Director, Computational Biology

About Arc Institute

Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.

Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.

Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:

Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets,  accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.

Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.

More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.

Why this position could be the best job you’ve ever had

Bridge the Gap Between Data and Discovery: Move beyond standard pipelines. You will lead our "Tertiary Analysis" work, transforming raw counts into mechanistic analyses that explain how genes, drugs, and environments collide.

Join a New Type of Research Org: Work within a structure that fuses the high-velocity execution of a startup with the intellectual rigor of a world-class academic institute.

Command "Gold Standard" Datasets: Gain exclusive access to massive, full-production datasets - from T-cells and NGN2 neurons to deep chemogenetic screens - designed specifically for large-scale discovery.

Lead with Autonomy: While a sister team handles the essential bioinformatics infrastructure and QC, your mandate builds on top of this by developing the novel methods and analyses needed to uncover new biology (e.g. gene-module detection tools, etc).

Advancing the field: We publish our breakthroughs to widely accelerate scientific progress and partner with some of the biggest names in AI

About you

Biological Mechanism Minded: You aren't satisfied with a list of differentially expressed genes. You are obsessed with the "why": building explanatory models that map the complex interactions between genetics, compounds, and the cellular environment.

Empathetic Leader: You enjoy and derive energy from the "human" side of science. You are a dedicated mentor who views the professional and scientific growth of your team as one of your primary metrics of success.

Scientific Translator: You are a rare hybrid who speaks the language of both the wet lab and bioinformatics. You can debate mechanistic biology with a neuroscientist and then pivot to discuss algorithmic efficiency with a tool-builder.

Production Scaled: You have experience working with massive, "full-production" datasets. You know how to extract biological signal from T-cell assays or chemogenetic screens at scale in a fast paced, collaborative environment.

In this position you will

Build and manage Arc’s Computational Biology team.

Actively mentor and provide guidance to research staff, developing them both professionally and scientifically.

Develop and refine cutting-edge tertiary analysis and explanatory modeling approaches across Arc’s key research areas, including functional genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and proteomics.

Integrate multiple data types to elucidate functional connectivity between genes, transcripts, and proteins, with the goal of building mechanistic models of gene networks and interactions.

Be a key participant in a collaborative, Institute-wide initiative on functional genomics focused on building virtual cells and the mechanistic understanding of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Partner with Arc’s Core Investigators and Technology Centers to advance research across the institute and create a culture of collaboration and excellence.

Engage in and manage internal and external research collaborations.

Attend and present at team meetings to share results, plan projects and experiments, and ensure that projects support team goals.

Job Requirements

PhD, MD, or MD/PhD in a relevant field and 12+ years of relevant experience in industry and/or academic settings; including 5+ years of experience managing, leading, and growing scientific teams.

Extensive experience with genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and single cell sequencing data analysis.

Experience developing innovative computational algorithms to address biological questions.

Outstanding written and verbal communication skills are required for research presentations, SOP development, and publications.

The successful candidate will be an ambitious self-starter, be motivated to apply his/her skills to diverse projects, and enjoy working in a fast-paced team environment

The base salary range for this position is $233,500-$287,500. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.