Director / Principal Investigator, AI and Genomics

23andMe • Salt Lake City, UT

1d • $250,000 - $290,000 • Remote

About The Position

The 23andMe Research Institute, with the world's largest database of over eleven million genotyped participants, is seeking a Director-level Principal Investigator to lead its AI innovation efforts. This role involves building population-scale foundation models on a unique data substrate to advance biomedical research and transform healthcare. The successful candidate will set and own the scientific vision for AI, translate it into research output and external funding, and build and lead a research group. The research agenda will focus on health-risk prediction (developing foundation models for forecasting individual health outcomes from genetic and longitudinal data) and variant-effect prediction (interpreting the functional and clinical consequences of genetic variants). The role also includes representing the Institute externally, raising funding, and publishing research.

Requirements

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Computational Biology, Statistical Genetics, or a related field.
• At least ten years of experience post-PhD.
• Deep expertise in machine learning applied to genomics, biomedicine, or a comparably high-dimensional scientific domain.
• Significant track record of scientific achievement including multiple years of experience leading the development of novel methods and executing independently developed ideas.
• Ability to balance scientific rigor with a pragmatic commitment to getting things done in the face of multiple competing priorities.
• Track record of collaboration with scientific thought leaders.
• Deep expertise in modern deep learning architectures, including transformers and large language models, and in training at scale.
• Experience with distributed training, GPU cluster scaling, and computational efficiency at the frontier of model size.
• Strong programming skills in Python and a modern deep learning framework.
• Proven ability to build, mentor, train, and develop teams of scientists.
• Demonstrated success securing external research funding through grants, philanthropy, or industry partnerships.
• Ability to work with senior scientific leadership to represent the Institute at scientific, business, and other professional meetings.
• Ability to lead directly and by influence, including strong problem solving, conflict resolution, and analytical skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and concisely with scientific and non-scientific stakeholders alike.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with genomic or biomedical data is strongly preferred; exceptional candidates from adjacent domains with a clear commitment to biomedicine will be considered.

Responsibilities

• Set and own the scientific vision for AI at the 23andMe Research Institute.
• Translate the AI vision into research output and external funding.
• Build and lead a research group, starting with two founding scientists and growing it with secured funding.
• Develop foundation models that forecast individual health outcomes from genetic and longitudinal data.
• Interpret the functional and clinical consequences of genetic variants, including variants of uncertain significance.
• Represent the Institute's AI work externally.
• Raise grant, philanthropic, and industry funding to support the group's expansion.
• Publish research at top-tier venues and release methods and models where appropriate.
• Collaborate with scientific thought leaders and engage with external academic and industry scientists.

Benefits

• The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree