--- title: 'AI Scientist Intern, Computational Protein Design at Xaira Therapeutics' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/ai-scientist-intern-computational-protein-design-xaira-therapeutics-seattle-cwyf0hr1nk3c' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # AI Scientist Intern, Computational Protein Design at Xaira Therapeutics - **Company:** Xaira Therapeutics - **Location:** Seattle Washington, United States / South San Francisco California, United States - **Posted:** 2026-08-28 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xairatherapeutics/jobs/5225658007 ## Job description ## About Xaira Therapeutics Xaira is an innovative biotech startup focused on leveraging AI to transform drug discovery and development. The company is leading the development of generative AI models to design protein and antibody therapeutics, enabling the creation of medicines against historically hard-to-drug molecular targets. It is also developing foundation models for biology and disease to enable better target elucidation and patient stratification. Collectively, these technologies aim to continually enable the identification of novel therapies and to improve success in drug development. Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and London. ## About the Role As an AI Scientist Intern on our Computational Protein Design team, you will work alongside talented scientists and engineers developing generative AI models for protein and antibody therapeutic design. During your internship, you will contribute to advancing state-of-the-art machine learning models for biology, with a focus on impacting protein/antibody design and drug discovery. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with interdisciplinary experts in biology, drug discovery, and clinical research. ## Responsibilities - Develop and apply deep learning methods for protein/antibody structure, sequence, or property modeling, under the guidance and mentorship of experienced scientists and engineers - Implement and train models on GPUs using PyTorch - Contribute to ongoing research projects involving protein structure, sequence, or biophysical/affinity datasets - Participate in discussions to help generate innovative ideas for advancing AI methodologies in computational protein design - Document findings and communicate progress effectively to peers and mentors ## Qualifications - Currently pursuing a MS or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical field, with strong publication record - Hands-on experience with PyTorch and training/inference of AI models on GPUs - Strong interest in AI innovation and its applications to interdisciplinary fields such as biology and chemistry - Extensive hands-on experience with deep learning methods and frameworks - Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and learn from experienced mentors - A scientifically curious mindset with a passion for exploring new challenges - Experience with large-scale distributed training and inference is a plus - Exposure to molecular structure or biological sequence data or computational biology/bioinformatics is a plus, but not required - Prior research experience demonstrated through publications and/or significant open source code authorship - Interest in contributing to open-source deep learning libraries and frameworks is a plus Internship Duration 3 months The expected monthly compensation range is $10,000–$15,000, depending on experience and qualifications. We are open to higher compensation for candidates with exceptional experience or impact. This internship is designed to provide a unique learning experience, offering hands-on exposure to the intersection of AI and computational protein design while allowing you to contribute meaningfully to real-world projects. ## About Xaira Therapeutics ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Xaira Therapeutics is an integrated biotechnology company applying artificial intelligence across the entire drug discovery and development process to design next-generation medicines. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series A) - **Headquarters**: South San Francisco, California, United States (with offices in Seattle, Washington, and London, UK) - **Founded**: 2023 - **Founders**: Co-founded and incubated by ARCH Venture Partners and Foresite Labs, with foundational scientific contributions from Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baker (Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington). ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Biotechnology, Drug Discovery & Development, Artificial Intelligence - **Target customers**: B2B (pharmaceutical partners, biotech collaborators) and ultimately patients via its own therapeutic pipeline. - **Mission or purpose statement**: "Pioneering the transformative artificial intelligence that will help discover and develop the next generation of life-changing medicines." [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/) ## Products & Services - **AI-Powered Drug Discovery Platform**: An end-to-end platform integrating advanced AI research, expansive data generation (functional genomics, proteomics, multi-omics), and robust therapeutic product development to shift drug discovery from an empirical science to a precise engineering discipline. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-approach) - **Computational Protein Design**: Built on foundational work by Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baker, leveraging AI to design entirely new proteins from scratch for previously undruggable targets. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-approach) - **X-Cell (Virtual Cell Model)**: An AI model trained on billions of genomic data points to simulate and understand cellular biology. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/) - **Therapeutic Pipeline**: A pipeline of differentiated therapeutics across multiple modalities (small molecules, biologics, protein therapeutics) developed through an integrated AI-driven process. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. The company launched in 2023 with a $1 billion Series A financing, one of the largest in biotech history. - **Key Metric**: Total Funding of $1 billion (Series A, 2023). