Machine Learning Researcher

About The Role

Join a dynamic, mission-focused research team based in San Francisco consisting of experts from institutions like MIT, Harvard Medical School, Roche, ETH, and Dana-Farber. The environment emphasizes speed, rigor, enthusiasm, and a solid work ethic. As part of an early-stage startup, you will thrive by clarifying ambiguous challenges, taking ownership of projects, and diligently executing them.

Capable Labs fosters growth for ambitious individuals of high integrity, providing close collaboration with leaders defining scientific and corporate directions. Here, consistent contribution, sound judgment, and reliable execution enable expanded responsibilities and greater impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Pinpoint significant obstacles within the drug discovery workflow and design specialized machine learning methods to overcome them.
• Create systems to enhance experiment planning, literature review, protocol generation, and digital screening of drug candidates.
• Collaborate closely with experimental scientists to automate operations throughout preclinical and clinical stages.
• Customize and employ protein and structural models such as ESM, AlphaFold-family, RFdiffusion, and ProteinMPNN using proprietary data to develop and refine candidates.
• Develop and deploy computational techniques for drug design, including candidate generation, screening, modeling, and predictive analytics, utilizing molecular dynamics and advanced biomolecular approaches.
• Integrate in silico predictions with real-world biological results via active learning frameworks.
• Design internal metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of ML solutions in accelerating drug development.

Candidate Profile

• Possesses, or is eager to build, strong research insight in biomolecular modeling.
• Understands, or is enthusiastic to learn, key bottlenecks in comprehensive drug development processes.
• Is passionate about laboratory realities and enjoys direct collaboration with wet-lab experts.
• Exhibits full ownership mentality, capable of prioritizing critical problems, planning necessary experiments, crafting solutions, and clearly communicating outcomes.
• Approaches work with curiosity and data focus, formulating hypotheses and adjusting views based on empirical data.
• Driven by the goal to expedite drug development timelines.
• Preferred but not required: Experience or substantial project involvement in active learning, biomolecular modeling in limited-data contexts, or multimodal models integrating omics, imaging, and phenotypic data.
• Bonus: Background in creating scalable production agent platforms.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range: $130,000 to $300,000 annually, commensurate with skills, experience, and influence.
• Equity options valued approximately between $50,000 and $200,000 before costs and risks associated with exercise and liquidity.
• Monthly wellness allowance exceeding $500 for health-related expenses like training, supplements, coaching, and recovery aids.
• Comprehensive healthcare coverage including medical, dental, and vision, with full base policy premium covered by Capable.
• Access to Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), and 401(k) retirement plans.
• Daily team-provided healthy dinners.
• Support for various visa sponsorships, such as O-1, H-1B, J-1, TN, accommodating a culturally diverse team.

Hiring Process

• Submit initial application.
• Complete first and second phone interviews.
• Participate in an on-site work trial in San Francisco to experience collaboration with founders and team.

Additional Information

Applicants are encouraged to apply even if not actively seeking new roles or if their profiles do not perfectly align with the description. Referrals are welcomed, with rewards offered for successful hires through recommendations.