Senior Scientist / Principal Scientist – AI for Life Sciences (CDD/FTC)
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AI Summary
About us
Owkin is an AI company on a mission to solve the complexity of biology. It is building the first Biology Super Intelligence (BASI) by combining powerful biological large language models, multimodal patient data, and agentic software. At the heart of this system is Owkin K, an AI copilot and its new LLM fine-tuned on biology called Owkin Zero, used by researchers, clinicians, and drug developers to better understand biology, validate scientific hypotheses, and deliver better diagnostics and therapies faster.
Position is based in our Paris offices or remotely in France, UK, or Germany.
Please submit your CV in English
About the role:
We are seeking a highly motivated, hands-on Scientist to join our team on a fixed-term basis to accelerate our AI-driven drug discovery programs. You will operate at the cutting edge of Agentic AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), applying these technologies to solve complex biological challenges in Oncology or Age-Related Diseases. As an AI for Life Sciences at Owkin you will use your expertise to ensure the biological relevance of our AI models and tools by selecting the right datasets, features (data-driven, AI-based and expert-based), and visualizations. Your key responsibilities include designing in silico analysis plans, conducting target/asset identification and evaluation. The role also emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, including liaising between researchers and data scientists. The position works closely with scientific and project leads, facilitating seamless communication, ensuring biological accuracy, and driving innovation.
In particular, you will:
Lead AI-Driven Discovery & Strategy
Actively participate in the Target ID and analysis plan, perform rigorous triage of target candidates and ideas, transitioning from high-volume AI outputs to high-quality biological leads, and ensuring efficient workflows and feedback.
Conduct Deep-Dives on top-tier Target/asset candidates to bring them to formal "go/no-go" milestones.
Collaborate with internal technical experts to leverage advanced computational and AI methodologies for subgroups identification, thereby uncovering novel patient populations and therapeutic niches.
Act as the Internal Champion for specific targets, presenting evidence to stakeholders and steering the project through the development funnel.
Orchestrate autonomous or semi-autonomous AI workflows to generate, test, and refine hypotheses (design and execute ‘AI Scientist Campaigns’).
Participate in In Silico Drug Design discussions, acting as the bridge between computational outputs and chemistry/biology teams.
Ensure biological relevance of our AI Models & Agents (including Owkin K)
Develop and refine functional "skills" for Agentic AI systems (e.g., tool-calling functions, and specialized reasoning chains).
Work closely with data science / compBio teams to define and optimize scoring functions and multi-parameter optimization weights for target/ assets candidate prioritization.
Ensure liaison between users and product owners/developers by gathering feedback, prioritizing needs, aligning score metrics with research objectives and following ground truth definitions.
Support consistent evaluation of outputs across model versions.
Documentation and Cross-functional Support
Maintain clear and updated documentation across projects.
Manage collaborations with top-tier academic labs to integrate external innovation and validate internal models.
Support data mapping and integration efforts while ensuring the alignment of data usage with research questions.
Partner with project managers and principal scientists to execute deliverables and communicate findings effectively.
Critically review work products from outsourced tasks and internal AI-generated outputs.
Direct and oversee outsourced laboratory work, ensuring data quality and alignment with AI-driven hypotheses.
About you
Required:
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences or related fields required
Deep knowledge in Oncology and/or Age-Related Diseases.
Experience in industry, and especially in applying AI to Life Sciences and/or Drug Discovery and translating abstract AI potential into concrete drug discovery milestones.
Strong expertise in target discovery, and pipeline management, coupled with comprehension of the crucial steps of target validation.
Capability to manage internal AI workflows with minimal supervision.
Excellent communication and management skills in cross-disciplinary environments and complex scientific projects, with the ability to present research succinctly to diverse audiences..
Familiarity with LLMs and Agentic AI frameworks
Curiosity: You are driven to understand how components fit together within a complex system.
Thriving in dynamic environments where rapid iteration is key.
Capable of interacting effectively across diverse interfaces of discipline, culture, and expertise.
Fluency in English is mandatory.
Must be available to start quickly and commit to a fixed-term contract.
Preferred qualifications/bonus skills:
Demonstrated success in using semi-automated workflows for target prioritization.
Hands-on experience with translational datasets, clinical insights, and safety assessments.
Experience in multi-OMICS
Prior experience managing Contract Research Organizations (CROs) for wet-lab validation.
Biologics Expertise: Specific experience with Antibodies (Ab) or Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) is a desired plus.
External ref: #LI-HB1
What we offer
Flexible work organization
Friendly and informal working environment
Opportunity to work with an international team with high technical and scientific backgrounds
Recruitment Process & Security
Please complete the form and submit your CV.
Owkin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status or on the basis of disability.
Owkin is a great place to work. As a coveted workplace we are, unfortunately, vulnerable to recruitment phishing scams. We urge all job seekers and candidates to be wary of potential scams. Most of these have individuals posing as representatives of prominent companies, including Owkin, with the aim of obtaining personal, sensitive, or financial information from applicants. These scams prey upon an individual’s desire to obtain a job and can sometimes “feel” like a genuine recruitment process. Some red flags are identified below. Should you encounter a recruitment process that claims to be for Owkin but is not consistent with the below, please do not provide any personal or financial information:
Legitimate Owkin recruitment processes include communication with candidates through recognized professional networks, such as LinkedIn.
Communication is always through an official Owkin email address (from the @owkin.com domain), over the phone or through our applicant tracking system (Greenhouse).
The Owkin talent team do use platforms such as LinkedIn and Job Teaser, however if you have any concern or doubt about this contact, please ask for them to send an email from @Owkin.com.
The Owkin talent team will not solicit personal data from candidates during the application phase including, but not limited to, date of birth, social security numbers, or bank account information;
Legitimate Owkin interviews may be conducted over the phone, in person, or via an approved enterprise videoconferencing service (Google Meets). They will not occur via Signal, Telegram or Messenger
Owkin offers of employment are based on merit and only extended once a candidate has interviewed with members of the talent and hiring team. Offers will be extended both verbally and in written format.
If you think that you have been a victim of fraud,
Check the identity of the talent team on LinkedIn
Check our senior team on our website https://owkin.com/team/
Check the existence of the position on our website: https://www.owkin.com/careers#current-opportunities
Notify Owkin's recruitment unit at this address hiring@owkin.com
contact the following authorities:
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