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.

About the position

The Hsu Lab and Konermann Lab are seeking applications for a Scientist in Nucleic Acid Biochemistry at the Arc Institute in Palo Alto, CA, focusing on mechanistic dissection and engineering of Bridge Recombinases—naturally occurring RNA-guided DNA recombinases that we recently discovered and showed can programmably insert, excise, and invert DNA (Nature, 2024; Science, 2025). The candidate will drive the next phase of Bridge Recombinase evolution. Building on our work establishing IS110 and ISCro4 as programmable tools, you will be part of an interdisciplinary team with the goal to engineer bridge RNAs and recombinases for megabase-scale genome modifications, therapeutic gene circuit integration, and scarless disease correction. 

In this role, you will lead the mechanistic program that underpins this effort. You will design and execute rigorous in vitro assays to mechanistically interrogate how bridge recombinases, in complex with their bridge RNAs, recognize target and donor DNA and catalyze strand exchange across all three recombination modalities—insertion, inversion, and excision. Your work will define the parameters that govern recombinase activity, specificity, and the balance between productive and off-pathway outcomes.

About you

• You are driven by science. The world of science is filled with so many unanswered questions and the opportunity to address these questions brings you purpose.
• You are a mechanist. You are energized by the prospect of turning a black-box activity into a quantitative model, and you believe that well-designed biochemistry is one of the most powerful ways to guide engineering.
• You are a collaborator. You love working with people of different backgrounds and brainstorming how hard questions can be broken down and addressed.
• You are intellectually independent and self-motivated to push the boundaries of novel technologies.
• You are an optimizer. In research, there’s always a race against the clock. You care deeply about making every step of the way as close to perfect as possible but also as quick and efficient as possible.
• You build tools. As much as you love answering specific scientific questions, you also love creating assays and platforms that are scalable and useful across many application areas.

In this position you will

• Lead the mechanistic research program on bridge recombinases, including planning, execution, and analysis of experiments across insertion, inversion, and excision modalities.
• Purify recombinant bridge recombinases and reconstitute functional ribonucleoprotein complexes with bridge RNAs and target/donor DNA substrates.
• Develop and apply quantitative in vitro assays—including kinetic, binding, footprinting, and single-turnover/multi-turnover recombination assays—to dissect substrate recognition, complex assembly, strand exchange, and product release.
• Develop higher-throughput biochemical platforms (e.g., plate-based, fluorescence-coupled, or sequencing-based readouts) to enable variant triage and support directed evolution and rational engineering campaigns in the lab.
• Partner with structural biologists to design biochemically informed constructs and substrates, interpret cryo-EM and crystallographic data, and close the loop between structure and function.
• Advance cell biology efforts by helping to reconcile in vitro activity and specificity with behavior in mammalian cells, including by designing assays that recapitulate cellular activity or constraints
• Collaborate closely with the PI on planning and executing scientific research projects, and help shape the broader biochemical strategy of the bridge recombinase program.
• Mentor Research Associates and work with graduate students and other scientists in the lab.
• Develop and provide training to lab personnel as needed, and develop standardized protocols for the lab.
• Keep up-to-date on advances in the field by reading the literature and attending key conferences.
• Publish preprints and journal articles; present findings at conferences.

Requirements

• PhD in biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, or a related life sciences or engineering field, with 0-4 years of postdoctoral or equivalent industry experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in mechanistic biochemistry of nucleic acid–protein complexes, including protein purification and reconstitution of functional RNP or protein–DNA complexes.
• Hands-on experience designing and executing quantitative biochemical assays.
• Experience working with gene editing enzymes that act on DNA—CRISPR-Cas9, recombinases, transposases, nucleases, or integrases—is strongly preferred.
• Experience developing higher-throughput biochemical assays (e.g., plate-based fluorescence readouts, NGS-coupled activity or specificity profiling, barcoded substrate libraries) is a strong plus.
• Mammalian and/or insect cell culture experience preferred. 
• Conceptual fluency in structural biology (cryo-EM and/or X-ray crystallography) sufficient to collaborate effectively with structural biologists, design constructs and substrates for structural studies, and interpret structural data in a functional context. Hands-on structural experience is welcome but not required.
• Familiarity with cell-based assays for genome editing activity is a plus.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience and enthusiasm for mentoring research trainees, including graduate students and RAs.
• The successful candidate will be an ambitious self-starter, an innovative and meticulous researcher, and enjoy working in a collaborative and fast-paced team environment.

