Head of AI/ML Therapeutic Design

Company Description

Metaphore Biotechnologies is a Flagship Pioneering-founded company focused on creating a new class of functional biological therapeutics. We are pioneering the power of function-first AI drug design and high-throughput data assays to make previously intractable drug targets accessible and unlock breakthroughs that outperform today's drugs for maximum patient impact.

Our computationally driven MIMIC™ platform is the world's first structure-independent sequence-to-function platform for protein design. Inspired by nature, our mission is to transform patient lives by unlocking the power of biological therapeutics with a new mimic-discovery platform.

Role Summary

Metaphore is seeking an exceptional, execution-driven scientist and leader to serve as Head of AI/ML Therapeutic Design, driving the next frontier of AI-powered biologics. In this role, you will define the vision and long-term strategy for Metaphore’s AI/ML platform while leading a team of experts to build a scalable, high‑performance AI/ML engine. Working closely with cross-functional drug discovery teams, you and y our team will translate advances in AI/ML into impactful therapies by delivering actionable molecule candidates. As a key member of the R&D leadership team, you will shape how AI/ML transforms every stage of our drug discovery process—from high-throughput assay design and novel therapeutic generation to lead optimization and candidate nomination. This role offers a unique opportunity to drive our integrated discovery platform end-to-end and help bring transformative therapeutics from concept to clinic.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific & Technical Leadership:Deploy state-of-the-art generative models forde novoprotein design, and molecule screening, and optimization, focusing on timely drug discovery impact. Architect and train new models with a clear path towards program impact and differentiation.

Strategic Vision:Define the AI strategy and deployment for Metaphore. Oversee at-scale compute infrastructure and propose collaborative data acquisition strategies to continuously train, evaluate, and optimize our models while optimizing costs and program impact.

Team Building & Mentorship:Recruit, mentor, and lead a multidisciplinary team of computational scientists. Foster a culture of engineering rigor, scientific curiosity, and bold, tech-first innovation. Act as a senior hands-on mentor to nurture and grow the team.

Platform Operations & LDBT Loop:Partner deeply with our Discovery as well as Biologics & Enabling Technologies teams to seamlessly integrate high-throughput laboratory data into model training, accelerating the Learn-Design-Build-Test (LDBT) loop to an industrial scale. Consistently demonstrate rapid learning and iterative improvements to our AI/ML platform across stakeholders.

Portfolio Impact:Drive the computational discovery of novel therapeutic candidates across multiple modalities, advancing our internal pipeline and strategic partnerships (such as our active pharma collaborations).

External Engagement:Represent Metaphore’s AI/ML platform externally, clearly communicating differentiation and value. Cultivate partnerships with leading tech providers, cloud computing partners, and academic institutions. Publish breakthroughs in top-tier AI conferences and scientific journals.

Required Qualifications

Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Computational Biology, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related discipline.

15+ years of industry or rigorous academic experience, with a proven track record of developing and deploying novel deep learning architectures for molecular biology, protein design, or structural biology.