Intern, Machine Learning - Yeast Gene Regulation (MS or PhD)

Position description:

Calico is seeking an intern to join our Discovery Data Science team. To succeed, you will need to be an enthusiastic team player, detail-oriented, extremely organized and comfortable working on complex problems. In this position you will build and train neural networks to derive mechanistic insights about DNA sequence regulation. The successful candidate will work closely with members of the Kelley lab on deep representation learning, to better understand how yeast regulate gene expression. Pursuing this question will help us to distinguish the causes and effects of the aging process; separating the regulators driving changes in physiology with age from their consequences.

Responsibilities: 

• Implement state of the art machine learning models applied to yeast genome and transcriptomics data, ranging from fully self-supervised approaches to methods for efficient transfer learning
• Apply and extend computational methods related to sequence analysis and genomics
• Evaluate models trained on large scale genomics data against reference resources

Position requirements:

• Currently pursuing a MS or PhD degree in Computer Science, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics or a related technical field
• Experience working with Python, including deep learning frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and/or JAX
• Knowledge of molecular biology and genetics
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills
• Detail-oriented and organized
• Strong teamwork and communication skills
• Self-motivated with a “can-do” attitude
• Flexible, able to respond quickly to shifting priorities and able to multitask

Nice to have:

• Experience applying deep learning to model biological sequences
• Prior experience collaborating with biologists

About our Program:

Calico’s internship program is a paid 12-week program over the summer for students interested in understanding the fundamental science of aging and finding treatments for the associated and intractable diseases. Working in a collaborative environment and fully embedded in one of our labs/teams, Calico interns tackle a unique project under the mentorship of at least one of our scientists or engineers. Students from all schools, and students who identify with a demographic that is underrepresented within the technology, data science, and healthcare industries are encouraged to apply. This includes but is not limited to Black, Latinx, Native American, students with disabilities, veterans, and non-binary people.

Program Features:

• 3-month summer timeline
• In-person experience at our offices in South San Francisco
• Matching with at least one Calico mentor
• Group supplemental activities weekly featuring guest speakers, Senior Leadership spotlights, and discussion groups on aging science, our drug development approach, and more
• End-of-summer company-wide project showcase and poster session
• Competitive compensation ($40 - $65/hour) and monthly living expenses stipend