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.

About the position

The Hsu Lab is seeking applications for a Scientist at the Arc Institute in Palo Alto, CA, focusing on the development and applications of novel genome engineering technologies. We recently discovered and developed Bridge Recombinases, which are naturally occurring RNA-guided DNA recombinases that can programmably insert, excise, and invert DNA (Nature, 2024 and Science, 2025). The candidate will drive the next phase of Bridge Recombinase evolution. Building on our work establishing IS110 and ISCro4 as programmable tools, you will lead efforts to engineer bridge RNAs and recombinases for megabase-scale genome modifications, therapeutic gene circuit integration, and scarless disease correction. You will tackle critical challenges in RNA structural design, protein evolution, and off-target minimization to bridge the gap between basic discovery and clinical application. To achieve this, you will work in collaboration with biochemists, structural biologists and computational scientists in the lab, with the ultimate goal of enabling therapeutic applications in human cells and aiding genome design.

About You

• You are driven by science. The world of science is filled with so many unanswered questions and the opportunity to address these questions brings you purpose. 
• You are a collaborator. You love working with people of different backgrounds and brainstorming ideas on how these questions can be addressed. 
• You are intellectually independent and self-motivated to push the boundaries of novel technologies.
• You are an optimizer. In research, there’s always a race against the clock. You care deeply about making every step of the way as close to perfect as possible but also as quick and efficient as possible.
• You build tools. As much as you love answering specific scientific questions, you also love creating technology and platforms that are scalable and useful in many different scientific application areas.

In this position you will

• Lead one or multiple scientific projects in molecular technology development including planning, execution, analysis of experiments. 
• Collaborate closely with the PIs on planning and executing scientific research projects.
• Keep up-to-date on advances in the field by reading the literature and attending key conferences.
• Mentor Research Associates and/or work with graduate students and other scientists in the lab
• Develop and provide training to lab personnel as needed, develop standardized protocols for the labs.
• Publish preprints and journal articles; present findings at conferences

Job Requirements

• PhD in a relevant life sciences or engineering field
• Experience with different molecular biology assays and techniques, including high-throughput cloning strategies (e.g., Golden Gate, Gibson) and library generation
• Mammalian cell culture experience 
• Experience in protein engineering, directed evolution (e.g., PACE, DMS), or rational protein design 
• Prior experience in developing genome engineering technologies (CRISPR, recombinases, transposases, etc.) preferred
• Strong written and verbal communication skills 
• Experience and enthusiasm for mentoring research trainees, including graduate students and RAs
• The successful candidate will be an ambitious self-starter, an innovative and meticulous researcher, and enjoy working in a collaborative and fast-paced team environment

The base salary range for this position is $121,250 to $159,500. 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.

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.

About the position

The Zhou Lab is looking for motivated, hard-working and curious applicants. Our expertise is in single-cell epigenomic modeling. We use high-throughput single-cell multiomic technologies and build computational models to study spatiotemporal dynamics of gene regulation.

The successful candidate will play a crucial role in advancing the state-of-the-art in generative AI applied to biology, including DNA sequence, gene regulation, and perturbation modeling. You will focus on developing ML models for biological data, leveraging frontier approaches such as novel ML architectures, interpretability techniques, and more. You will also apply your models for important computational biology applications in genome mining, molecular technology development, and invention of new therapeutic approaches.

