Principal Scientist

Cytokinetics, Inc.; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 203,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

Cytokinetics, Inc. is seeking a highly motivated computational scientist to lead translational biomarker discovery at the intersection of human genetics, multi-omics, and AI/ML. You will identify biomarkers that diagnose disease, predict progression, and anticipate outcomes in cardiac and skeletal muscle disorders.

You will work with genetic data, biobanks, and clinical cohorts, building AI/ML models and supporting biomarker strategies to guide clinical translation and therapy development.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Human Genetics, Bioinformatics, or related field with 6+ years of post-PhD experience.
• Strong expertise in analyzing large-scale genomics data, including GWAS and sequencing data.
• Proficiency in R and/or Python, with longitudinal data and AI/ML method experience.
• Experience translating molecular data into disease mechanisms and biomarker strategies.
• Experience applying AI tools, including LLMs and agents, to translational research.

Responsibilities

• Integrate multi-omics data to trace genotype-to-phenotype changes in cardiac and skeletal muscle.
• Discover and validate diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers using biobank and cohorts.
• Develop AI/ML methods linking molecular profiles with imaging and clinical data.
• Investigate disease heterogeneity and modifier pathways for experimental follow up.
• Lead translational applications of LLMs and data curation with benchmarking.

Skills

Genomics

Transcriptomics

Proteomics

Single-cell

AI/ML

R/Python

Data integration

Study design

Longitudinal data

Batch effects

Education

PhD in Computational Biology

Tools

R

Python

LLMs

Job description

Cytokinetics is a specialty cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company, building on its over 25 years of pioneering scientific innovations in muscle biology, and advancing a pipeline of potential new medicines for patients suffering from diseases of cardiac muscle dysfunction.

We are seeking a highly motivated computational scientist to lead translational biomarker discovery at the intersection of human genetics, multi-omics, and AI/ML. In this role, you will identify biomarkers that diagnose disease, predict how it progresses, and anticipate patient outcomes in conditions of impaired cardiac and skeletal muscle function. Bringing together genetic evidence, multi-omics profiling and rich clinical phenotypes, you will work out not only which patients are at risk, but why. Partnering closely with experimental biologists and clinical research, you will carry insights from patients into discovery and from discovery back toward the clinic.

Responsibilities

• Integrate genomic, transcriptomics, proteomic and single cell data to trace how genetic variation drives molecular and cellular changes in cardiac and skeletal muscle disease
• Discover and validate diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of disease onset, progression, and clinical outcomes using omics and longitudinal clinical data from biobanks and patient cohorts
• Develop and validate AI/ML methods linking molecular profiles with imaging and clinical phenotypes to define patient subgroups for precision medicine
• Investigate disease heterogeneity and genotype-phenotype discordance to uncover modifier pathways and generate mechanistic hypotheses for experimental follow up
• Lead translational applications of LLMs and agents (e.g., evidence synthesis, data curation) with appropriate benchmarking

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Human Genetics, Bioinformatics, or a related field with 6+ years of post-doctoral or industry experience
• Strong expertise in analyzing large-scale genomic datasets, including GWAS and sequencing data
• Deep expertise in transcriptomics, proteomics, or single-cell analysis with integration across data types
• Track record translating human molecular or phenotypic data into disease mechanisms, therapeutic targets or biomarker strategies
• Proficiency in R and/or Python, with expertise in study design, batch effects, confounding, longitudinal data and evaluating AI/ML methods
• Strong interest in applying AI tools, including LLMs and agents, to translational research (production experience not required) and ability to lead cross-functional projects and mentor scientists

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with population biobanks (e.g., UK Biobank, All of Us) or disease-specific cohorts
• Drug discovery experience including biomarker analysis, patient sample studies, or patient stratification
• Experience integrating genetic evidence with single cell or tissue-specific expression data
• Previous therapeutic area experience in cardiovascular and neuromuscular disease is strongly desired
• Experience prototyping LLM-assisted or agentic workflows

You don’t need to be an expert in every modality or tool. We value depth in a core area, breadth of thinking, and the initiative to generate evidence that changes decisions.

Pay Range: The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of South San Francisco, CA is $202,5000-$236,250. The base pay offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors.

Base salary is just one component of our competitive total compensation package, which includes equity in the form of stock options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off.

Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Our employees come from different backgrounds, and we celebrate those differences.

We are looking for the best candidates for our open roles, but do not expect applicants to meet every qualification in order to be considered.

If you are excited about what you could accomplish at Cytokinetics and believe you can add value to our team, we would love to hear from you.

Please review our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy PRIOR to applying.

Our passion is anchored in robust scientific thinking, grounded in integrity and critical thinking. We keep the patient front and center in all we do – all actions and decisions are in service of the patient and their caregivers. We champion integrity, ethics, doing the right thing, and being our best selves.