Research Scientist, Computational Biology

Sound Agriculture is an innovator in bio-inspired chemistry and plant genetics. We leverage natural plant diversity to grow crops more sustainably and create differentiated, nutritious food. Sound is a Series C startup funded by leading investors in food and agriculture such as Leaps by Bayer, Northpond Ventures, S2G Ventures, Fall Line Capital, Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, Cavallo Ventures and Syngenta Group Ventures.

Sound is looking for a creative Computational Biologist to work at the intersection of computational genomics, epigenetics, and plant physiology. Our Molecular Foundry allows us to rapidly change, read out, and measure the effects of the epigenetic state of multiple genes critical to crop trait development. We're using this epigenetic technology to make crops more sustainable, nutritious, and tasty. Along the way, we're uncovering new biology at an amazing pace. This role will be part of the Data Science team and will collaborate with outstanding scientists across the growing Research organization.

We expect the Research Scientist to report to our Emeryville office and lab multiple times per week.

Skills & Experience

• A PhD in Computational Biology, Quantitative Genetics, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science or related field
• Minimum 1-2 years of experience in applying statistical or machine learning methods to genomic and large biological data
• Fluency with basic genome informatics, including alignment and alignment-free comparative analysis, and genome and transcriptome assembly
• Facility with procedural and functional programming languages commonly used for data manipulation and statistics
• Expertise using computational workflows and workflow management in local, HPC, and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Experience with using RNAseq analysis to think about differential expression in the context of metabolic and regulatory networks
• Direct experience with long-read sequencing technologies (Oxford Nanopore and PacBio) a plus
• Outstanding communication skills and the ability to work with experts at varying levels in maths, CS, and experimental biology
• A passion for feeding the world with better and more sustainable agriculture.

Our Offer

• Opportunity to work in an early-stage, disruptive startup with a talented, experienced, and growing team of dedicated individuals
• Competitive compensation package
• Performance bonus structure
• Comprehensive health care plans that include Medical, Dental and Vision coverage
• Flex Spending Account (Healthcare, Dependent Care & Commuter Benefit)
• 401k Plan
• Generous vacation policy
• Regular team events and engagement activities (we actually like hanging out with each other!)

Sound is based in Emeryville, CA with a number of employees working remotely. We have a mission driven culture and a fast-paced, collaborative work environment. We are looking for someone to join the team who will bring a passion for sustainability along with a deep expertise in the business of food and agriculture.
Equal Employment Opportunity
We seek a diverse pool of applicants and consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, Veteran status, marital status, or any other protected status.

Sound participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the United States. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, Sound is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before Sound takes any action, including terminating your employment.

Category

Biologists

Education

Doctorate

Experience

1 to 2 years

Job type

Full time