AI Biologist - Rare and Progressive Disease

latch.bio; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision

PTO: 12 days

401(k)

Job summary

latch.bio is seeking a senior researcher to shape how AI agents assist in diagnosing, treating, and discovering therapies for rare and progressive diseases. You will work with scientists, physicians, software engineers, and computational biologists to build rigorous benchmark datasets and validate analytical steps that mimic expert scientists.

You will help design experiments, contribute to wet/dry lab strategies, and advance methods for target discovery while advancing open science and

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in biology, genetics, physiology, computational biology, or related field.
• 3+ years hands-on research with publishable impact or industry experience.
• Proficiency in Python and/or R for data analysis and visualization.
• Deep scientific or clinical expertise in at least one relevant disease area.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the technical approach for evaluating AI agents in diagnosis, treatment, and research.
• Collaborate with scientists, physicians, software engineers, and computational biologists.
• Build ground-truth benchmark datasets drawn from studies and original work.
• Test whether agents can perform analytical and interpretative steps of expert scientists.
• Design and troubleshoot experiments in wet or dry lab settings as applicable.

Skills

Biology/Genetics expertise

Data analysis

Python and/or R

Scientific communication

Education

Advanced degree (MS/MD/PhD/PharmD) in biomedical field

Tools

Python

R

Job description

About the Role

You will contribute to our technical approach for evaluating how AI agents can help diagnose, treat, conduct research and perform target discovery in rare and progressive disease. Working with scientists, physician-scientists, software engineers and computational biologists, you'll build ground-truth benchmark datasets, drawn from studies, your experience, and novel work, that rigorously test whether agents can perform the critical analytical and interpretative steps that expert scientists do.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (MS/MD/PhD/PharmD) in biology, genetics, physiology, computational biology, or a related biomedical field
• 3+ years of hands‑on research experience in relevant domains, with impact demonstrated through publications or industry experience
• Proficiency in Python and/or R for biological data analysis and visualization or expert‑level experience in experimental or methods design
• Deep scientific or clinical expertise in at least one relevant disease area, including but not limited to rare (genetic/autoimmune/infectious/idiopathic) diseases, neurodegeneration, and chronic progressive conditions such as COPD or MASH
• Expertise in designing and troubleshooting relevant wet‑or dry‑lab experiments OR expertise in clinical diagnosis, treatment, and research

Nice to Have

• Strong existing opinions on where agents and LLMs fail in science or clinical practice
• Experience using agentic coding systems

Culture @ Latch

We practice radical transparency: you'll know how the company is doing, what's working, and what isn't. It's always us against the problem, never each other. We're opinionated but respectful of each other's time, and we think through possible solutions before bringing a problem to anyone. We use AI constantly, so we reward original expert judgment, not AI output passed off as your own. You'll start on the bench that fits your expertise and can move across teams as you build a track record.

Outside of work: company outings most months, team off‑sites, and a community that does cycling, soccer, figure skating, boxing, running, martial arts, music, books, and game nights.

Compensation & Logistics

Pay: $140K-$180K OTE (on‑target earnings), with no ceiling.

• Your pay is your OTE times your weekly quota attainment. Hit quota, earn your OTE; double it, earn double. Example: $150K OTE at double quota = $300K.
• Your first 4 weeks (ramp) are paid at full OTE while we train you.
• You're paid full OTE whenever quota can't fairly apply: when a new project is starting, the platform goes down, or we pull you onto a special project.

In the US: full‑time W-2

• Guaranteed base set by your state, paid every paycheck no matter what
• Health, dental, vision: 100% covered for you, 50% for dependents
• 401(k) (no match)
• PTO: 12 days to start, more as you're promoted

Outside the US: contractor

• Paid on performance, with a monthly advance of 60% of OTE that’s never clawed back. US benefits don't apply.

Growth: two tracks, based on output, not tenure.

Individual contributor: six levels, so up to five promotions, with OTE rising at each one.

Management: after your first promotion, you can move into managing a pod if that's what you want.

Location

Fully remote is fine; onsite is preferred, at our Mission Bay waterfront office in SF with catered lunch and dinner and unlimited snacks.

Work authorization

We sponsor H-1B (new and transfers), O-1, and TN, and support STEM OPT.