Back to jobs

Staff/Sr Staff AI Research Engineer

Brisbane, California, United States · London, England, United Kingdom / Remote · Seattle, Washington, United States · South San Francisco, California, United States

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 Xaira Therapeutics

Xaira Therapeutics is an integrated biotechnology company driving advances in artificial intelligence to learn the language of life and transform how we treat disease. The company seeks to rethink the drug discovery and development process from end-to-end by bringing together leading talent across three core areas: machine learning research to better understand biology, expansive data generation to power new models, and robust therapeutic product development to treat disease. Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced AI Research Engineer to join our team and lead some of our efforts in building the AI powered future of drug discovery. As a senior member of our interdisciplinary group, you will collaborate closely with AI scientists, other engineers, and drug discovery experts to help develop AI models to accelerate the identification and development of novel therapeutics. This role offers a unique opportunity to leverage cutting-edge AI techniques to address pressing challenges in healthcare and contribute to improving human health globally.

Key Responsibilities

  • Drive the development of state-of-the-art AI models for drug discovery tasks, leveraging deep learning frameworks.
  • Scale distributed training of large AI models on GPUs.
  • Profile and optimize AI models in training and inference contexts.
  • Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI, machine learning and proactively identify opportunities for innovation and improvement.
  • Contribute to technical documentation, reports, and presentations to communicate findings, methodologies, and insights clearly and effectively.
  • Provide deep technical leadership on the development and optimization of core AI models that power our drug discovery efforts. 

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related fields.
  • 7+ years of industry experience in AI, machine learning, or related roles, with a track record of successfully implementing and deploying AI models in production environments.
  • Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, C++ and deep expertise with frameworks such as PyTorch/Jax
  • Strong understanding of deep learning fundamentals, including neural network architectures, optimization techniques, and evaluation metrics.
  • Experience in distributed training and inference of large scale AI models on thousands of GPUs using DDP, FSDP etc
  • Experience with performance optimization of large scale AI  models
  • Effective communication and collaboration abilities, with the capacity to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary team environment.
  • Experience solving complex problems and comparing alternative solutions, tradeoffs, and diverse points of view to determine a path forward.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Publication track record at conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, etc.
  • Experience working and communicating cross-functionally on an interdisciplinary team.
  • Experience with different GPU architectures, cloud environments and investigating tradeoffs
  • Experience with low level hardware optimization and with custom CUDA kernels
  • Contributions to open source projects

Benefits

  • Opportunity to make a meaningful impact by contributing to groundbreaking research at the intersection of AI and healthcare.
  • Competitive compensation package, including salary, bonuses, and benefits.
  • Professional development opportunities, including access to conferences, workshops, and training programs.
  • A collaborative and inclusive work culture that values diversity, creativity, and continuous learning.
  • Chance to work with and develop cutting-edge technologies and contribute to projects with significant societal benefit.

If you are a motivated individual with a passion for applying AI to advance drug discovery and improve human health, we encourage you to apply and join us in our mission to make a positive difference in the world.

Compensation
We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, seeking to provide an open, flexible, and friendly work environment to empower employees and provide them with a platform to develop their long-term careers. A Summary of Benefits is available for all applicants. We offer a competitive package that includes base salary, bonus, and equity. The base pay range for this position is expected to be $200,000 - $280,000 annually; however, the base pay offered may vary depending on the market, job-related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience.

Xaira Therapeutics an equal-opportunity employer. We believe that our strength is in our differences. Our goal to build a diverse and inclusive team began on day one, and it will never end.

TO ALL RECRUITMENT AGENCIES: Xaira Therapeutics does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or employees. Xaira Therapeutics is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

By submitting this application, you acknowledge that your personal data will be used for recruitment purposes by Xaira Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation, located at 1400 Sierra Point Parkway, Suite 300, Brisbane, CA 94005 (“Xaira Therapeutics”). Please see Xaira Therapeutics’ privacy policy at https://www.xaira.com/privacy-policy for further details.

 

APPLICANT PRIVACY NOTICE

 

This Applicant Privacy Notice (the “Notice’’) sets out the basis on which Xaira Therapeutics, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our”) will Process the Personal Data of job applicants (the “Applicants”, “you”).

Please read this Privacy Statement carefully because it explains important information about the Processing of your Personal Data by Company, including your rights with respect to your Personal Data.

Xaira Therapeutics, Inc. located at 1400 Sierra Point Parkway, Suite 300, Brisbane, CA 94005 is the controller for the processing of your Personal Data as described in this Notice. If you have any questions regarding this Notice, please contact info@xaira.com.

 

  1. What is covered by this Notice

This Notice applies to the Processing of Personal Data. For the purpose of this Privacy Statement, “Personal Data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable person, and “Processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on that Personal Data.

Within the category of Personal Data, are “special categories of personal data”, which require a greater degree of protection while Processing. This includes data on: physical and mental health, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, trade union membership, religious beliefs, sexual life and genetic and biometric data.

  1. Personal Data that Company Processes about Applicants

Company may collect the following categories of Personal Data, directly from Applicants:

  • Contact details: including name, mailing address, e-mail address and phone number;
  • Information you provide in your CV or on an application form: including your education, professional and training history, and details of any other relevant skills, such as language capability;
  • Any other information you choose to share with Company, including in your CV or cover letter;
  • As appropriate, copies of certificates, diplomas or other documentation verifying the information you provide to us;
  • Correspondence and other communications, when we communicate with you via a contact form on our website, email, phone or other means;
  • Information captured as part of the application process, including interview notes and internal communications; and
  • Right to work information: information required to confirm your right to work in the country in which you will be employed, including as appropriate your nationality, national identity number and passport details.

