Founding Scientist / Co-Founder

ABOUT THE ROLE This is a rare opportunity to join as a Founding Scientist / Co-Founder at an early-stage AI-for-biology startup based in Germany. This role sits at the intersection of wet-lab science and computational AI — you will help shape the company's scientific strategy, build core technology, and bridge hands-on experimental work with AI-driven workflows to accelerate biological discovery. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Define and lead the scientific vision and research roadmap for early-stage AI + wet-lab products. - Design and execute key molecular biology, biochemistry, or genomics experiments to validate models and assays. - Collaborate closely with engineers and ML researchers to translate experimental needs into computational requirements. - Implement and oversee lab automation and data pipelines to scale experiments and improve reproducibility. - Prototype computational tools and analyses; contribute code or notebooks integrating wet-lab data with predictive models. - Mentor and recruit early scientific hires; establish laboratory best practices and safety standards. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Required: - Hands-on experience designing, executing, and interpreting molecular biology, biochemistry, or genomics experiments. - Experience leading scientific teams, mentoring early-career scientists, and recruiting for scientific roles. - Proficiency in programming for data analysis (e.g., Python) and fluency with notebooks for data-driven biology workflows. - Experience designing and implementing data pipelines that integrate wet-lab data with computational models and analyses. - Senior-level research background — PhD strongly preferred, or equivalent industry experience. - Training or research experience at a leading research institution or university. Nice to Have: - Prior experience at AI-for-biology companies, biotech startups, or similar industry environments. - Experience with ML applied to biological data. - Hands-on experience with lab automation systems. - Prior founder experience or direct experience scaling early-stage teams and operations. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Compensation details have not been specified for this role. As a co-founding position, equity will form a meaningful component of the package. Specific terms will be discussed directly with candidates. LOCATION This is an on-site role based in Germany. Candidates must be available to work on-site. Visa sponsorship is not available — applicants must already have the right to work in Germany.