Director, Machine Learning, Virtual Cell Initiative
Lead a team of ML research scientists and engineers building foundation models and agentic frameworks for the Virtual Cell Initiative, working with single-cell genomic data in an active learning loop with wet lab scientists.
- Compensation
- $380K–$420K / yr
- Location
- Palo Alto, CA
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Ml / AI
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Machine Learning, or a related field
- Minimum of 5 years of experience working in/with machine learning, well versed in frameworks such as Pytorch, TensorFlow, JAX
- Proven experience leading research teams in a fast paced, multi-disciplinary environment
- Experience with or strong interest in biology with ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with biologists and pure ML engineers
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with a strong track record of presentations and publications
Full description
About Arc Institute
Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.
Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.
Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:
- Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
- Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.
More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.
Why this position could be the best job you’ve ever had?
- Work at the center of AIxBio with the potential to revolutionize drug discovery for the world.
- Work in a unique environment that incorporates both wet lab data generation and frontier AI modelling in an active learning loop.
- Join a new type of research org that fuses high-velocity execution of a startup with the intellectual rigor of a world-class academic institute, with a long runway to tackle some of the hardest - and highest potential - challenges in science today.
- Collaborate with some of the most accomplished scientists and entrepreneurs in the world.
About the position
We are searching for an innovative scientific leader experienced in building predictive models based on single-cell genomic data. The chosen candidate will spearhead the development and application of advanced machine learning models tailored for perturbative gene expression modeling, in the context of Arc’s virtual cell initiative.
About you
- You are passionate about machine learning, ideally with experience or strong interest in biology and single-cell genomics.
- You want to develop highly innovative and accurate biology-inspired multimodal machine learning models.
- You are excited about collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of computational and experimental biologists at Arc.