Computational Biologist

Loyal is an early stage company developing drugs to help dogs live longer, healthier lives. We see aging as a disease that can be slowed and improved with medicines. Loyal was spun out of Laura Deming’s The Longevity Fund and is well funded by top venture capitalists and angels.

We are hiring a Computational Biologist to join the Computational Biology team. This is a great opportunity for a dynamic, well-rounded scientist to make an impact on a growing team and company. A willingness to learn new data types and algorithms that you have not worked with in the past is crucial to the role. Data types will include next gen sequencing, metabolomics from mass spec, transcriptomics, among others. Data sources will include multiple species and draw from both public and in-house experiments. Your work will directly contribute to our mission of providing dogs longer, healthier lives, and be crucial for taking our learnings into humans.

Loyal is founded and led by a first-gen, female CEO – we encourage and look forward to diverse applicants.

As part of the Computational Biology team you will:

• • Analyze novel in-house datasets, including the largest canine epigenetic sequencing experiment ever conducted
  • Create in-house white papers and external publications of research findings
  • Assist the R&D team with the design of experiments and clinical trials
  • Develop algorithms to make use of sequencing data types in new and innovative ways
  • Develop, maintain and manage pipelines for genomic and bioinformatic analysis
  • Support ongoing experiments through ad hoc analyses and technical input

Basic Qualifications

• • PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, Genetics or other omics-based field
  • 1-5 years of relevant research experience
  • Experience with GWAS, epigenetic QTL mapping and other population genetics concepts
  • Fluency in Python or R
  • A passion for data visualization and communicating concepts in easy-to-understand ways

Preferred Qualifications

• • PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology or other omics-based field
  • 1-5 years of relevant research experience
  • Strong record of publication in a genetics, genomics or population genetics related field
  • Demonstrated experience of collaborative coding through contributions to open source projects
  • Experience using cloud computing services for bioinformatics tasks
  • Experience with workflow management systems: Snakemake, Nextflow or others

How you work and think

• • Strong desire to work collaboratively within and across teams
  • Always looking for opportunities to assist others
  • Desire to learn and grow in ability and responsibilities
  • Process driven - creates frameworks to tackle challenging problems
  • Mission driven - able to put day to day work in the context of the overall goals of the company
  • Track record of communicating with technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Able to work in a fast paced and ever-changing environment
  • Empathy to others and low ego

The Fundamentality of Health | Good health is critical to every other human (and animal!) experience. We believe health is a fundamental right and are dedicating our lives to maximizing health and developing better medicines for the worst diseases.

Truth Seeking & Feedback Loops | Uniquely in biology, there is a predetermined truth of whether a specific drug will work or not — we just have to catch up with biology! We seek out this truth and do not shy away from inconvenient truths. This holds for personal development too: we are always searching for feedback loops and embody a perpetual growth mindset.

Morality & Empathy | We are developing medicines that may one day be given to a living animal, medicines that if designed badly could hurt that animal instead of help. This is a huge responsibility and should be respected as such. Our work needs to adhere to the strictest moral code and always integrate empathy for the patient.

Transparency | We believe full transparency in thoughts, opinions, intentions, and actions (both good ones and mistakes) is a better way to build a business and work together.

Kindness | Great business(wo)men do not need to be ruthless — you can execute excellently with kindness.

Dog gifs | We love them.