Senior Scientist, Computational Biology, Innovation

About Alltrna

Alltrna is the world’s first tRNA platform company to decipher tRNA biology and pioneer tRNA therapeutics to treat thousands of diseases. Alltrna unlocks tRNA biology to correct disease. The company's platform incorporates AI/ML tools to learn the tRNA language and deliver diverse programmable molecules with broad therapeutic potential. Alltrna has an unprecedented opportunity to advance a single tRNA medicine to unify treatment across a wide range of diseases with the same underlying genetic mutation. Alltrna was founded in 2018 by Flagship Pioneering. For more info, visit www.alltrna.com.

About The Role 

Come join us at Alltrna to originate new applications of tRNAs and unlock therapeutic modalities. As a senior computational biologist on the Innovation team, you will work closely with an interdisciplinary group of scientists to generate actionable hypotheses and identify new applications of Alltrna’s platform. Additionally, you will work closely with the leadership team to identify and develop high-value research avenues to expand our drug discovery portfolio. As a senior member of the team, you will be actively involved in growing the team and mentoring junior members to promote an energetic and collaborative work culture.

If you like a science driven and innovative research environment discovering how a new therapeutic modality can be applied across different disease spaces to meet the needs of patients suffering from underserved diseases- this is the role for you. You get to be part of the team that explores novel application spaces of tRNA biology and therapeutics and originates parallel research avenues that translate into next-generation Alltrna pipeline assets. We operate in an open and inclusive learning environment and need creative thinkers who can imagine all the therapeutic applications of tRNA biology to redefine the future of medicine together.

Core Responsibilities

• Apply your scientific knowledge and continually cultivate scientific and technical expertise to identify novel research avenues to pursue with our platform and tRNA modality
• Generate actionable hypotheses to identify novel applications of tRNAs across biology and rapidly prototype ideas to reach go/no-go decisions
• Identify, internalize, and mine public and in-house NGS and proteomic datasets by developing novel NGS analysis methods or applying existing pipelines in new contexts
• Integrate internal and external datasets to generate unique inferences for hypothesis generation and subsequent wet lab testing in an iterative fashion with a focus on target/disease selection, mechanism-of-action determination, and biomarker discovery
• Create innovative data visualizations and communicate complex results to interdisciplinary audiences
• Work collaboratively within the matrix organization to support and execute integration of innovation drug discovery targets into the Alltrna pipeline

Qualifications and Skills

• PhD. in a computation-focused discipline with 3-5 years of experience in independent research and execution of high value projects demonstrated by high-impact publications and patent filings
• Proven track-record in identifying and integrating public domain and/or internally generated data sets (i.e. genetic, genomic, proteomic) to generate high-quality hypotheses and solve complex biological problems
• Deep understanding of statistical, algorithmic and database principles in data science with fluency in coding languages most relevant to biology & drug discovery (e.g. Python, SQL, R)
• Expertise in NGS data analysis (i.e. Illumina) including execution of standard workflows, and development of novel RNA-centric NGS methods, including Ribo-seq, RIP-seq, eCLIP and RNA chemical probing (e.g. DMS-MaP-seq, SHAPE-MaP)
• Clear understanding of cloud-based computing environments with a focus on AWS
• Demonstrated ability to approach complex problems with innovative solutions and generate actionable hypotheses
• Familiarity with coding standards and best practices with a commitment to reproducible computational research
• Excellent data visualization and communication skills with the ability to explain complex concepts to a general scientific audience and drive decision-making

The preferred candidate will ideally also possess the following skills:

• Experience in applying machine learning techniques to solve complex research problems
• Experience in discovery and targeted proteomics data analysis and visualization
• Experience developing web-based or stand-alone GUI programs for data visualization (i.e. Dash, Flask, RShiny, D3)

What We’ll Offer You

• Comprehensive, competitive healthcare and dental coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield, vision coverage through VSP, family leave, paid time off, 401k retirement plan, disability and life insurance, and fully covered parking/commuter benefits.
• A dynamic early-stage work environment and highly interdisciplinary, talented, and collaborative team.
• Participation in an unprecedented opportunity to advance a single tRNA medicine to restore disrupted protein production, regardless of target, for thousands of diseases with the same underlying genetic mutation.
• Professional growth opportunities through mentoring, training, immersion in cross-functional projects, and opportunities to learn and try new things.
• Daily on-site snacks, cold brew coffee, and Bevi, as well as weekly catered lunches.

Our Core Values

1. Fast-acting/efficient. Moves quickly and proactively with a strong work ethic to produce high-quality results while fostering a positive work environment. Focuses on key priorities. Demonstrates tenacity and willingness to go the distance to get something done.
2. Integrity. Does not cut corners ethically. Earns trust and maintains confidences. Does what is right not just what is politically expedient. Speaks plainly and truthfully. Follows-through on commitments. Expects a high level of personal performance and team performance.
3. Critical thinking. Learns quickly. Demonstrates ability to proficiently understand new information and independently achieve meaningful outcomes. Able to structure and process qualitative/quantitative data and draw insightful conclusions.
4. Creativity & Innovation. Scientifically curious and bold. Generates new and creative approaches to problem solving. Positive ‘can-do’ attitude. Views the toughest challenges as the greatest opportunities for personal growth and company innovation. Able to challenge dogma.
5. Teamwork. Fully engaged in facilitating personal and team success. Reaches out to peers and cooperates with the team to establish an overall collaborative work environment. Often solicits and responds well to constructive feedback. Possesses good written and oral communication skills with the ability to clearly and concisely convey ideas and opinions.
6. Flexibility/adaptability. Adjusts quickly to changing strategic and tactical priorities. Comfortable with ambiguity. Self-starter mentality.

  Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.   Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.