Senior Scientist Ensemble Function Mapping
Astera Institute is an active nonprofit research institute and foundation that operates in-house neuroscience-informed AI research and funds, operates, and supports open-science programs and public goods.
About Astera Institute
Astera operates three divisions: Neuro-AI, Radial life-sciences research, and its Foundation. Its AI work pursues neuroscience-informed approaches to artificial general intelligence, while its foundation and Radial activities support open scientific infrastructure, datasets, research programs, and residencies.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will lead research connecting conformational ensembles to protein function. You will direct predictions of allosteric coupling, catalytic efficiency, and binding specificity; manage and mentor scientists; set strategy; coordinate with modeling teams; and build and validate platforms and analysis pipelines for structural data.
Requirements
- PhD in a relevant area
- At least 4 years of work experience
- Experience managing a team of scientists
- Background in computational biophysics connecting protein structure or dynamics to function
- Experience with machine learning approaches linking protein structure to function
- Experience with X-ray, EM, NMR, or HDX-MS structural data
- Clear communication with modelers, experimentalists, and external collaborators
- Working knowledge of multiple experimental structural biology methods
- Knowledge of allostery, conformational selection, and binding specificity
Responsibilities
- Lead research connecting conformational ensembles to protein function
- Direct scientific work on allosteric coupling, catalytic efficiency, and binding specificity
- Manage, mentor, and recruit scientists
- Determine strategy and prioritize approaches, systems, and science
- Partner with modeling and encoding teams to ensure project cohesion
- Build and validate platforms and analysis pipelines for structural data and functional predictions
Benefits
- Health insurance with 99% of premiums covered for employees and dependents
- Daily lunch
- Stocked fridge and pantry
- Licenses for frontier AI tools and software
- 403(b) retirement plan
- Flexible paid time off
- Paid parental leave
- Commuter benefits
- Health and dependent care FSAs
- Visa sponsorship
- Relocation packages may be considered