This role is a unique opportunity to advance state-of-the-art machine learning in genomics and cell biology, contribute to high-impact scientific discoveries, and help define how computational approaches shape our understanding and engineering of biology. You will work in a highly collaborative team with expert experimental biologists to realize the full impact of your work, and also have the opportunity to contribute to Institute-wide machine learning efforts such as Arc’s Virtual Cell Initiative.

Post-docs will be encouraged to lead independent projects resulting in high impact publications, present at conferences and prepare for long-term careers in academia or industry.

About you

• You are passionate about developing machine learning models with real-world applications and scientific impact.
• You have a strong understanding of modern deep learning, computational biology, and genetics.
• You are known for your ability to analyze/visualize complex datasets, build high-quality ML tools, draw meaningful conclusions, and work effectively in a multidisciplinary team. 
• You are eager to learn and adapt new techniques.
• You are intellectually independent and are able to design new research directions and projects with input from your PI.
• You are excited about collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of experimental biologists and machine learning researchers at Arc.
• You are familiar with recently reported projects in the fields of AI for genomics and biological design, including DNA sequence to function models, genome language models, and single-cell foundation models.

In this position you will

• Train and evaluate state-of-the-art machine learning models for genomics 
• Design, perform, and analyze experiments for model applications
• Keep appropriate experimental records and documentation
• Analyze results with the Principal Investigator
• Collaborate with postdocs, students, and employees on model development and data analyses
• May mentor/train research associates, technicians, and students. 
• Publish, present, and represent the Zhou lab in journals and conferences.
• Present at lab meetings, and participate in Arc-wide activities (seminars, science socials, symposiums, etc).

Requirements

• Doctorate (MD, PhD) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genetics/Genomics. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player.

How to Apply

Please submit:

1. CV
2. Brief cover letter describing your research interests, what kinds of projects you’re excited to lead, and why the Zhou Lab is a fit. Please be sure to include contact information for 3+ references.

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.

About the position

The Jain Lab is looking for motivated, hard-working and curious applicants. At a high level, we study how organisms interact with their environments – how “what we breathe” and “what we eat” affects our metabolism and disease progression. More specifically, we are focused on oxygen and vitamin/cofactor metabolism. We recently discovered that chronic hypoxia (equivalent to living in the mountains of Peru or Nepal) can serve as a therapy for mitochondrial disease. This approach is currently in clinical trials. This work has inspired a broader set of research directions ranging from fundamental biochemistry to animal physiology.

The questions we ask:

1. How do cells and organisms sense oxygen or vitamin levels? Are there novel oxygen sensors and vitamin sensors to be found?
2. How does the body adapt to variations in oxygen levels? Or vitamin levels?
3. When the supply and demand of oxygen or vitamins becomes mismatched, how does this contribute to disease?
4. Can we “turn the oxygen and vitamin dials” as creative new therapies?
5. What is the most practical form of turning these concepts into translatable therapies?

The approach we take: CRISPR screens, metabolomics, classical biochemistry/molecular biology, animal physiology and beyond.

Post-docs will be encouraged to lead independent projects resulting in high impact publications, present at conferences and prepare for long-term careers in academia or industry.

About you

• You are extremely curious and self-motivated to push the boundaries of biomedical research.
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment while conducting rigorous and impactful research.
• You are intellectually independent and are able to design new research directions and projects (with input from your PI).
• You are eager to learn and adapt new techniques.
• You are excited by solving puzzles that have a translational impact. 

In this position you will

• Find new functions for enzymes or cofactors (vitamins)
• Contribute to our molecular understanding of how key metabolites are sensed by the body.
• Develop novel therapeutic strategies for nutrient-based therapies.
• Collaborate with post-docs and students to understand how enzymes and metabolites interact for key biochemical functions.
• Publish, present, and represent that lab in journals and conferences.
• Present at lab meetings, and participate in Arc-wide activities (seminars, symposiums, etc).

Requirements

• PhD in metabolism, animal physiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genomics, or related field 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player.

