Molecular Biology Expert

Weekday 1; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 110,000 - 165,000; Part time

Job summary

Weekday 1 is seeking Molecular Biology Experts to contribute to AI systems advancing scientific discovery. You will design, review, and evaluate DNA and RNA sequence tasks that train models and improve biological reasoning, requiring hands-on work in nucleic acid design, cloning strategies, and regulatory elements.

This fully remote, flexible engagement offers part-time to full-time work up to 40 hours per week. Compensation is $70–$105 per hour.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs for molecular biology experiments.
• Experience with primers, plasmids or expression vectors, CRISPR gRNA/sgRNA, and RNA constructs.
• Familiarity with cloning methods and sequence engineering.

Responsibilities

• Design and review DNA and RNA constructs, including primers, plasmids, CRISPR guides, and RNA elements.
• Create challenging molecular biology design tasks and develop reference solutions.
• Evaluate AI-generated solutions for scientific accuracy and feasibility.
• Justify sequence-level design decisions, including guide RNA selection and codon optimization.
• Apply cloning strategies (Gibson, Golden Gate, Gateway; restriction cloning).
• Provide feedback to improve AI performance on nucleic acid design workflows.

Skills

DNA design

Nucleic acid design

Molecular biology

Cloning strategies

Regulatory element considerations

Guide RNA selection

Homology arm design

Codon optimization

Education

PhD (strongly preferred) in Molecular Biology

Tools

Gibson Assembly

Golden Gate Assembly

Gateway Cloning

Restriction cloning

Job description

This role is for one of our clients

Compensation: $70-$105 per hour

We are seeking accomplished Molecular Biology Experts to contribute to the development of next-generation AI systems advancing scientific discovery. This opportunity is ideal for researchers with deep expertise in nucleic acid design who are passionate about applying their scientific knowledge to improve AI reasoning across the life sciences.

In this role, you will design, review, and evaluate complex DNA and RNA sequence design tasks that serve as high-quality training data for advanced AI models. Your expertise in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and experimental design will help ensure AI systems produce scientifically rigorous and biologically accurate outputs.

This is a fully remote, flexible engagement with part-time to full-time availability of up to 40 hours per week.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Design and review DNA and RNA constructs, including:
• PCR, qPCR, and cloning primers
• Plasmids and expression vectors
• CRISPR guide RNAs (gRNA/sgRNA)
• mRNA and other RNA constructs
• HDR and repair templates
• Create challenging, scientifically accurate molecular biology design tasks and develop detailed reference solutions.
• Evaluate AI-generated molecular biology solutions for scientific accuracy, experimental feasibility, and biological reasoning.
• Provide structured written feedback to improve AI performance in nucleic acid sequence design and molecular biology workflows.
• Justify sequence-level design decisions, including:
• Guide RNA selection
• Target specificity
• Homology arm design
• Primer melting temperature (Tm) optimization
• Codon optimization
• Regulatory element selection
• Apply expertise in cloning strategies such as Gibson Assembly, Golden Gate Assembly, Gateway Cloning, and restriction enzyme-based cloning.
• Collaborate with fellow subject matter experts to ensure consistency, quality, and scientific rigor across AI training datasets.

Required Qualifications

• Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs for molecular biology experiments, including several of the following:
• Primers
• Plasmids and expression vectors
• CRISPR gRNA/sgRNA
• mRNA and RNA constructs
• HDR and repair templates
• Strong understanding of cloning methodologies, including Gibson Assembly, Golden Gate Assembly, Gateway Cloning, and traditional restriction cloning.
• Experience with codon optimization, vector design, and sequence engineering.
• Advanced degree (PhD strongly preferred) in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Synthetic Biology, Bioengineering, or a related life sciences discipline.
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record, with first-author publications in leading scientific journals considered highly desirable.
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to clearly explain molecular biology design decisions and scientific reasoning.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining exceptional scientific accuracy and attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research experience in genome editing, synthetic biology, functional genomics, or gene therapy.
• Publications in high-impact journals such as Nature, Cell, eLife, Nucleic Acids Research, PNAS, EMBO Journal, or comparable peer-reviewed journals.
• Experience mentoring researchers or reviewing scientific work.
• Interest in applying molecular biology expertise to the development of advanced AI technologies.

Engagement Details

• Fully remote work with flexible scheduling.
• Part-time to full-time commitment of up to 40 hours per week.
• Opportunity to contribute to an initial cohort focused on designing and evaluating molecular biology tasks.
• High-performing contributors may have opportunities for extended engagement as project needs evolve.