ML Scientist, Nucleic Acid Design & Genomics

Lila Sciences; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 176,000 - 304,000; Full time

Job summary

Lila Sciences is seeking an ML Scientist I/II, Nucleic Acid Design to advance RNA and DNA sequence design. This scientist will develop models and design strategies for understanding and engineering nucleic acid sequences, including 3’ UTR optimization, 5’ UTR optimization, CDS optimization, and promoter / enhancer design.

You’ll work at the intersection of machine learning, sequence modeling, experimental design, and platform development.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent experience in ML, computational biology, bioengineering, CS, statistics, or related field.
• Hands-on experience building, training, and evaluating ML models for DNA or RNA.
• Strong foundation in modern ML methods with PyTorch/JAX or equivalent tools.
• Experience developing models for sequence design, sequence-function prediction, active learning.
• Ability to reason about complex biological systems and address sequence-function challenges.
• Curiosity about nucleic acid biology, RNA biology, regulatory genomics, or related areas.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills for cross-team work.

Responsibilities

• Build ML models for RNA and DNA sequence design across regulatory and coding contexts.
• Develop methods for de novo generation, sequence property prediction, and active learning.
• Investigate biological mechanisms of designed sequences and derive design principles.
• Collaborate with experimental scientists to propose informative assays and learning loops.
• Integrate nucleic acid design models into robust platforms and agent-driven frameworks.

Skills

ML modeling

PyTorch

JAX

Sequence design

Biology intuition

Education

PhD or equivalent

Tools

PyTorch

JAX

Job description

Lila Sciences is seeking an ML Scientist I/II, Nucleic Acid Design to advance RNA and DNA sequence design. This scientist will develop models and design strategies for understanding and engineering nucleic acid sequences, including 3’ UTR optimization, 5’ UTR optimization, CDS optimization, and promoter / enhancer design.

You’ll work at the intersection of machine learning, sequence modeling, experimental design, and platform development.