Director / Principal Investigator, AI and Genomics

About the role

With the world's largest database of more than eleven million genotyped participants, the 23andMe Research Institute is at the forefront of using human genetics to advance biomedical research and transform healthcare. We are seeking a Director-level Principal Investigator to establish and lead our AI innovation efforts, building population-scale foundation models on a data substrate that exists nowhere else.

What you'll do

You will set and own the scientific vision for AI at the 23andMe Research Institute, and be accountable for translating it into research output and external funding. You will build and lead a research group of your own, beginning with two founding scientists recruited under your direction, and grow it in step with the funding you secure.

Your research agenda will span three complementary areas: health-risk prediction, developing foundation models that forecast individual health outcomes from genetic and longitudinal data, building on our existing PRSformer and Next Health Event work; variant-effect prediction, interpreting the functional and clinical consequences of genetic variants including variants of uncertain significance, in preparation for a product line based on whole-genome sequencing.

You will represent the Institute's AI work externally and raise grant, philanthropic, and industry funding to support the group's expansion. We expect and encourage publication at top-tier venues and the open release of methods and models where appropriate.

What you'll bring

You have deep expertise in machine learning applied to genomics, biomedicine, or a comparably high-dimensional scientific domain, with a significant track record of scientific achievement that includes multiple years of experience leading the development of novel methods and executing independently developed ideas.

These achievements should demonstrate your ability to balance scientific rigor with a pragmatic commitment to getting things done in the face of multiple competing priorities. You will also have a track record of collaboration with scientific thought leaders, and be expected to take an active role in engaging with external academic and industry scientists.

Scientific Expertise

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Computational Biology, Statistical Genetics, or a related field, with at least ten years of experience post-PhD.
• Strong record of accomplishment through academic publications at leading venues or equivalent industry achievement.
• Deep expertise in modern deep learning architectures, including transformers and large language models, and in training at scale.
• Experience with genomic or biomedical data is strongly preferred; exceptional candidates from adjacent domains with a clear commitment to biomedicine will be considered.
• 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.

Leadership Skills

• 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.

Location

• This role is location-agnostic.
• We will consider candidates across the United States.
• We are prioritizing the quality of the individual over their location, and remote or non-Bay-Area arrangements are expected and welcome.

Pay Transparency

23andMe takes a market-based approach to pay, and amounts will vary depending on your geographic location. The salary range reflected here is for a candidate based in Salt Lake City, UT. The successful candidate's starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Salt Lake City, UT Base Pay Range $250,000 - $290,000