Business Analyst Life Sciences R&D Platform

Role Overview

Experienced BA needed to join Cognizant's Life Sciences R&D platform delivery team. You will bridge PhD-level scientific stakeholders and engineering teams — translating omics, biomarker, and molecular research workflows into clear, testable requirements across a multi-phase agile programme.

Key Responsibilities

• Capture end-to-end scientific workflows spanning compound management, assay data, and multi-omics (RNA-Seq, scRNA-Seq, proteomics) and translate into user stories, functional specs, and acceptance criteria

• Articulate non-functional requirements across data governance, access control, regulatory traceability, and FAIR data principles

• Collaborate with Solution Architects on cloud-native platform architecture — defining API contracts, data flows, and integration logic across LIMS, ELN, and CDW systems

• Support definition of entity resolution logic (deterministic, NLP, and LLM-assisted matching) from a functional perspective

• Own backlog grooming and sprint ceremonies across iterative delivery, acting as primary functional escalation point during build and integration

• Define and execute SIT/UAT validation scenarios covering data normalisation, pipeline performance, and scientist-facing workflow behaviour

Skills & Experience

• Proven BA experience on data or platform programmes in life sciences or pharma R&D

• Domain fluency across omics data types, biomarker discovery, or translational research workflows

• Familiarity with research informatics systems — LIMS, ELN, CDW, or equivalent

• Understanding of cloud-native data architectures — data lakes, APIs, and integration patterns (Azure, AWS, or GCP)

• Working knowledge of ML/AI concepts — NLP, entity resolution, vector search, and active learning

• Agile delivery experience across multi-release programmes with continuous requirements refinement

• Confident communicating with PhD-level researchers, R&D leads, and C-suite stakeholders