--- title: 'ML Research Scientist, Foundation Models (Senior / Staff / Principal) at Genesis Molecular AI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/ml-research-scientist-foundation-models-senior-staff-principal-genesis-gnpr61e1bf7n' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-14' --- # ML Research Scientist, Foundation Models (Senior / Staff / Principal) at Genesis Molecular AI - **Company:** Genesis Molecular AI - **Location:** San Mateo, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2025-07-30 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/genesis-molecular-ai/c1c47745-4e5c-4e0e-9d71-16d7ea28895a ## Job description ML Research Scientist, Foundation Models ## About the Team Join a world-class team at the forefront of AI and biochemistry. At Genesis Molecular AI, we’re a tight-knit team of proven deep learning researchers, software engineers, and drug discovery pioneers. Our shared mission is nothing short of revolutionary: to forge the next generation of AI foundation models that will unlock groundbreaking therapies for patients with severe diseases. We don’t just apply machine learning to biology; we are conducting fundamental research at the intersection of machine learning, physics, and computational chemistry, pushing the boundaries of each field. The Genesis AI team is building an engine for this revolution. You will work side by side with the top multidisciplinary researchers to design and build generative and discriminative foundation models at scale from the entire spectrum of molecular data, having access to ample compute and large-scale simulations. ## About the Role This is an opportunity for a scientific innovator to advance the future of generative AI in drug discovery. As a key member of the Genesis AI team, you will shape and drive our research agenda for foundation models. You will lead critical research initiatives in areas like reinforcement learning, novel model architectures, and advanced pretraining and post-training methods. Your core mission is to create groundbreaking models and insights that are instrumental in discovering new medicines. This role requires a deep curiosity and a collaborative spirit. You will be a strong team player, working in close partnership with our exceptional engineers and drug discovery experts to bring complex ideas to life. We also want you to be a voice in the scientific community. We will actively support and champion your efforts to publish some research breakthroughs in premier ML venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR. Positions are available at various levels of seniority: Senior, Staff, and Principal. You will - Lead transformative research projects from conception to implementation, tackling core challenges in generative modeling for molecular systems. - Design and develop novel models and algorithms, building upon the latest literature in diffusion models, flow matching, RL, LLMs, and other cutting-edge areas. - Execute ambitious experiments at scale, leveraging our world-class computational infrastructure to rigorously validate your hypotheses and push the boundaries of the state-of-the-art. - Collaborate intensely with a multidisciplinary team to translate your research into tangible impact on our drug discovery platform. - Contribute to the global research community by publishing some of your work and representing Genesis at top tier AI/ML conferences and workshops. - Mentor and guide other researchers and engineers, fostering a culture of shared learning, growth, and innovation. You are - A deep learning expert with a portfolio of novel research in one or more cutting-edge domains of generative or predictive modeling (e.g., diffusion, flow matching, RL, foundation model architectures and training methods). - An independent, first-principles thinker with a strong sense of ownership over your research projects and a drive to see them through to completion. - A strong coder, comfortable with going deep into the engineering stack to build, debug, and ship your own models. - A curious, problem-oriented mind, excited to dive into the emerging field at the intersection of AI, physics, chemistry, and biology and make foundational contributions and discoveries. No prior experience in biology or chemistry is necessary – only willingness to learn. - A true team player with strong communication skills who thrives in highly collaborative, mission-driven environments where science and engineering are deeply intertwined. - Inspired by our culture of intellectual curiosity and the shared belief that breakthroughs happen when diverse perspectives and minds unite. ## Nice to have's - PhD in machine learning, computer science, other computational sciences or equivalent research experience, demonstrated by a strong publication record. - Hands-on experience with Pytorch, Pytorch Lightning, Ray Distributed Training, Pytorch Geometric, etc. - Experience in distributed