Associate Director, Computational Biology

Cambridge, MA, United States

Company Summary:

Founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2021, Metaphore aims to unlock breakthroughs that outperform today's drugs for maximum patient impact, We adapted this idea to drug discovery. MIMIC, our computationally driven bioplatform that couples machine learning with molecular mimicry, engineers therapeutics to trigger a desired biological response. Our MIMIC platform opens the possibility to develop engineered medicines with specific features to access a range of targets, including those that were previously intractable. Flagship and Metaphore have also just announced a $600M research collaboration with Novo Nordisk to develop up to two next-generation therapeutics for obesity management.

Flagship Pioneering is a bioplatform innovation company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity's most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture. Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE's "Change the World" list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company's annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

Position Summary:

Metaphore Biotechnologies is seeking an exceptional scientist and leader to join our Computational Biology team. In this role, you will use and develop robust computational analyses to support advancing projects in our therapeutic discovery and development engine. In addition to hands on project and portfolio work, you will lead a small team of computational scientists and be responsible for coordinating the planning and execution of projects. The ideal candidate will bring knowledge of the biologics drug discovery process, experience in next-generation sequencing and high-throughput screening assay analysis, as well as knowledge of computational pipeline development and software engineering best practices. Excellent communication and people management skills are essential to enable you to present results to a variety of stakeholders and effectively collaborate with scientists and leaders with a broad array of backgrounds in a matrix organization. This individual will also have the opportunity to provide insights and contribute to shaping the future direction of our data-driven platform to unlock the potential of molecular mimicry for therapeutics development.

Key Responsibilities:

Design and conduct statistically sound analyses of NGS, high-content, and HTS assay data.

Actively participate in project matrix teams, present results and interpretations to achieve project aims through data-driven decision making.

Lead efforts in analytical validation of workflows and pipelines.

Coordinate efforts between experimental and computational teams to acquire comprehensive datasets for AI/ML algorithm development.

Provide leadership, mentorship and guidance to computational biology team members, including by aiding in planning and prioritizing work, clearly communicating goals and timelines, and motivating team members to ensure successful and timely achievement of goals.

Develop team strengths and provide professional development opportunities for team members.

Bolster team morale, foster team cohesiveness and culture, and cultivate an environment of high performance and inclusivity.

Present progress and results to leadership team and act as a subject matter expert for the company.

Balance, prioritize and coordinate activities across multiple projects at one time.

Contribute to the development of project goals, as well as the computational biology and platform roadmaps.

Assemble data reports and digest for communication with partners, investors and regulatory bodies

Contribute to the generation of intellectual property, publish and represent company in scientific meetings

Maintain up to date on relevant scientific and technological advances and best practices.

Qualifications:

Ph.D. with 10+ years of experience in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science or a related field.

Experience with direct people leadership and management. Prior experience in team building is a plus.

Deep experience in NGS and HTS assay analysis and a commitment to statistical rigor. Prior experience in high-content analysis is a plus.

Experience with the critical assessment of data quality and defining data quality standards.

Experience robust developing analysis frameworks for novel experimental assays and/or measurement techniques.

Understanding of biologics discovery, characterization and development workflows, including exploration of structure-function relationships, mechanism of action optimization and phenotypic characterization at scale. Prior experience with antibody therapeutics development is a plus.

Proficiency in python and R.

Familiarity with cloud computing and scalable scientific workflow systems such as Nextflow.

Experience with git, docker, CI/CD, and software engineering best practices.

Excellent communication, organizational and problem-solving skills.

Desire to foster a strong team culture of collaboration, integrity, creativity and inclusion.

Values and Behaviors

We are seeking individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit, strong communication skills, and comfort working in and contributing to a dynamic and cross-functional team environment. The level of the role will be commensurate with the education and years of experience of the identified candidate.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

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.

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