Jobs · Analyst · California

Senior Scientist, Cardiac Modeling

insitro · South San Francisco, CA · 1 wk ago
On-siteAnalyst$156k–$166k/yrFull-time

About the role

The Senior Scientist will join our cardiac disease biology team, focusing on the development and application of iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte (iPSC-CM) models to study the genetic and molecular underpinnings of cardiovascular disease. This role involves working at the intersection of human stem cell biology, cardiac physiology, and scalable experimental platforms.

Responsibilities

  • Ipsc-CM Platform & Model Development: Lead the generation, characterization, and maintenance of iPSC lines and their differentiation into cardiomyocytes, with rigorous quality control at each stage of the pipeline.

  • 2D & 3D Formats: Design, implement, and optimize iPSC-CM assays in both 2D monolayer and 3D/engineered heart tissue (EHT) formats, with a focus on scalability and data quality.

  • Genetic Disease Models: Build and apply isogenic iPSC-CM disease models — including CRISPR-edited lines carrying disease-associated variants — to study cardiovascular pathophysiology.

  • Functional Assays & Disease Modeling: Develop readouts of cardiomyocyte biology relevant to disease — contractility, electrophysiology, calcium handling, stress responses — in formats compatible with high-throughput data acquisition.

  • Rigor & Reproducibility: Drive documentation, SOPs, and data standards that ensure reproducible, publication-quality results across the cardiac biology platform.

  • ML & Cross-functional Partnership: Partner with ML and computational biology teams to design experiments that generate high-quality training data and to interpret model outputs in biological context.

  • Target Identification: Contribute to target identification and validation efforts by connecting cellular phenotypes to human genetic evidence.

  • Scientific Leadership: Mentor junior scientists and technicians, and contribute to a collaborative, scientifically rigorous team culture.

Qualifications

  • Advanced Degree: Ph.D. in cell biology, biomedical engineering, cardiac physiology, or a related field, with at least 3 years of industry experience.

  • iPSC-CM Expertise: Deep hands-on experience in iPSC culture, cardiac directed differentiation, and iPSC-CM characterization across both 2D and 3D/EHT platforms.

  • Genetic Disease Modeling: Track record building and applying genetic iPSC-CM disease models — patient-derived lines, CRISPR-edited isogenic pairs — to study cardiovascular mechanisms.

  • Cardiovascular Biology: Strong foundational knowledge of cardiomyocyte biology and cardiovascular disease.

  • High-Content Imaging: Experience with high-content imaging and/or automated microscopy platforms, including image analysis pipelines.

  • Human Genetics: Familiarity with GWAS and human genetic evidence, and experience using these data to prioritize disease mechanisms or therapeutic targets.

  • Scientific Communication: Track record of executing rigorous experiments and communicating findings clearly in publications, presentations, or internal reports.

Core Competencies

  • ML Curiosity: Enthusiastic about working alongside ML scientists and understanding how experimental design shapes what a model can learn.

  • Builder Mentality: Thrives building systems from the ground up and brings the same rigor to a new workflow as to a published experiment.

  • Cross-functional Collaborator: Works fluidly across biology, computation, and chemistry, and communicates clearly across disciplines.

  • Independent & Adaptive: Drives projects forward independently in a fast-paced environment while staying aligned with team priorities.

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