training and inference of large models on GPU clusters. - Familiarity with molecular data, (proteins, small molecules), physics-informed ML, or 3D point cloud data. Compensation, Benefits, and Perks - Competitive compensation package that includes salary and equity. - Comprehensive health benefits: Medical, Dental, and Vision (covered 100% for the employees). - 401(k) plan. - Open (unlimited) PTO policy. - Free lunches and dinners at our offices. - Paid family leave (maternity and paternity). - Life and long- and short-term disability insurance. ## About Genesis Molecular AI [Genesis Molecular AI](http://genesis.ml) is pioneering foundation models for molecular AI to unlock a new era of drug design and development. Our generative and predictive AI platform, GEMS (Genesis Exploration of Molecular Space), integrates AI and physics into industry-leading models to generate and optimize drug molecules, including the breakthrough generative diffusion model [Pearl](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251028030745/en/Genesis-Molecular-AI-Unveils-Pearl-a-Field-Leading-Foundation-Model-that-Achieves-Unprecedented-Performance-in-Drug-Protein-Structure-Prediction) for structure prediction. Genesis is backed by premier AI and life science investors, including a16z, NVIDIA, Rock Springs Capital, Menlo Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, and Radical Ventures. Genesis has also signed category-leading AI-pharma deals, the most recent of which was a significant expansion with Incyte (see coverage in [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/innovationrx/2026/05/20/inside-incytes-120-million-ai-for-drug-development-deal/) and [GEN](https://www.genengnews.com/topics/artificial-intelligence/small-molecules-to-big-partnership-incyte-genesis-expand-ai-collaboration-to-1b/)) with a total potential deal value of several billion dollars. Genesis is headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with a fully integrated laboratory in San Diego. We are proud to be an inclusive workplace and an Equal Opportunity Employer. ## About Genesis Molecular AI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Genesis Molecular AI combines frontier AI research with deep drug discovery expertise to develop a proprietary platform (GEMS) that accelerates the design and optimization of small molecule medicines. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B; raised over $300M in total funding) - **Headquarters**: Burlingame, California, United States (with a fully integrated laboratory in San Diego and offices in New York) - **Founded**: Not publicly disclosed (first major funding round – $200M Series B – closed in 2023) - **Founders**: Evan Feinberg Ph.D. (CEO, Co-founder) and Sergey Edunov (Co-founder); other key leaders include Will McCarthy (CTO) and Shifeng Pan Ph.D. (COO) ## Core Business - **Primary Industry**: Biotechnology – AI-powered small molecule drug discovery. - **Target Customers**: Large pharmaceutical partners (B2B) via platform collaborations, plus an internal pipeline of wholly owned drug programs. - **Mission/Purpose**: “Solving the hardest problems in drug discovery to change the landscape of medicine” by creating and scaling domain-specific AI models that integrate physics, chemistry, biology, and software. ## Products & Services - **[GEMS Platform](https://www.genesis.ml/)**: An AI operating system for molecular design. GEMS (Genesis Exploration of Molecular Space) integrates generative and predictive models to accelerate hit identification, lead optimization, and candidate selection. It is deployed for internal pipeline programs and major pharma collaborations. - **[Pearl Foundation Model](https://www.genesis.ml/about)**: A generative foundation model for biomolecular structure prediction (protein-ligand) that demonstrated field-leading performance. Built in collaboration with NVIDIA and trained on large-scale synthetic data. - **Internal Drug Pipeline**: Small molecule inhibitors targeting oncology (e.g., pan-mutant allosteric PIK3CA inhibitors) and immunology (e.g., inflammatory signaling pathways). Programs are in discovery stage approaching development candidate nomination. - **Platform Partnership Model**: “Forward-deployed engineers and scientists” work alongside pharma partners (Gilead, Incyte) to apply GEMS to their targets, with deal structures that include upfront payments, milestones, and data sharing that feeds back into model training. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total funding raised >$300M (including $200M Series B in 2023 co-led by a16z, with participation from Fidelity, BlackRock, NVIDIA’s NVentures, Rock Springs Capital, T. Rowe Price, Radical Ventures, Menlo Ventures). