Bioptimus is building the first universal AI foundation model for biology to fuel breakthrough discoveries and accelerate innovation in biomedicine. With more than $75M in funding, Bioptimus is a fast-growing start-up headquartered in Paris, incorporated in October 2023. Backed by leading international venture capitalists, our world-class team of scientists and engineers is redefining the frontiers of AI and life sciences.

The Opportunity

We are looking for an industry experienced computational biologist to lead the evaluation and downstream applications of our foundational models. You will bring your ‘multi-lingual’ skills in biology and data sciences to provide crucial scientific direction to ensure we tackle the most important real-world problems in drug development and translational research. Working in our R&D team, you will also be closely collaborating with our Product and Business Development teams. This role can be located either in our Paris office or remote within Europe. Regular travel to Paris will be expected for team meetings.

What You'll Be Doing

As a Senior Computational Biologist, you will:

Research & Innovation: Collaborate with our research team to identify, acquire and/or generate new datasets and data modalities to incorporate into our models. Help identify AI and foundation model approaches that can be integrated into the product. Contribute to publications, patents, and case studies showcasing novel applications in pharma R&D.
Bridge Research & Product: Translate biopharma research questions into actionable machine learning objectives & tasks. Engage closely with product, business and research teams to define feature priorities.
Thought Leadership: Represent Bioptimus at conferences, workshops, and in client meetings, demonstrating domain expertise and the potential of AI-driven drug development.
Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as a trusted scientific partner during external technical discussions: design proof-of-concept studies, address domain-specific queries, and deliver high quality presentations that highlight the value of Bioptimus’ solutions. Provide ongoing training and support to partners on how to interpret and effectively apply our foundation models into R&D pipelines. Help unlock actionable insights in transcriptomics, proteomics, histology data, and beyond.

What You'll Bring

The successful candidate will have a ‘team-first’ attitude; be independent, curious, and detail-oriented; thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment; and be fun to work with. We value individuals who bring deep domain expertise in pharmaceutical R&D alongside strong hands-on computational skills.

Computational Biology:
- Extensive experience working with end-to-end genomics and multi-omics datasets (transcriptomics, single-cell, proteomics, imaging, etc..), from dataset generation & QC, to the analysis and interpretations of results.
- Demonstrated expertise applying machine learning to computational biology, including scientific publications at high-impact journals (Nature, Science, Cell, Nucleic Acids Research, Genome Biology, …) and/or top conferences in the field (ISMB, RECOMB, NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, …).
- Comfortable working in cloud computing environments and with version control systems
BioPharma R&D Experience:
- Deep understanding of biopharma R&D use-cases, challenges, tools and processes
- Ability to break down high-level biopharma use-cases into actionable recommendations for the research & product team (ex: evaluation metrics, data annotations, specific loss function, etc…)
Exceptional Communication Skills: Capable of engaging both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Adept at crafting compelling presentations and scientific narratives for high-level stakeholders and internal teams.
Educational Background: PhD or equivalent experience in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, or related field.

How to stand out:

Single Cell & Spatial Expertise: Extensive experience in computational biology research, in particular in single cell and spatial domains, applying AI/ML models in translational or clinical research.
Publications & Thought Leadership: A track record of impactful contributions to computational biology, drug discovery & development, or foundation models.
Project Leadership Experience: Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: Experience in a startup or innovative environment, showing adaptability, proactiveness, and eagerness to take on varied responsibilities.
Stakeholder Management: Proven success in matrixed or consulting activities, shaping product offerings, and ensuring stakeholder satisfaction through ongoing relationship management.

The Candidate Journey

To be considered, please submit your CV in English. We believe in a transparent and collaborative interview process. Here is what you can expect after submitting your application:

Screening: Once you have applied, the hiring team will review your application to determine if your work experience and skills align with the necessary proficiencies of this position.
Technical Assessment: Given the technical nature of the role, you will be invited to complete a timed (1.5 hours) technical assessment on a dedicated platform. This stage consists of a short set of R/Python exercises designed to assess your proficiency.
Interview Process: Following a successful technical assessment, you will be invited to a series of interviews. The core stages of our process are outlined below. Please note that the order may be adapted and additional conversations may be included to ensure a comprehensive evaluation.
- Hiring Manager Interview: A call with the Hiring Manager to discuss your background, motivation, and expertise. This will include a deep dive into your technical skills, including your experience with coding and cloud environments.
- Panel Interview: This stage is a comprehensive technical discussion with the Hiring Manager, Tech Leads, and other members of the team. You will be asked to prepare and deliver a presentation on your past research or a relevant project. The interview may also involve discussing a scientific paper, which will be provided to you in advance. Please note that pre-interview preparation is required for this stage.
- Final Interview: The last step is a conversation with one of our senior leaders. This is an opportunity to discuss your broader motivations and alignment with the company's vision, and for you to ask any final questions.
Offer: Following the completion of the interviews, our hiring team will make a final decision and will be in touch to share the outcome. If the team would like to move forward, we will contact you to discuss the details of our proposed offer. Please note that an offer is contingent upon the successful completion of a reference check.
Onboarding: We are happy to have you joining the team. Once you have accepted and signed your offer, we will be in touch to begin the process of onboarding you to Bioptimus.

Why This is a Unique Opportunity

Shape the future of biology and AI by contributing to groundbreaking work.
A collaborative and mission-driven work environment.
Globally competitive salary and equity package.
Flexible work arrangements, including remote options.
Opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.

We believe that the unique contributions of all Bioptimists create our success. To ensure that our culture continues to incorporate everyone’s perspectives and experience, we never discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, or disability status. Decisions related to hiring are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates. We take responsibility for always striving to create an inclusive environment that makes every employee and candidate feel welcome.