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: ARCH Venture Partners (co-founder and lead investor), Foresite Labs (co-founder and incubator), F-Prime Capital, and other top-tier investors. Board includes leaders from ARCH, Foresite, NEA, and Johnson & Johnson. Scientific advisors include Nobel Laureates Carolyn R. Bertozzi and David Baker, and other luminaries. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-team) - **Growth Signals**: Launched in 2023 with a record $1B Series A; rapidly building a world-class team across three global hubs (South San Francisco, Seattle, London); actively hiring across AI, computational biology, protein design, and drug development roles; announced X-Cell, a virtual cell model trained on billions of genomic data points. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/) ## Competitive Advantages - **Unprecedented Capital & Talent**: Launched with a $1B Series A, enabling aggressive hiring of top-tier AI and biology talent and long-term investment in infrastructure. - **End-to-End AI Integration**: Uniquely positioned to apply AI across the entire drug discovery and development lifecycle, from target identification to clinical development, creating a powerful data flywheel. - **World-Class Scientific Foundation**: Built on foundational AI protein design work from Nobel Laureate David Baker's lab, with a board and advisory board including multiple Nobel Laureates, former FDA commissioners, and industry leaders from Genentech, Johnson & Johnson, and top venture firms. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-team) - **Massive Data Generation**: Investing heavily in functional genomics and proteomics to generate proprietary, multi-dimensional datasets that fuel AI model development, creating a defensible data moat. ## Strategic Focus - **End-to-End AI Integration**: Building predictive and agentic AI models across the complete drug discovery and development spectrum to increase probability of success, reduce timelines, and lower costs. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-approach) - **Data as a Core Asset**: Generating and integrating massive, multi-dimensional biological datasets (from molecular to human scales) to train and improve AI models continuously. - **Pipeline Development**: Advancing a pipeline of differentiated therapeutics across multiple modalities (small molecules, biologics, protein therapeutics). - **Talent Acquisition**: Aggressively hiring across AI research, engineering, computational biology, protein design, and drug development to build a world-class, interdisciplinary team. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-Driven**: Opportunity to work at the forefront of AI and biology to fundamentally transform how medicines are discovered and developed, with the potential to impact millions of patients. - **World-Class Team & Mentorship**: Work alongside and learn from Nobel Laureates, top AI researchers, and experienced drug developers from leading pharma and biotech companies. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-team) - **Interdisciplinary Culture**: A unique blend of AI/ML engineers, protein designers, computational biologists, and drug hunters all working together in a highly collaborative environment. - **Global Hubs & Flexibility**: Offices in South San Francisco, Seattle, and London, offering multiple locations for talent. - **Generous Resources**: Backed by a $1B Series A, providing the resources to pursue ambitious, long-term research without short-term funding pressure. - **Job Scam Awareness**: The company has issued a warning about fraudulent job offers; all legitimate recruitment is conducted through official channels (Greenhouse) and never via Google Chat or requests for payment. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/work-with-us) ## Sources 1. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/) 2. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-approach) 3. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/our-team) 4. [xaira.com](https://www.xaira.com/work-with-us) 5. [greenhouse.io](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xairatherapeutics) ## Other roles at Xaira Therapeutics - [Lab Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/lab-software-engineer-xaira-therapeutics-south-san-francisco-california-mt9p82bbxdfp) — South San Francisco California, United States - [Principal Associate Scientist, Bioanalytical Science](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-associate-scientist-bioanalytical-science-xaira-therapeutics-south-9a4gcetj8vab) — South San Francisco California, United States - [Senior Scientist, Biology](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-scientist-biology-xaira-therapeutics-south-san-francisco-california-am8z6cjwb0xn) — South San Francisco California, United States - [Facilities Coordinator II - Lab Operations (Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/facilities-coordinator-ii-lab-operations-contract-xaira-therapeutics-south-san-z65y9vbqwcce) — South San Francisco California, United States - [AI in Residence, Computational Protein Design](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-in-residence-computational-protein-design-xaira-therapeutics-seattle-ns335n33bw1n) — Seattle Washington, United States - [Lab Automation - Robotics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/lab-automation-robotics-engineer-xaira-therapeutics-south-san-francisco-dneqyyrnt1j5) — South San Francisco California, United States - [Payroll Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-manager-xaira-therapeutics-south-san-francisco-california-cwj1ck4aywe9) — South San Francisco California, United States - [Vice President, Business Development and Alliance Management](https://feeny.ai/job/vice-president-business-development-and-alliance-management-xaira-therapeutics-vyvtp8b00s9q) — South San Francisco California, United States - [Senior Manager, Projects and Programs - Research](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-projects-and-programs-research-xaira-therapeutics-south-san-j0pcpkzrc2pf) — South San Francisco California, United States - [Senior Scientist, Functional Genomics](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-scientist-functional-genomics-xaira-therapeutics-south-san-francisco-x16av76axk2y) — South San Francisco California, United States