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, BlackRock, NVIDIA (NVentures), Rock Springs Capital, T. Rowe Price, Radical Ventures, Menlo Ventures. Pharma partners: Gilead ($35M upfront, 2024), Incyte ($150M total upfront including equity investment, 2025–2026). - **Growth Signals**: 125 employees (+26.4% YoY); operates in 7 countries; LinkedIn following grew 41.9% in the past year; Pearl model launched to strong benchmarking results; Incyte expanded collaboration with at least 5 additional targets and data for model training. ## Competitive Advantages - **Integration of disciplines**: The company pairs leading AI researchers with world-class drug hunters, co-creating models and medicines in iterative loops. - **Wet-lab flywheel**: In-house lab in San Diego generates experimental data that closes the loop for model training, prediction, and validation – a virtuous cycle that strengthens the platform with every program. - **Partnership data advantage**: Deals with Gilead and Incyte provide significant proprietary experimental data (e.g., Incyte data for training GEMS), creating a moat that is hard for pure-play AI companies to replicate. - **Domain-specific foundation models**: Models like Pearl are purpose-built for small molecule drug discovery, unlike general-purpose generative AI. ## Strategic Focus - **Advancing internal pipeline**: Moving lead programs in oncology (PIK3CA, apoptosis) and immunology toward development candidate nomination. - **Scaling platform partnerships**: Expanding existing collaborations and signing new ones to broaden the impact of GEMS and generate more training data. - **Continuous model improvement**: Investing in next-generation foundation models (e.g., Pearl) and leveraging partner data to stay at the frontier of molecular AI. - **Hiring across AI and drug discovery**: Open roles for machine learning research scientists, software engineers, computational chemists, medicinal chemists, and biologists indicate a focus on scaling both the tech and biology teams. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Described as a “meritocracy of ideas” where the strongest ideas win through evidence and reasoning, not hierarchy. Values include ownership, experimentation, candor with kindness, curiosity, and collaboration across disciplines. - **Work Environment**: Flexible work environment with offices in Burlingame, San Diego, and New York. Daily meals and snacks provided in the office. Ergonomic consulting and equipment available. - **Compensation & Benefits**: Highly competitive compensation including base salary, bonus, and equity. Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance. Open PTO policy, parental leave, 401(k) retirement savings, financial planning resources. - **Impact**: Employees work on some of the hardest problems in drug discovery – applying cutting-edge AI to targets that are canonically undruggable, with the potential to create new treatment options for severe diseases. - **Team Composition**: The company actively hires across AI research, software engineering, molecular simulation, and drug discovery disciplines, fostering an interdisciplinary environment where researchers and drug hunters co-create daily. ## Sources 1. [genesis.ml](https://www.genesis.ml/) 2. [genesis.ml/about](https://www.genesis.ml/about) 3. [genesis.ml/careers](https://www.genesis.ml/careers) 4. [genesis.ml/partners-pipeline](https://www.genesis.ml/partners-pipeline) 5. [LinkedIn - Genesis Molecular AI](https://www.linkedin.com/company/genesis-molecular-ai) ## Other roles at Genesis Molecular AI - [Contract Recruiting Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/contract-recruiting-coordinator-genesis-molecular-ai-san-mateo-jp3t2jz8ff95) — San Mateo, CA - [Manager, New Product Planning](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-new-product-planning-genesis-molecular-ai-san-diego-s9gybtg3hfg8) — San Diego, CA - [ML & Molecular Simulation Scientist](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-molecular-simulation-scientist-genesis-molecular-ai-san-mateo-z7qx94p0vrzb) — San Mateo, CA - [Applied ML Scientist (Staff / Principal)](https://feeny.ai/job/applied-ml-scientist-staff-principal-genesis-molecular-ai-san-mateo-ypytjf6pxab2) — San Mateo, CA - [Fullstack Software Engineer (Senior / Staff)](https://feeny.ai/job/fullstack-software-engineer-senior-staff-genesis-molecular-ai-san-mateo-pap6516adm11) — San Mateo, CA - [Software Engineer - Core Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-core-infrastructure-genesis-molecular-ai-san-mateo-sgbtcj4j76d4) — San Mateo, CA - [Machine Learning Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-infrastructure-engineer-genesis-molecular-ai-san-mateo-a012z1zdp33y) — San Mateo, CA - [Product Management Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/product-management-lead-genesis-molecular-ai-san-mateo-qv16q5s8c4q2) — San Mateo, CA - [ML Research Engineer, Foundation Models (Senior / Staff / Principal)](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-research-engineer-foundation-models-senior-staff-principal-genesis-molecular-7ky449yvkh2y) — San Mateo, CA