The minimum base salary for this position is $80,000. Base salary for this role is determined by how many months of relevant postdoctoral experience a successful candidate has. Base salary for this role is not negotiable.

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.

About the position

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow with expertise in human immunology, neurobiology, or neuroimmunology to join the Pluvinage Lab at the Arc Institute. Our goal is to improve the lives of patients with neurological diseases by exploring undiagnosed autoimmunity in rare mystery cases and common neurodegenerative conditions alike.

The questions we ask:

1. How do autoantibodies regulate cognition?
2. What is the source, target, and mechanism of pathogenic autoantibodies in neurological disease?
3. How can we eliminate pathogenic autoantibodies while leaving the rest of the immune system intact?
4. How does comorbid autoimmunity contribute to cognitive decline in neurodegeneration?
5. Are there protective autoantibodies that promote cognitive resilience in healthy brain aging?

The approaches we take: discovery-driven projects starting with human samples (cerebrospinal fluid, PBMCs, brain tissue) from curated cohorts of patients with neurological diseases, CRISPR screens, phage display, immune repertoire sequencing

Postdocs will be encouraged to lead independent projects resulting in high impact publications, present at conferences, and prepare for long-term careers in academia or industry. Clinical residents or fellows interested in physician-scientist pathways are encouraged to apply.

About you

• You have a strong foundation in human immunology, neurobiology, or neuroimmunology and are eager to apply this expertise to translational questions in neurological disease.
• You are extremely curious and self-motivated.
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment while conducting rigorous and impactful research.
• You are intellectually independent and are able to design new research directions and projects (with input from your PI).
• You are eager to learn and adopt new techniques.
• You are excited by solving puzzles that have a translational impact and/or creating new therapeutic approaches. 

In this position you will

• Conduct High-Impact Research: Design, execute, and analyze experiments, taking ownership of a research project within the lab's scientific focus, with guidance from the PI and increasing independence as you develop expertise
• Develop as a Future Scientific Leader: Publish first-author papers in high-impact journals, present your work at national and international conferences, and build a network of collaborators across the Arc Institute and beyond
• Foster Scientific Excellence: Mentor and train research associates, technicians, and students, engage in Arc-wide activities (seminars, symposia, journal clubs); contribute to a collaborative, inclusive research environment; keep rigorous experimental records and documentation; contribute to lab operations, including equipment maintenance and protocol development

Requirements

• Doctorate (MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent) in immunology, neuroimmunology, neuroscience, genetics, or a related field
• Demonstrated expertise in human immunology or neurobiology, with a strong understanding of immune–nervous system interactions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with pooled genome-scale CRISPR screening
• Proficiency in single-cell immune repertoire sequencing
• Experience working with primary human samples (CSF, PBMCs, or tissue)
• Familiarity with computational analysis pipelines for high-dimensional immunological or single-cell data
• Track record of first-author publications in immunology, neuroscience, or related fields

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.

About the position

The Horns Lab is seeking motivated, hard-working, and curious scientists. Our lab develops and applies technologies that bridge synthetic biology and genomics to answer fundamental and translational questions in human health, with a particular emphasis on immunology and neuroscience. We build new tools and use them to discover mechanisms in complex, dynamic systems, including the immune system, the brain, and other tissues.

Postdocs in the lab are encouraged to lead ambitious, independent projects, resulting in high-impact publications, and to prepare for long-term careers in academia or industry. You will have the opportunity to collaborate widely across Arc, Stanford, and the broader Bay Area ecosystem, with access to strong platforms in our lab and our institutions for genomics, single-cell technologies, synthetic biology, computation, and experimental model systems.

