Bioinformatics Engineer

At LatchBio, we are transforming how biological research is conducted. As laboratory automation, high-throughput assays, and machine learning converge, we are building the cloud infrastructure that enables scientists to store, visualize, and analyze data seamlessly. More than fifty biotechnology companies already rely on LatchBio to accelerate discovery—from drug development to bioproduction.

We are seeking a Bioinformatics Engineer to collaborate with customers and migrate their bioinformatics infrastructure onto Latch. You will design and implement scalable workflows, translate complex scientific problems into robust computational solutions, and help shape the future of bioinformatics tooling on our platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with scientists to understand experimental goals and translate them into scalable, cloud-based workflows.
• Build and maintain reproducible pipelines for diverse assays using frameworks such as Nextflow, Snakemake, or Latch.
• Analyze and visualize biological data using R and Python, producing interpretable and actionable results.
• Diagnose and resolve technical issues across data, workflows, and infrastructure to ensure reliable performance.
• Partner with product and engineering teams to enhance platform capabilities and streamline bioinformatics tooling.
• Rapidly learn new experimental modalities (e.g., spatial ATAC-seq, single-nucleus RNA-seq) and emerging computational methods.
• What biological questions does this assay answer?
• Why are the results necessary to biologists? What steps are performed in the lab to carry out this assay? How can variation in each step skew our results? 
• What alternative experiments give similar results, and what are the tradeoffs between options?

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in statistics, linear algebra, and algorithmic reasoning, with an understanding of the methods underlying bioinformatics tools.
• Experience developing and maintaining bioinformatics pipelines for sequencing or other biological data.
• Proficiency in Python, R, and workflow orchestration frameworks (Nextflow, Snakemake, Latch).
• Familiarity with machine learning or LLM-based methods for biological analysis is advantageous.
• Working knowledge of software engineering practices, including testing, documentation, and version control.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to interface effectively with scientists and engineers.
• Curiosity, adaptability, and motivation to learn across diverse biological domains.

Ideal Candidate

You are a scientifically fluent engineer who bridges experimentation and computation. You work independently, communicate clearly, and take ownership of end-to-end solutions. You thrive in dynamic environments, enjoy debugging complex systems, and are energized by helping scientists accelerate their research.

Not a Good Fit If

• You prefer to work solely on programming tasks without customer interaction.
• You seek deep specialization in one field rather than exposure to diverse biological domains.
• You are uninterested in understanding the scientific and mathematical principles behind computational tools.

Benefits:

• Unlimited PTO policy
• $5,000 signing bonus
• $3,000 bonus for each new hire you originally source
• Every lunch and dinner is paid for
• 100% premium covered on Blue Shield’s platinum health plan ($0 premium, $0 deductible) and 75% premium coverage for dependents. 100% coverage for top-tier Guardian dental and vision plans.
• Ambitious equity incentives
• 401(k) plan options
• Company-sponsored professional development
• Work visa sponsorship
• Team-wide science reading groups

About the Team:

• We are working on huge problems at the most important intersection in history: biology and computation. We are building a team of world-class people, and we are all eager to dedicate a substantial part of our life to solving these problems.
• The undertaking has a non-trivial risk of failing. But if we succeed we will hugely accelerate scientific progress and aid the creation of therapies for cancer, solutions to global warming, and cures for aging.
• We work five days per week in person in San Francisco

Who You’ll Work With the Most:

• The Bioinformatics / Customer Success Team: Zhen, Harihara
• The Product Team: Hannah and Nathan
• The Software Engineering Team: Aidan, Max, Ayush, Ryan, and Tim
• Our BD Team: Kassem
• The Founders & Chief of Staff: Alfredo, Kyle, Kenny, Jordan

You can learn more about us at any of these places!

• About Us
• Website
• Twitter Page
• Blog

How to Apply

Submit a quick application here on our Greenhouse posting: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/latchbio/jobs/4978422008

Our hiring process consists of a few quick-moving steps, which should take no more than three weeks:

• Round 0: Apply with a resume and cover letter
• Round 1: Alfredo (CEO)
• Round 2: Brief take-home assignment
• Round 3: Kenny (CTO), Zhen (Bioinformatics), and Harihara (Bioinformatics)
• Round 4: Onsite paid work trial ($1500) for three days to meet the rest of the team