Staff Software Engineer, Data Curation at Altos Labs

Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

Altos Labs Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Biotechnology, Life SciencesIndustries

Requirements

  • PhD in Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related quantitative field, or equivalent technical experience
  • Relevant experience in data curation, ontology/knowledge engineering, or data engineering (or equivalent experience) at a biotechnology company
  • Mindset: Prioritize data and business objectives over tools; technology is a means to an end
  • Demonstrably strong Python expertise, particularly in the context of data modeling and processing, with strong skills in both relational (SQL) and graph data stores, and the ability to choose pragmatically between them (e.g., Postgres/Redshift vs. Neo4j/Neptune)
  • Comfortable building pragmatic ETL/ELT workflows in a major cloud (preferably AWS), using orchestration frameworks or AWS-native tools
  • Active user of AI coding editors such as Cursor, with an active interest in designing and building Model Context Protocol (MCP) applications

Responsibilities

  • Curate and harmonize data: Ingest, profile, clean, normalize, and annotate multi-modal research datasets (e.g., genomics/transcriptomics, proteomics, imaging/microscopy, CRISPR screens, assay/instrument metadata). Map to controlled vocabularies and standards; manage identifiers, synonyms, and crosswalks
  • Deliver insights from curated data: Focus on the substance—entities, relationships, and annotations that answer real research and product questions using public domain assets from Ensembl, GEO, PubMed, OMIM, OLS, amongst others. Use pipelines and existing data sources storage pragmatically as tools to deliver content and outcomes
  • Model knowledge to serve decisions: Capture the concepts and links researchers actually use; keep schemas lightweight and purpose-built. Leverage OBO Foundry ontologies; define with LinkML; align to the BioLink/Biolink Model; and integrate/serve with platforms such as BioCypher
  • Quality, governance & AI enablement: Instrument automated checks (tests/expectations), process development to improve data FAIRification, and LLM-assisted validations; capture provenance/lineage; codify SOPs; and work to facilitate the migration of processes from manual → automation → agentic (MCP-integrated) workflows
  • Serve as a key technical liaison between scientific, data science, and engineering teams, translating complex research needs into scalable and maintainable data solutions
  • Define and evangelize best practices for data and knowledge engineering across the organization, mentoring junior team members and building reusable, AI-enhanced, enterprise-level components

Skills

AI agents
LLM
Data Engineering
Knowledge Engineering
Data Curation
Data Ingestion
Data Cleaning
Data Normalization
Data Annotation
Genomics
Transcriptomics
Proteomics
Imaging
Microscopy
CRISPR screens
Controlled Vocabularies
Pipelines
Ensembl
GEO
PubMed

Altos Labs

Biotechnology focused on cell rejuvenation research

About Altos Labs

Altos Labs specializes in biotechnology with a focus on cell rejuvenation, aiming to restore cell health and resilience to reverse diseases and injuries. Their approach involves cellular rejuvenation programming, which enhances cells' ability to resist stressors that can lead to illness. Unlike competitors, Altos Labs emphasizes research and collaboration with other institutions to develop effective treatments. The company's goal is to improve patients' quality of life through breakthrough therapies.

Los Altos, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2021Year Founded
$3,180.8MTotal Funding
EARLY_VCCompany Stage
Biotechnology, HealthcareIndustries
501-1,000Employees

Risks

Ethical concerns about lifespan extension may lead to regulatory challenges.
Intensifying competition in the biotechnology sector could dilute market share.
High expectations from financial backers may pressure the company to deliver quickly.

Differentiation

Altos Labs focuses on cellular rejuvenation to reverse diseases and improve health.
The company integrates computational biology and CRISPR technology for innovative solutions.
Altos Labs collaborates with leading scientists, including Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna.

Upsides

Significant funding of $270 million supports Altos Labs' research and development efforts.
The economic potential of increased life expectancy is recognized as a major opportunity.
Collaborations with tech industry veterans accelerate innovation and commercialization.

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