Staff Machine Learning Scientist, Agentic AI

POSITION SUMMARY

Natera is seeking a Staff Machine Learning Scientist – Agentic AI to join our AI team. The role bridges molecular discovery and clinical execution, leveraging a proprietary data moat of over 250,000 oncology patients profiled with longitudinal ctDNA, WES/WGS, digital pathology, and EMR data.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Leverage multi-agent systems for autonomous hypothesis generation and tool use, including genomic variant calling, LLM fine-tuning, and clinical trial matching pipelines
• Incorporate and advance Natera’s transformer-based foundation model by integrating DNA, RNA, and H&E imaging modalities for multi-step biological reasoning and tool use
• Implement advanced LLM reasoning frameworks, such as ReAct and Chain-of-Thought, alongside reinforcement fine-tuning (RFT) to ensure agents provide accurate, explainable clinical rationales
• Architect systems that autonomously translate complex, multi-modal data into diagnostic and therapeutic insights with human-verifiable reasoning and tracing
• Own the technical strategy and product roadmap for agentic workflows across the Biopharma Solutions and Therapeutics Discovery division, converting complex clinical challenges into scalable AI systems
• Establish production-grade machine learning engineering standards and reproducible architectures across the AI team to ensure absolute model transparency and scientific auditability
• Drive cross-functional alignment and technical consensus by defending agentic architectures and biological reasoning frameworks in rigorous peer reviews

QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD or Master's degree in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Statistics, or a related quantitative field
• 8 or more years of experience in AI research or engineering, with a proven track record of moving multi-agent orchestration architectures or large-scale language model workflows from prototype to production
• Deep experience with agentic frameworks, such as LangChain or Claude Agent SDK, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and validation frameworks for autonomous AI agents
• Strong understanding of cancer genomics (WES/WTS), mutational signatures, and structure-activity relationships
• Advanced production-level development experience using PyTorch and experience with distributed training on large GPU clusters, including NVIDIA H100s

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Ability to operate with absolute ownership to close operational gaps and independently drive architectural deployment
• Data-driven decision-making focused on empirical model performance and clinical validity
• Technical leadership capability to define long-term AI engineering roadmaps
• Rigor in code architecture, reproducibility, and production-grade software engineering practices
• Comfort with high intellectual friction and the ability to defend scientific and engineering choices under rigorous internal peer review
• Focus on translating machine learning outcomes directly into patient-centric clinical utility

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive Benefits - Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents
• Pregnancy and baby bonding leave
• 401k benefits
• Commuter benefits
• Free testing for employees and their immediate families
• Fertility care benefits
• Employee referral program

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