Director, Machine Learning, Virtual Cell Initiative

Arc Institute

$130K — $180K *
US-AnywhereRemote in Palo Alto, CA
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Machine Learning, or equivalent.
  • 5+ years of experience in machine learning with frameworks like Pytorch, TensorFlow, JAX.
  • Proven leadership experience in a multidisciplinary research setting.
  • Strong interest or background in biology, with interdisciplinary collaboration experience.
  • Excellent communication skills, supported by a history of publications and presentations.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and develop a team of ML scientists and engineers focused on predictive modeling.
  • Collaborate with wet lab scientists to leverage extensive single-cell training data.
  • Integrate various genomics and omics data beyond scRNA-seq and Perturb-seq.
  • Stay informed on frontier ML research, innovating new architectures and approaches.
  • Construct a virtual cell model for global use by biologists, promoting scientific breakthroughs.
  • Foster a collaborative, inclusive environment while mentoring team members.
  • Attract top talent to further the VCI initiative objectives.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to lead cutting-edge research in machine learning and biology.
  • Collaborative work environment with a multidisciplinary team.
  • Access to extensive datasets for innovative research.
  • Support for professional development and continuous learning.
  • Involvement in high-impact publications to advance scientific progress.
Full Job Description
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.
  • You are a strong communicator, capable of translating complex technical concepts at the intersection of machine learning and biology.
  • You are a continuous learner.
  • You are interested in recruiting and managing your own group of scientists and engineers as well as mentoring and training for other scientists.

In this position you will
  • Lead/build a team of 6 ML research scientists and engineers augmented with undergrad/masters/PhD students to contribute to the development of a state-of-the-art foundation model and agentic framework for understanding how cells respond to perturbations.
  • Work in an active learning loop with Arc's wet lab scientists to shape the world's largest and most diverse set of single cell training data across many cell contexts.
  • Collaborate closely with other research groups to integrate genomics, functional track,and omics data more broadly beyond scRNA-seq data and Perturb-seq
  • Stay up to date on the latest in frontier ML research and pioneer new architectures and approaches.
  • The ultimate goal is to build a high utility virtual cell model for use by biologists worldwide. We publish our breakthroughs to widely accelerate scientific progress and partner with some of the biggest names in AI.
  • Commit to a collaborative and inclusive team environment, sharing expertise and mentoring others.
  • Attract the very best talent in the world to support VCI initiative goals

Requirements
  • 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, etc.
  • 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.

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