Principal Research Scientist

Next Phase Recruitment; California (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Opportunity to pioneer AI for science

Develop life-changing therapeutics

High-agency startup environment

Job summary

A leading biotechnology recruitment firm is seeking a Machine Learning Researcher to shape groundbreaking technology in programmable medicine. You will lead the development of generative protein design pipelines and collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams. Candidates should hold a Ph.D. in ML or a related field with experience in LLMs and strong proficiency in Python. This role offers the chance to significantly impact human health through innovative research in an empowering startup environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of relevant industry experience in ML.
• Experience developing LLMs, diffusion models, or flow-matching generative models.
• Ability to translate scientific challenges into modeling objectives.
• Ability to translate open-ended scientific challenges into tractable modeling objectives and to communicate them clearly across teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop next-generation generative protein design pipelines.
• Build closed-loop training systems integrated with experimental workflows.
• Rapidly prototype and evaluate new models with autonomy.
• Contribute directly to the design of novel proteins with the potential to transform human health.

Skills

Python

Deep Learning Frameworks

Machine Learning

Communication Skills

Flow-matching

Communication

Education

Ph.D. in Machine Learning or related field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

As one of my client’s early ML team members, you’ll play a foundational role in shaping our technology and scientific direction. They are an AI-driven biotechnology company designing programmable protein therapeutics to tackle the world’s most challenging diseases. Founded by leading AI pioneers and backed by top-tier investors. You’ll lead transformational research in close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of AI researchers, protein engineers, and drug discovery experts.

You will:

• Develop next-generation generative protein design pipelines, from novel architectures to computational candidate submission for wet-lab testing.
• Build closed-loop training systems integrated with high-throughput experimental workflows.
• Rapidly prototype, evaluate, and iterate on new models and algorithms with autonomy and creativity.
• Contribute directly to the design of novel proteins with the potential to transform human health.

Qualifications

Required

• Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Computational Biology, or a related quantitative field and 2+ years relevant industry experience, or equivalent industry experience in ML.
• Experience developing LLMs, diffusion models, or flow-matching generative models.
• Strong proficiency in Python and modern deep-learning frameworks.
• Ability to translate open-ended scientific challenges into tractable modeling objectives and to communicate them clearly across teams.

Preferred

• Experience with generative models for protein folding or design.
• Peer-reviewed ML publications or meaningful contributions to open-source ML libraries.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to pioneer at the frontier of AI for science.
• A chance to help develop the next generation of life-changing therapeutics.
• A high-agency startup environment with seasoned leadership and advisors, including a two-time founder and the former CEO of one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

If you’re excited to push the boundaries of machine learning and help build the future of programmable medicine, we’d love to hear from you.