- Salary
- $150k – $250k
- Location
- San Francisco, California, US
- Type
- Full-time
- Department
- IT
- Education
- PhD
- Source
- Y Combinator
Description
About Blank Bio
Blank Bio is a YC-backed TechBio startup building the next generation of RNA foundation models. Our mission is to decode RNA biology to accelerate the discovery and development of RNA-based therapeutics, biomarkers, and diagnostics. We believe RNA is the programmable layer of biology and that advances in AI will unlock its full potential for medicine.
We’re a technical team of PhDs and operators with experience at pioneering TechBio companies (Valence, Recursion, Deep Genomics) and top AI labs. We’re backed by investors like Nova Threshold, Leonis Capital, SignalFire, Define Ventures, and others.
The Role
We are looking for a Research Scientist to join our founding team and help build Blank Bio’s RNA foundation models from the ground up. In this role, you’ll design novel ML methods, develop benchmarks that reflect clinically relevant biology, and collaborate with experimental partners to validate predictions. Your work will shape how our models evolve and where they create the most impact across the R&D pipeline — from early discovery through clinical applications.
As an early-stage startup, we move fast, work across disciplines, and embrace ambiguity. We’re looking for people who thrive in dynamic environments, are eager to take ownership, and want to help define both the science and the culture of a company at the beginning of its journey.
Responsibilities
- Design and prototype new ML methods (representation learning, generative modeling, contrastive pretraining) for RNA biology.
- Develop benchmarks and evaluation frameworks for tasks spanning diagnostics, patient stratification, biomarker discovery, and RNA design.
- Analyze large-scale sequencing datasets (bulk RNA-seq, single-cell, long-read) to inform model development and evaluation.
- Collaborate with experimental and clinical partners to validate predictions in diverse biological and medical settings.
Qualifications
Must-haves
- PhD (or equivalent experience) in Machine Learning, Computational Biology, or related fields.
- Demonstrated track record in ML research (publications, impactful projects, or deployed systems).
- Expertise in representation learning, generative models, or large-scale sequence modeling.
- Ability to independently design and execute research projects.
Nice-to-haves
- Familiarity with transcriptomics, RNA biology, or other -omics data.
- Experience developing benchmarks for biological or clinical ML tasks.
- Prior collaboration with clinical researchers, diagnostic developers, or biomarker discovery teams.
- Previous work in an early-stage, fast-paced environment.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity.
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
- Generous vacation and parental leave policies