The questions we ask:

We are interested in how cells change over time and how those dynamics drive health and disease, and in building technologies to measure and control those dynamics. Example questions include:

• How can we measure cellular dynamics non-destructively at scale, capturing histories, interactions, and functional outputs?
• How do extracellular vesicles (EVs) and virus-like particles (VLPs) interact with cells and tissues, and what molecular rules govern secretion, trafficking, uptake, and cargo delivery?
• How can we engineer delivery systems to target specific cell types and achieve efficient cytosolic delivery with minimal off-target effects?
• How do immune cells change state, migrate, and interact with tissues over time during homeostasis, inflammation, and disease?
• How can we profile immune receptor specificity and function at scale (TCRs/BCRs) to decipher immune recognition and control immune behaviors?

The approaches we take:

We combine synthetic biology, genomics, cellular and mammalian models, and computation. Depending on the project, approaches may include:

• Mammalian synthetic biology
• Single-cell and spatial multi-omics
• Engineering and mechanistic study of EVs, VLPs, and other delivery systems
• Immune cell engineering and functional assays
• Sequencing-based measurement technologies
• Computational analysis and modeling of high-dimensional datasets

About you

• You are extremely curious and self-motivated.
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment while conducting rigorous and impactful research.
• You are intellectually independent and enjoy proposing and driving new research directions (with input from your PI).
• You are eager to learn and adopt new techniques.
• You are excited to solve puzzles that have translational impact and/or enable new discovery and therapeutic approaches.
• You have a strong foundation in synthetic biology or genomics technology development, and/or in immunology or neuroscience.

In this position you will

• Conduct high-impact research: Design, execute, and analyze experiments; take end-to-end ownership of a research project within the lab’s scientific focus, with guidance from the PI and increasing independence as you develop expertise.
• Develop as a future scientific leader: Publish first-author papers in high-impact journals, present at national and international conferences, and build a network of collaborators across Arc, Stanford, and beyond.\
• Foster scientific excellence: Mentor and train research associates, technicians, and students; engage in Arc-wide activities (seminars, symposia); contribute to a collaborative research environment; maintain rigorous experimental records and documentation; and contribute to lab operations including protocol development and maintaining shared infrastructure.

Requirements

• Doctorate (PhD, MD, MD/PhD, DVM, or equivalent) in bioengineering, synthetic biology, genomics, immunology, neuroscience, molecular biology, or a related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a track record of scientific writing (manuscripts, preprints, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player.

Preferred Qualifications

Our research group thrives on bringing together people with diverse expertise. The best fit is typically someone strong in at least one area and excited to learn the others. Experience in one or more of the following is a plus:

• Single-cell sequencing and analysis (scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, CITE-seq)
• Spatial transcriptomics and multi-omics
• Pooled perturbation screens (CRISPRi/a/KO, Perturb-seq)
• Building new sequencing-based assays or new measurement modalities
• Molecular engineering (e.g. protein design and engineering)
• Mammalian synthetic biology (e.g. genetic circuit design)
• High-throughput library design and screening in mammalian cells
• Immune cell biology or engineering
• Immune receptor biology and profiling
• Neurobiology
• EVs, VLPs, or related nanoparticle systems
• In vivo models (e.g. mouse)
• Expertise in analysis of high-dimensional datasets (e.g. single-cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics, pooled screening, using Python or R)
• Strong quantitative mindset

How to Apply

Please submit:

1. CV
2. Brief cover letter describing your research interests, what kinds of projects you’re excited to lead, and why the Horns Lab is a fit. Please be sure to include contact information for 3+ references.

The minimum base salary for this position is $80,000. Base salary for this role is determined by how many months of relevant postdoctoral experience a successful candidate has. Base salary for this role is not negotiable.

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.

About the position

The Gilbert Lab is looking for motivated, hard-working and curious applicants. Our expertise is in synthetic biology, functional genomics and epigenetics. We have a long standing interest in using CRISPR approaches to control transcription. We are focused on utilizing our expertise to tackle big problems in human biology such as how cellular identity and the epigenome are  determined and maintained. Lastly, we are focused on leveraging our expertise in epigenetics and synthetic biology to design new therapeutic strategies in the context of cancer, viral biology and neurodegeneration.

