Computational Biologist, Tree of Life

Who we are

Cultivarium builds scientific tools that turn biological discovery into real-world capability. Born a Focused Research Organization, we are drawn to the hardest technological problems in biology. Our ambition is to study and engineer non-model organisms across the entire tree of life.

What we are looking for

We're looking for a computational biologist who is genuinely curious about the strange corners of biology, and rigorous about the genomics that explain them. You'll apply population and comparative genomics to organisms across the tree of life, building the pipelines and analyses that turn raw sequence into biological insight. A successful candidate is fluent in population genomics and organellar genetics, comfortable working at scale on messy datasets with no off-the-shelf reference workflow, and drawn to exotic systems most labs never touch. This is an in-person role at either our Watertown, MA (USA) or London, UK location.

Responsibilities

• Design and run pipelines for population- and comparative-genomic analysis across non-model organisms (variant calling, population structure, selection scans, phylogenomics).
• Assemble, annotate, and curate genomes and pan-genomes for organisms with no existing reference; integrate genomic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic data to connect genotype to phenotype.
• Analyze nuclear and organelle (mitochondrial/chloroplast) genome variation, including heteroplasmy, cytonuclear coevolution, and haplotype structure within and across populations and species.
• Apply machine learning where it adds real leverage (e.g. predictive modeling of gene function and trait architecture).
• Partner with wet-lab scientists to design experiments and interpret results; generate clean, well-documented, reproducible code.
• Present your work, mentor teammates, and share computational-biology best practices.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in population genetics, evolutionary biology, computational biology, genomics, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience with population- and comparative-genomics methods at population scale, including variant calling, annotation, and comparative analysis using tools such as GATK, bcftools, vcftools, PLINK, ANGSD, and scikit-allel, orchestrated in pipelines (e.g. Nextflow, Snakemake).
• Proficiency in Python and/or R with standard bioinformatics libraries (Biopython, Bioconductor, pandas), and collaborative version control (Git).
• A strong scientific communicator who presents complex analyses clearly to interdisciplinary audiences.
• Authorized to work without sponsorship.

Advanced Qualifications

• Hands-on experience analyzing large, population-scale genomic cohorts.
• Experience with organellar genome analysis (mitochondrial/chloroplast variation, heteroplasmy, cytonuclear interactions).
• Experience with long-read sequencing, structural variation, or pan-genome analysis.
• Familiarity with machine learning or foundation models applied to biological sequences (e.g. ESM, Evo, Nucleotide Transformer).
• Experience with cloud computing (AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure) for large-scale data processing.
• A track record of scientific contributions through publications or open-source software.
• A genuine fascination with exotic non-model systems (bonus for hands-on experience with Oxytricha, sacoglossan sea slugs, apple snails (Pomacea), mitochondria/chloroplasts, tardigrades, or bdelloid rotifers).

We offer paid time off / annual leave, medical/dental/vision (US) or private medical insurance (UK), and 401(k) with match (US) or employer pension contribution (UK).