver end-to-end solutions across data curation, management, mining, and analysis to help customers accelerate R&D. We partner long-term with blue-chip clients and emerging biotechs, bringing scientific rigor, quality, and a customer-first mindset to every engagement.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Pathology Research Scientist to join us on a part-time, contractor basis. This individual will provide subject-matter expertise across biomarker discovery, diagnostic development, and computational pathology initiatives, supporting programs spanning translational research through clinical development.

The role requires deep expertise in surgical pathology, digital pathology, and tissue-based assays, and close collaboration with internal and client-facing teams in biomarkers, histotechnology/platform science, data science, and AI/ML. The Pathology Research Scientist will help ensure scientific rigor, clinical relevance, and regulatory-appropriate practices across multiple drug development and diagnostic programs.

The role will be fully remote, however preferred applicants are based on the US East Coast, Western Europe, or in the Asia-Pacific Region.

What you'll do

• Serve as a pathology subject-matter expert (SME) for biomarker and diagnostic programs, including companion diagnostics, molecular pathology, digital pathology, and associated data science services.
• Provide scientific guidance through critical literature review and synthesis of primary source data, including peer-reviewed publications, disease staging and grading systems, and established pathology reference standards.
• Support computational pathology and AI/ML initiatives by translating clinical and histopathologic knowledge into actionable guidance for model design, training, validation, and interpretation.
• Define disease- and indication-specific annotation guidelines, including relevant tissue compartments, cellular features, morphologic patterns, and common technical artifacts.
• Perform or review digital slide annotations using validated platforms; provide peer review, quality control, and written validation of human- and algorithm-generated annotations in accordance with project requirements.
• Support computational pathology and ML/AI teams through the translation of clinical and histopathologic knowledge into actionable guidance for model development, validation, and deployment.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure pathology-derived outputs are clinically meaningful, analytically sound, and fit-for-purpose within research and development workflows.

Qualifications

• MD/DO, MBBS, or equivalent, with board certification or board eligibility in Anatomic Pathology (AP) or Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (AP/CP).
• Surgical pathology subspecialty training or certification strongly preferred.
• Experience in clinical trials, translational research, or drug development & creation strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience working within cross-functional, multi-stakeholder project teams with successful delivery against multiple competing priorities and quick turnaround expectations.
• Hands-on experience with digital pathology platforms and AI-enabled or computational pathology workflows strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to draft, review, and quality-check research protocols and procedural documents with attention to detail and scientific rigor.
• Ability to work within sponsor-provided systems, environments, and data governance requirements.
• Advanced degree (e.g., MS, MPH, or PhD) in a life sciences discipline is a plus.