The questions we ask:

1. How are genes turned on and off?
2. How are mechanisms of epigenetic memory established and maintained?
3. Which genes drive complex disease phenotypes and what are their mechanisms? How can we modulate these for therapeutic means? 
4. How can we use synthetic biology approaches to discover therapeutic strategies and design new gene, protein and small molecule therapeutics?
5. How can we deliver genetic medicines to the right cell types in the body?

The approach we take: CRISPR screens, high throughput synthetic biology, perturb-seq, in vitro disease models including iPSC models and primary cells, in vivo disease models.

Post-docs will be encouraged to lead independent projects resulting in high impact publications, present at conferences and prepare for long-term careers in academia or industry.

About you

• You are extremely curious and self-motivated to push the boundaries of biotechnology and/or biomedical research.
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment while conducting rigorous and impactful research.
• You are intellectually independent and are able to design new research directions and projects (with input from your PI).
• You are eager to learn and adapt new techniques.
• You are excited by solving puzzles that have a translational impact and/or creating new therapeutic approaches. 

In this position you will

• Design, perform and analyze experiments 
• Keep appropriate experimental records and documentation
• Analyze results with the Principal Investigator
• General lab maintenance as well as operation and maintenance of equipment and instruments.
• Collaborate with post-docs, students and employees
• May mentor/train research associates, technicians, and students. 
• Publish, present, and represent that lab in journals and conferences.
• Present at lab meetings, and participate in Arc-wide activities (seminars, symposiums, etc).

Requirements

• Doctorate (MD, PhD, VMD, or DDS) in the area directly related to the field of research specialization. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player.

The minimum base salary for this position is $80,000. Base salary for this role is determined by how many months of relevant postdoctoral experience a successful candidate has. Base salary for this role is not negotiable.

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.

About the position

We are seeking a Research Associate I to join the Arce Lab at the Arc Institute. In this role you will support ongoing research in the lab through experimentation and organizational contributions. You will work closely with the PI to pursue scientific questions about the immune system in an effort to better understand and treat immune mediated diseases. As you progress in the role, you will have the opportunity to independently lead sub-projects under the guidance of other lab members. This position is ideal for someone seeking hands-on experience with biomedical research in a fast paced environment.

About you

• You are a self-motivated individual with a strong work ethic.
• You pride yourself on the quality of your work and avoid taking shortcuts that may limit outcomes.
• You are excited by the opportunity to discover new biology and learn something new each day.
• Helping out a colleague gives you self-gratification.
• You take initiative to resolve problems as they arise and are motivated by challenges and opportunities to grow.

In this position you will

• Support a diverse range of experiments through general reagent maintenance and sample processing
• Help maintain lab organization and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency and safety
• Perform mammalian cell culture, including cell isolation from human blood samples
• Execute CRISPR gene editing experiments in an arrayed and pooled screening format using lentiviral and mRNA delivery
• Contribute to molecular biology and genomic workflows, including plasmid construction, PCR, western blots, DNA/RNA isolation, and sequencing library preparation
• Write and update standard operating procedures for lab protocols and processes as you gain expertise

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or related field
• 1-2 years of laboratory experience (academic or industry setting)
• Familiarity with standard molecular biology techniques
• Competent multitasker with diligent note taking skills
• Proficiency with basic computer skills, including data entry, spreadsheets, and document preparation.
• Comfortable with lab relevant mathematics including dilution calculations and conversions
• Effective communicator and team player

Preferred Qualifications

• Experienced with mammalian tissue culture
• Experience with RNA and DNA isolation and downstream assays

The hourly rate for this position is $29.00. This amount does not include benefits or other forms of compensation.

About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution conducting curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

• Funding: Arc fully funds Core Investigators’ (PIs’) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize, and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators. 
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially, and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

Arc has scaled to over 350 people to date. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.