We may also collect information from third parties, including:

  • References, from professional referees on request;
  • Information provided to us by recruitment agencies or other referring parties; and
  • Information made publicly available by you via LinkedIn.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Company may compile Personal Data about an Applicant obtained through a background check.

We also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical data

  1. How long we store your Personal Data

We keep your data as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Notice, or for so long as we are required to do so by law or in order to comply with a legal obligation.

  1. Purpose and Legal Bases for the Data Processing

Company Processes Applicant Personal Data for the following purposes:

  • negotiating and communicating with you in relation to your application;
  • reviewing your suitability for joining Company, seeking references and conducting any appropriate checks;
  • undertaking efficiency and recruitment efficacy analytics;
  • workforce planning;
  • candidate prospecting;
  • preventing illegal working; and
  • carrying out equal opportunities monitoring.

We Process Applicant Personal Data on the basis of several legal justifications:

  • For Contractual Purposes: Company and applicants are working together with a view to potentially entering into a contractual relationship. For successful Applicants, Company will make a formal offer of employment that will generally require the preparation of contractual terms.
  • For our Legitimate Interests: Company has a legitimate interest in hiring people who are suitable to work at Company, communicating with you, workforce planning and improving and monitoring the application process. In such use cases, the privacy risks to the individuals impacted must be sufficiently outweighed by Company’s legitimate business interests.
  • To Fulfill a Legal Obligation: Certain laws and regulations may require Company to Process the Personal Data of Applicants in order to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, including checking Applicants have a right to work in the jurisdiction in which they are applying for a position.
  • Your Consent:  To the extent that none of the foregoing legal bases apply, we may ask, in limited circumstances, for your express written consent to Process your Personal Data, including to keep you updated on other positions you may be interested in. You can withdraw your consent at any time and free of charge by contacting info@xaira.com. We will apply your preferences going forward and this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent withdrawal.

Company may also Process “special categories of personal data” but only where that Processing is required by law or where it is in the public interest (such as data on race or ethnicity for equal opportunity measures or diversity and inclusion initiatives). In limited circumstances Company may seek your explicit consent to process such data. It is not, however, a condition of your contract that you agree to any such request by us.

  1. How we share your Personal Data

For the purposes set out in Section 4 above, Company may share your Personal Data with other parties.

  •   Affiliates: Company may share your Personal Data with affiliates of Company, such as Xaira UK Limited.
  •   Service providers: Other recipients of your Personal Data include our service providers who perform services on our behalf such as recruitment service providers, IT companies or service providers, cloud processors, security companies and other service providers appointed by Company from time to time.
  •   Controllers: We may also share your Personal Data with other parties who provide products or services to us, such as our head hunters and banks. These third parties will also be data controllers of your Personal Data, which will be Processed in accordance with the third party’s privacy policy.
  •   Business transaction: If Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, financing due diligence, reorganisation, bankruptcy, receivership, sale of company assets, or transition of service to another provider, your Personal Data may be transferred including as part of any due diligence process.
  •   Legal: Information including Personal Data may be disclosed to law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, public authorities or pursuant to the exercise of legal proceedings if we are legally required to do so, or if we believe, in good faith, that such disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation or request, to enforce contractual terms, to prevent or resolve security or technical issues, or to protect the rights, property or safety of Company, our employees, a third party, or the public.
  1. How we transfer your Personal Data

If you reside in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or the UK, your Personal Data may be transferred outside of the EEA or the UK, to countries that may not offer an equivalent level of protection for your Personal Data, including to the United States.  Regardless of where your Personal Data is transferred, we shall ensure that relevant safeguards are in place to afford your information adequate protection and we will comply with applicable data protection laws, in particular by relying on an EU or UK adequacy decision, or on contractual protections for the transfer of your Personal Data. Further details regarding the relevant safeguards can be obtained from us on request be contacting us as described at this top of this Notice.

  1. Personal Data Rights of Applicants

Depending on your geographic location and the data privacy laws in your country, state or region, you may have the right to:

  •     access the Personal Data we hold about you;
  •     request we correct any inaccurate Personal Data we hold about you;
  •     request we delete any Personal Data we hold about you;
  •     restrict the processing of Personal Data we hold about you;
  •     object to the processing of Personal Data we hold about you; and/or
  •     receive any Personal Data we hold about you in a structured and commonly used machine readable format or have such Personal Data transmitted to another company.

To exercise any of your rights or choices in connection with your Personal Data, please contact us using the information at the top of this Notice. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests. In addition, we may have valid legal reasons to refuse your request and will inform you if that is the case. Note that applicable laws contain certain exceptions and limitations to each of these rights.

  1. Complaints

If you wish to lodge a complaint about how we process your Personal Data, please contact us at info@xaira.com. We will endeavor to respond to your complaint as soon as possible. In addition, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, including in your country of residence, place of work, or where you believe an incident took place.

  1. Security

We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect the Personal Data you provide or we collect against accidental, unlawful or unauthorised destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use.

  1. Changes and updates to this Notice

We may update this Notice from time to time. We advise you to consult this Notice on a regular basis to ensure you stay informed of any such amendments.

If we make material changes, we will let you know via email or a prominent notice on this page, prior to the change becoming effective.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Xaira Therapeutics’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.