[Hiring] AI Biologist @LatchBio

Role Description

We're seeking an Ai Biologist to join our Metagenomics team, working at the frontier of what artificial intelligence can achieve in biology.

• You will contribute to our technical approach for evaluating how AI agents reason through complex microbiome and metagenomics datasets.
• Working with software engineers and computational biologists, you'll build ground-truth benchmark datasets drawn from real published microbiome studies.
• These datasets will rigorously test whether agents can perform the critical analytical and interpretive steps that expert microbiome researchers execute.
• Your deep expertise in microbiome biology, metagenomics analysis, and the ability to identify confounders and technical artifacts will define how we measure agent capability in computational microbiology.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in microbiology, microbial ecology, bioinformatics, biology, or related field.
• 3+ years of hands-on research experience with microbiome or metagenomics data, demonstrated through publications or industry work.
• Deep expertise in at least one of the following areas:
  • Human microbiome and disease (e.g. IBD, CRC, obesity)
  • Longitudinal microbiome or microbiome interventions (e.g. FMT, diet, antibiotics)
  • Microbial function and metabolism
  • Plant, soil, or environmental microbial ecology
• Experience interpreting microbiome data in biological context and identifying confounders, technical artifacts, and limitations of the underlying experiments.
• Proficiency in Python and/or R for biological data analysis and visualization.
• Familiarity with 16S and/or shotgun metagenomics, including taxonomic, functional, and community-level analysis.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience designing or troubleshooting microbiome experiments, including sampling, extraction, controls, or library preparation (Nice-to-Have).
• Experience integrating metagenomics with metabolomics, metatranscriptomics, host omics, or clinical phenotypes (Nice-to-Have).
• Experience with strain-level analysis, metagenomic assembly, MAGs, or long-read sequencing (Nice-to-Have).

Benefits

• Genuinely flexible schedules - we just ask that you communicate when you're coming in later than usual.
• Waterfront office near Oracle Park.
• 2x free daily meals and unlimited snacks.
• Company outings most months and team offsites.
• A vibrant community with activities such as cycling, soccer, figure skating, boxing, run clubs, reading clubs, martial arts, music, and game nights.

Compensation & Logistics

• 1099 (or W8-BEN) contract, 40 hrs/week, no end date.
• Fully performance-based pay: $120K–$180K, uncapped upside. 2x quota = 2x pay.
• 2-4 week paid ramp—full OTE from day one.
• Remote (globally), hybrid, or onsite in SF (onsite preferred).
• Work authorization: OPT visa holders only (not STEM Extension).
• Onsite perks: 2x free meals/day, waterfront office (China Basin), monthly parking (based on availability).
• Candidates with all of the above qualifications + proven management skills will be eligible for more senior positions.

Interview Process

• Timeline: We move fast: 8–12 days from submission to offer.
• Intro Screen - Technical Recruiter.
• Take-Home Project - HackerRank.
• Technical Interview - Member of Technical Staff.
• Culture Interview - C-Suite.
• Offer.