Postdoctoral Researcher in Biological Design (Hsu Lab) at Arc Institute, Palo Alto
Job Description
Arc Institute’s Hsu Lab in Palo Alto is hiring postdoctoral researchers in biological design, to create new technologies for programming biology, from recombinases and CRISPR systems to AI-designed molecules, synthetic peptides and microbiome engineering.
At a glance
- Role: Postdoctoral Researcher, Biological Design, Hsu Lab
- Where: Palo Alto, California, USA
- Pay: Minimum base salary US$80,000 a year, set by months of postdoctoral experience
- Level: MD, PhD or equivalent in a life sciences or engineering field
- Apply: open until filled (re-checked 12 October 2026)
About the Hsu Lab postdoc
- Design, execute and analyse experiments, taking end-to-end ownership of a project within the lab’s focus, with guidance from the PI and growing independence
- Work on one of the lab’s current frontiers: molecules that modulate physiology (for example sleep, appetite or energy) using in silico, in vitro or in vivo approaches; rejuvenating the immune system and barrier tissues such as skin in ageing; or new programmable molecular tools for synthetic biology and AI-guided perturbation of cells
- Publish first-author papers, present at national and international conferences, and build collaborations across Arc, Stanford and beyond
- Mentor research associates, technicians and students, and contribute to lab operations and Arc-wide seminars and symposia
The lab’s recent work includes bridge recombinases, large serine recombinases, CRISPR systems and AI-designed molecular systems, and it also mines metagenomic sequence space with AI towards generative genome design and a virtual cell.
Arc postdocs are encouraged to lead ambitious, independent projects and can draw on shared platforms for genomics, single-cell technologies, synthetic biology, computation and experimental model systems across Arc and its partner universities.
What Arc Institute is looking for
- A doctorate (MD, PhD or equivalent) in a relevant life sciences or engineering field
- A record of creative, high-impact research, shown by publications, patents, tools or software
- Comfort, or eagerness to become comfortable, working across wet-lab experiments and computational modelling
- Excellent written and spoken communication, and the ability to think independently while collaborating closely
Pay and location
Arc lists a minimum base salary of US$80,000 a year for this postdoc. The actual base salary depends on how many months of relevant postdoctoral experience the successful candidate has, and Arc says it is not negotiable. The role is based at Arc’s Palo Alto headquarters.
How to apply
Apply through the official Arc Institute job posting. Arc Institute’s posting does not give a closing date, so the role is open until filled; ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 12 October 2026. Check the posting for location and work-authorisation details before you apply.
See all our postdoctoral fellowships, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Arc Institute
Official advertisement: job-boards.greenhouse.io
How to prepare for this application
- Know the lab's tools: read the lab's work on bridge recombinases and CRISPR systems so you can discuss how they might be extended.
- Pitch a project: arrive with one concrete idea that fits a stated frontier, such as physiological control or tissue rejuvenation.
- Bridge wet and dry: give an example where computation guided an experiment, or the reverse.
- Show independence: Arc wants postdocs who set direction; describe a project you conceived.
- Publications: be ready to walk through your strongest first-author paper.
About Arc Institute
Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organisation working at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, it partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, and gives its scientists long-term philanthropic funding with industry-like resources. Its two institute-wide initiatives are building a virtual cell model and mapping the causes of Alzheimer's disease, and more than 300 people work at its headquarters.
