Senior/ Staff AI Research Engineer

Xaira Therapeutics; Seattle, South San Francisco (WA, CA); On-site; USD 205,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Base salary + bonus

Job summary

Xaira Therapeutics is seeking an experienced research engineer in Seattle or San Francisco Bay Area to join our interdisciplinary AI/biology team. You will translate research ideas into robust, production-grade AI models that accelerate drug discovery and therapeutics development.

The role emphasizes building scalable systems, collaborating with scientists and engineers, and delivering measurable impact in healthcare. A track record of production ML and strong communication is preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum five years of industry AI/ML experience with production deployments.
• Experience with scalable deep learning and model training in production.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with AI scientists and engineers to develop production AI models.
• Translate research ideas into robust, scalable production solutions.
• Deploy AI models addressing drug discovery challenges and impact metrics.
• Communicate effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional team.

Skills

AI/ML in production

Deep learning

Large-scale model training

Publication track record

Communication & collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Deep learning toolchains

PyTorch

Job description

Seattle, Washington, United States; South San Francisco, California, United States

About Xaira Therapeutics

Xaira is an innovative biotech startup focused on leveraging AI to transform drug discovery and development. The company is leading the development of generative AI models to design protein and antibody therapeutics, enabling the creation of medicines against historically hard-to-drug molecular targets. It is also developing foundation models for biology and disease to enable better target elucidation and patient stratification. Collectively, these technologies aim to continually enable the identification of novel therapies and to improve success in drug development. Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and London.

About the RoleWe are seeking an experienced research engineer to join our team. As a critical member of our interdisciplinary group, you will collaborate closely with AI scientists, engineers, and drug discovery experts to develop and deploy AI models that accelerate the identification and development of novel therapeutics. This role offers the opportunity to apply cutting‑edge AI techniques in production settings to address pressing challenges in healthcare and contribute to improving human health globally.

We are particularly interested in candidates who have demonstrated experience building and delivering machine learning systems in industry environments, where rigor, scalability, and cross‑functional collaboration are essential. The ideal candidate has experience translating research ideas into robust, production‑ready solutions that drive measurable impact.

The role is open to the following locations: San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related fields; advanced degree preferred
• Minimum of five years of industry experience in AI, machine learning, or related roles, with a track record of implementing, scaling, and deploying AI models in production environments.
• Expertise with modern deep learning toolchains and experience with large scale model training.
• Strong understanding of deep learning fundamentals.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with a keen eye for detail and a passion for tackling complex challenges in the life sciences.
• Effective communication and collaboration abilities, with the capacity to work effectively in a fast‑paced, multidisciplinary team environment.
• Publication track record at conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, or ICLR is a plus, though demonstrated industry impact is prioritized
• If you are a motivated individual with a passion for applying AI to advance drug discovery and improve human health, we encourage you to apply!

Compensation

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, seeking to provide an open, flexible, and friendly work environment to empower employees and provide them with a platform to develop their long‑term careers. A Summary of Benefits is available for all applicants. We offer a competitive package that includes base salary, bonus, and equity. The base pay range for this position is expected to be $205,000 to $275,000 annually; however, the base pay offered may vary depending on the market, job‑related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience.
Xaira Therapeutics an equal-opportunity employer. We believe that our strength is in our differences. Our goal to build a diverse and inclusive team began on day one, and it will never end.

As set forth in Xaira Therapeutics’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.