Manager, AI - Diagnostics

Overview

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication, and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion, and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.

Program Overview

Leveraging deep expertise in strengthening healthcare systems, CHAI has launched an ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative to support Ministries of Health to systematically capture and scale the benefits of AI. The CHAI AI program seeks to support Ministries to reimagine what is possible with technology, building towards a vision of “AI Native Health Systems” that makes health care delivery accessible, high-quality, and efficient. There are four pillars of the strategy: (1) bringing the capabilities of world-class clinical intelligence or “AI Doctors” to every clinician and patient, (2) developing and deploying new “AI Diagnostics” that decentralize and improve quality of diagnoses, and (3) health systems AI applications, or the creation of “National Health Intelligence Centers” that improve systems capacity in disease surveillance, financial and workforce management, supply chain, and beyond. Finally, (4) to fully realize the potential of these uses of AI, CHAI is also supporting Ministries of Health to strengthen “AI Foundations”, including physical and digital infrastructure, governance, and workforce strategy.

CHAI is seeking a quantitatively strong researcher to anchor the research and analytics that guide where the AI Diagnostics team invests. Reporting to the AI Diagnostics lead, the individual will help decide which diagnostics carry the greatest impact, judge the data and models behind them, and maintain the evidence base the wider team and its partners rely on. This is a new role with significant independence and the scope to take on greater responsibility and leadership as the team and its portfolio grow. The ideal candidate is analytically rigorous, comfortable with the fundamentals of machine learning, and able to turn a fast-moving and often ambiguous landscape into clear, defensible recommendations. This position is flexible to being based in the United States or in a CHAI program country (subject to country leadership approval and ability to obtain work authorization), and requires 20-40% international travel, including occasional multi-week trips. This position can be levelled at a Manager or Senior Manager, depending on level of experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the team's ongoing research on the AI diagnostics landscape: scanning, assessing, and synthesizing both the tools available today and the promising tools still emerging or yet to be built, and how relevant each is for low- and middle-income countries
• Assess the technical readiness of priority diagnostics, including the quality and representativeness of training datasets, model architectures, and the adequacy of sample sizes; run focused deep-dive research on priority questions, such as data gaps for specific tools or hardware
• Use disease-burden data to identify high-burden conditions that lack a viable AI diagnostic, informing CHAI's investment priorities and engagement with developers
• Develop and maintain CHAI's market intelligence on the AI diagnostics landscape, covering evidence, performance, cost, and regulatory status, as a resource for internal teams and, over time, external partners
• Lead the maturity assessment of priority diagnostics, from research proof-of-concept through regulatory approval to deployable scale
• Prepare analyses, briefs, and presentations that communicate strategy, progress, and impact to internal leadership, government partners, and donors
• Build and maintain analytical tools and workflows, including with modern AI tools, to automate research and reporting
• Support engagement with technology developers, research institutions, and partners on data and model questions
• Support the cost-effectiveness prioritization that helps determine where CHAI focuses, and help keep it current as the field evolves
• Contribute to fundraising and donor engagement, including proposal development and reporting
• Travel internationally 20-40% of the time, including occasional multi-week trips
• Undertake other responsibilities as needed at the request of the team lead or senior leadership

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent and 4 to 8 years of relevant professional experience; backgrounds in quantitative fields such as data science, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, economics, computer science, or mathematics are welcome
• A strong quantitative skill set and a solid command of core machine learning concepts, with the ability to judge training-data quality and representativeness, reason about model performance and architectures, and interpret sample-size and validation questions; the aptitude to pick these up quickly and apply them in practice is equally valuable
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, with the judgment to deliver a clear, defensible recommendation under time pressure
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex technical and quantitative information for non-technical audiences
• Familiarity with modern AI tools and platforms (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini) with informed perspectives on their relative strengths and limitations
• Willingness to use modern AI coding tools to rapidly prototype, automate, and build lightweight analytical tools
• Entrepreneurial mindset and comfort in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment, including the ability to work independently with limited guidance, navigate ambiguity, and propose and implement new approaches
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English, including the ability to prepare compelling presentations, memos, and technical documentation
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with diverse stakeholders, including government officials, technical teams, and international partners
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in a quantitative or health-related field (e.g., data science, machine learning, biostatistics, epidemiology, economics, or public health with a quantitative focus)
• Proficiency in Python, R, or other programming languages, and experience with data-analysis or machine-learning workflows
• Familiarity working with large datasets, including from IHME, WHO, and other public data sources
• Hands-on experience with AI “vibe-coding” and automation tools
• Experience working with governments, multilateral organizations, and / or in LMIC settings
• Background in global health, public health, digital health, or applied research using health data
• Proficiency in languages spoken in CHAI program countries (Hindi, French, Swahili, etc.)

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