Computational Scientist, Origin and Evolution of Life

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Location: Cambridge, MA
Start Date: Immediate
Position Type: Full-time

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About the Role

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We're seeking a creative computational scientist to tackle fundamental questions about how life began and evolved on Earth. This is a research position where you'll use our AI-accelerated platform to explore deep questions in chemical evolution, prebiotic chemistry, and early biochemistry. You'll lead focused research projects within the broader origins of life domain, and collaborate with our talented group of research engineers that will help onboard and develop new technologies to aid in the project goals.

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The questions you could explore are diverse: How did catalysts emerge from prebiotic chemistry? What drove the evolution of enzymatic specificity? Can we reconstruct the chemical networks that preceded modern biochemistry? How do thermodynamic constraints shape the emergence of complex chemical systems? You'll identify the specific questions that align with your expertise and interests, then pursue them with the intellectual freedom of academic research combined with the computational firepower of an AI-first chemistry platform.

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What You'll Do

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• Define and execute focused research projects addressing specific questions within origins of life, chemical evolution, and enzyme evolution

• Leverage our AI/ML platform alongside traditional computational methods to generate novel insights in your chosen research area

• Apply your expertise (whether in phylogenetics, chemical networks, thermodynamics, ML, or other domains) to push forward our understanding of life's emergence

• Publish first-author papers in high-impact journals and present findings at conferences

• Collaborate with our ML and computational chemistry teams to develop new tools and methods as your research demands

• Contribute to grant proposals and help shape our research agenda in origins of life science

• Participate in the broader scientific discourse through seminars, workshops, and engagement with the research community

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What We're Looking For

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Essential Experience

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• PhD in computational biology, computational chemistry, systems biology, chemical engineering, or related field

• Strong publication record demonstrating independent research capability

• Deep expertise in at least one of the following domains:

  • Chemical reaction network modeling and analysis

  • AI/ML methods (especially for biological or chemical applications)

  • Computational biochemistry or computational chemistry (QM/MD, reaction or catalysis modeling)

  • Evolutionary modeling (phylogenetics, ancestral reconstruction, population genetics)

  • Non-equilibrium thermodynamics, statistical physics, or disordered systems

• Proficiency in Python or similar scientific computing languages

• Experience with large-scale data analysis and computational workflows

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Highly Preferred

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• Track record of interdisciplinary research bridging multiple domains (chemistry, biology, computation)

• Experience with protein sequence analysis, structure prediction, or enzyme characterization

• Familiarity with prebiotic chemistry, origins of life research, or astrobiology

• Knowledge of machine learning applications to molecular systems

• Experience with high-throughput computational experiments and pipeline development

• Background in metabolic network analysis or systems biology

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Essential Qualities

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• Intellectually Curious: You're driven by fundamental questions and excited to explore problems at the boundaries of chemistry, biology, and computation

• Scientific Independence: You can formulate research questions, design experiments, and drive projects to publication with minimal supervision

• Methodological Flexibility: You're comfortable learning new computational tools and approaches as research questions demand

• Collaborative: You actively engage with colleagues across disciplines and can translate between the languages of chemistry, biology, and ML

• Rigorous: You care deeply about reproducibility, statistical validation, and scientific integrity

• Mission-Driven: You're genuinely excited about understanding how life emerged and evolved, not just building tools

 

Apply

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Send your resume or CV, a cover letter describing your research interests and what fundamental questions in origins of life excite you most, and links to your most relevant publications (or preprints) to careers@dayhofflabs.com.