A-Alpha Bio is an early-stage and rapidly-growing drug discovery company headquartered in Seattle, WA. We are enabling the next generation of high-impact therapeutics by combining high-throughput synthetic biology with state-of-the-art machine learning. We partner with leading pharma and biotech companies to enable the discovery of antibodies, molecular glues, and other protein interaction-related drugs. In parallel, we use our AlphaSeq technology internally to build a Biologics Pipeline for clinical development and/or asset licensing opportunities.

Candidates local to Seattle are preferred, but remote applicants are welcome to apply. Candidates must reside in the United States.

Starting Salary Range: $214,000 - $238,000 annually

Exemption Status: Exempt

Location Expectations: Remote-Eligible

Role Description

At A-Alpha Bio, we’re on a mission to improve human health by unlocking the potential of protein-protein interactions – and we’re now seeking a seasoned Director of Applied Data Science to lead a team of skilled Data Scientists making the most of A-Alpha’s proprietary data platform and machine learning capabilities.

As a scientist, you’ll help unravel the intricacies of protein-protein interactions—both to power our in-house drug discovery pipeline and in collaboration with major biopharma partners.
As a strategist, you’ll collaborate closely with R&D, Business Development, and the executive team to navigate feasibility, bandwidth constraints, ownership, and action plans for cutting-edge computational workflows.
As a manager, you’ll coach, mentor, develop, and advocate for a team of world-class data scientists, helping every member of the team do their best work in an intellectually stimulating and highly technical environment.

Key Responsibilities

Grow and manage a high-performing team of data scientists working on computational analysis of many disparate internal and external projects.
Represent A-Alpha to external stakeholders by leading data science efforts for major partnerships.
Independently identify and pursue methodological improvements and new scientific objectives within areas of expertise.
Work closely with colleagues to maximize the impact of computational analysis for ongoing drug discovery and optimization campaigns.
Participate in the publication of research papers and filing of patents.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

PhD in a related field with 10+ years of experience and 5+ years of management experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Direct experience in statistical treatment of high-throughput biological data, as well as in the application of deep learning to high-throughput biological sequence data.
Familiarity with state-of-the-art machine learning techniques in at least one of the following areas: antibody or protein engineering, drug discovery, NGS-based assays, and/or synthetic biology.
Proven leadership in recruiting and managing high-performing teams of scientists and engineers in a cross-functional and fast-paced environment, with a history of maximizing and growing internal talent.
Ability and desire to contribute to applied data science as an expert individual contributor in addition to management duties.
Impressive technical track record at leading pharma/biotech companies.
Strong interpersonal, verbal/written communication, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred

Experience with contracting, business development, and alliance management in the context of pharma/biotech partnerships
Experience with the application of natural language processing techniques to high-throughput biological sequence data at scale.
Experience creating and maintaining deployment pipelines with CI/CD tools.
Expertise with Python, Pandas, Pytorch, and Amazon Web Services.

We offer competitive compensation, including benefits and equity in a fast-growing start-up. Applicants must have legal authorization to work in the United States. At this time, A-Alpha Bio is unable to offer visa sponsorship in any form.

About A-Alpha Bio

A-Alpha Bio is an early-stage biotechnology company combining synthetic biology and machine learning to dramatically improve the discovery of high-impact therapeutics. We believe that abundant high-quality data is critical for understanding biology and curing disease – and synthetic biology is our catalyst. Our proprietary AlphaSeq platform uses genetically engineered cells to quantitatively measure millions of protein interactions – from which we generate high-resolution models of biology.

In 2018, we spun out of the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design and Center for Synthetic Biology – both fantastic communities of brilliant and highly entrepreneurial scientists. Since the company’s inception, we have focused on partnering with pharmaceutical companies to discover and optimize drugs for therapeutic areas ranging from infectious disease to cancer. We are growing rapidly, and new members of the team should expect a fast-paced and highly dynamic work environment. We are building a diverse, meritocratic, and supportive team that shares our values of speaking the truth, shooting for the moon, taking the reins, playing for the team, and improving the world.

A-Alpha Bio is headquartered in a brand-new combined office/lab space in downtown Seattle's Belltown neighborhood. While the startup lifestyle occasionally requires grueling hours, we strongly value the need for a work-life balance and time out of the lab/office. We are fortunate to be situated in a region that is renowned for its premier outdoor activities, including hiking, biking, climbing, skiing, kayaking, and sailing. At A-Alpha, you’ll find many who love the outdoors, but also gamers, amateur chefs, explorers, sports fans, bakers, crafters, photographers, brewers, jetsetters, animal lovers, and artists. Whatever your passions, you belong at A-Alpha Bio.

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