About the position

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Scientist to join the Horns Lab at the Arc Institute. In this position, you will lead the development of a novel platform for mapping human antibody specificities at scale. You will play a critical role in building, optimizing, and applying a system for high-throughput identification of antigen-specific B cells and their antibody sequences through single-cell sequencing. Your work will directly impact our understanding of human immunity and the discovery of new antibodies.

The successful candidate will develop and scale this antibody discovery platform within the Horns lab at the Arc Institute. This work will initially focus on optimizing antigen-specific B cell isolation, establishing single-cell sequencing readouts, and scaling to multiplexed screens. In the longer term, this platform will be applied to comprehensively profile human immune repertoires for understanding human immunology in health and disease.

The candidate will collaborate with other members of Arc’s labs and Technology Centers in a dynamic environment to drive scientific discoveries, including groups within Arc Institute who are leaders in RNA biology, single-cell genomics, and AI/ML. The ideal candidate would have a passion for cutting-edge technology development and a proven track record of working in an interdisciplinary environment and turning concepts into reliable methods and results. This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious self-starter who is motivated to apply his/her skills to diverse projects and enjoys working in a collaborative, fast-paced team environment.

About you

• You are passionate about science and understanding human immunity through the lens of new technology.
• You are excited to build new platforms for antibody discovery and immune repertoire analysis.
• You are creative and eager to explore new approaches beyond the techniques you are familiar with. You enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone to learn new things and develop new experimental approaches.
• You work fast, yet are diligent and detail-oriented. You are good at troubleshooting. You are careful about good documentation practices and keeping things organized while moving at a rapid pace.
• You excel at organization, time management, and task prioritization, and enjoy driving multiple projects in parallel.
• You love to collaborate and help others. Science is a team effort, and you pride yourself in taking the initiative to help.

In this position you will

• Develop and optimize a platform for antigen-specific B cell labeling, sorting, and single-cell sequencing.
• Design and execute validation experiments, including specificity testing and antibody cloning and binding confirmation.
• Scale the platform to multiplexed antigen libraries for immune repertoire profiling.
• Analyze single-cell sequencing data computationally, including developing analysis pipelines.
• Apply these technologies to answer questions in human immunology.
• Embrace the opportunity to creatively collaborate with Technology Centers and other laboratories.
• Maintain accurate and detailed records of experimental protocols, results, and conclusions.
• Present key research findings at internal meetings and seminars, and external conferences.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to Research Associates.
• Stay updated on advancements in the field of single-cell genomics, antibody biology, and immune repertoire analysis by reading the literature and attending conferences.

Requirements

• PhD in immunology, molecular biology, genomics, bioengineering, or a related field with 0-5 years of relevant post-PhD experience in either academia or industry.
• Deep experience with single-cell sequencing technologies for immune profiling (e.g. 10X Genomics VDJ workflows).
• Demonstrated track record of developing or adapting sequencing-based assays, with strong troubleshooting skills.
• Strong background in antibody biology, B cell immunology, or adaptive immune repertoire analysis.
• Proficiency in flow cytometry, including multi-parameter panel design, optimization, and cell sorting.
• Experience with antigen-binding characterization assays (e.g. ELISA, SPR, BLI).
• Proven ability to analyze large and complex sequencing data sets using Python, R, or similar tools.
• Experience with mammalian cell culture and standard molecular biology techniques (cloning, construct design).
• Strong project management skills with the ability to plan, execute, and deliver results on time. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with antigen-barcoded B cell sequencing approaches (e.g. LIBRA-seq, CITE-seq) is a plus.
• Experience with antigen-specific cell sorting using labeled antigen probes (e.g. tetramer staining) is a plus.
• Experience with human primary immune cell isolation and culture is a plus.
• Experience with library design, pooled cloning, or high-throughput screening approaches is a plus.
• Experience with protein biochemistry (expression, purification) is a plus.
• Experience with machine learning approaches for sequence-function prediction is a plus.

The base salary range for this position is $121,250 to $159,500. 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.