What if…you could join an organization that creates, resources, and builds life sciences companies that invent breakthrough technologies in order to transform health care and sustainability?
Flagship Labs 80 (FL80) is an early-stage biotechnology company with an ambitious and exciting mission: to reimagine drug discovery and vaccine design through the integration of computational and experimental innovation. The company is developing a revolutionary approach to this challenge and recruiting a team of top-tier scientists to build what it believes will be a powerful, first-in-category R&D platform.
FL80 is a product of Flagship Pioneering’s venture creation engine, which has also given rise to companies such as Moderna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRNA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), and Editas Medicines (NASDAQ: EDIT). Since Flagship’s founding in 2000, the firm has originated and fostered the development of more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $34 billion in aggregate value, 500+ issued patents, and more than 50 clinical trials for novel therapeutic agents.
Position Summary
We are seeking a Scientist or Senior Scientist with strong expertise in computational biology and machine learning to design data infrastructure and models for biological discovery and the development of novel health interventions. The ideal candidate will have a track record of success in deriving insights from biological data through machine learning – particularly as regards sequence-function relationships, protein-protein interactions, and/or immune system function. Experience in reinforcement learning is a strong plus. An essential element of the role will be the ability to collaborate closely with other R&D scientists while adapting to and interpreting new experimental findings and providing experimental guidance in keeping with the company’s objectives.
Key Responsibilities
- Work closely with molecular biologists and other computational scientists within and beyond FL80 to design data-generating experiments for effective modeling
- Build computational tools to process and analyze NGS and biochemical datasets
- Design and deploy machine learning models
- Develop and apply statistical methods to interpret emerging data in the context of key scientific questions
- Identify relevant external datasets and repurpose as necessary to support company objectives
- Communicate insights and conclusions to the scientific team and executive management
- Develop relationships with Flagship Pioneering’s data science community and manage external consultants as needed
Minimum Qualifications
- Ph.D. or equivalent in computational biology, computer science, mathematics, or a related field
- Deep understanding of molecular, structural, or chemical biology
- Programming ability (e.g. Python, R, Julia) and knowledge of best practices
- Machine learning experience including feature engineering and model introspection
- Familiarity with biological data repositories and public omics data resources
- Demonstrated post-PhD experience using computational biology and/or machine learning approaches to solve biological challenges
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with distributed or cloud computing
- Experience with reinforcement learning
- Previous work with biological sequence or protein structure datasets
- Experience in immune repertoire analysis or vaccine design
- Experience with antibody or peptide biopanning data
- Experience with massively parallel reporter assay data
Values and Behaviors
Flagship is an experiment in institutional, entrepreneurial, innovation practiced in the context of a small company with an insurgent mindset. We are seeking individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit, strong communication skills, and comfort working in and contributing to a dynamic and cross-functional team environment. The level of the role will be commensurate with the education and years of experience of the identified candidate.