Modeling Engineer/Scientist (Contract-to-Hire)
Explicitly mentions AI-assisted coding (vibe coding) and agentic workflows; uses AI tools to support model development and analysis.
About the Role
Fulcrum Neuroscience seeks a hands-on Modeling Engineer/Scientist to extend and refine a mechanistic, ODE-based Brain Health and Neurodegeneration (BHN) world model and support an AI-enabled digital twin platform to inform therapeutic development and experimental design.
Job Description
Role
Reporting to the CTO, this hands-on modeling role sits at the intersection of computational biology, systems engineering, and applied AI. The primary mission is to expand and deepen the BHN mechanistic world model and advance the AI-driven platform that builds and analyzes it, enabling therapeutic target analysis, experiment design, and digital-twin inference.
Key Responsibilities
- Extend the BHN model to additional neurodegenerative diseases and broaden model scope.
- Develop and refine ODE-based mechanistic models of biological processes, from equations and abstraction choices through integrated modules.
- Use the BHN model to analyze target opportunities, support therapeutic development and optimization, and design laboratory and clinical experiments.
- Collaborate with software developers to build AI-driven workflows, chat and visualization interfaces, and tooling that accelerate model development and analysis.
- Create clear annotations and documentation of model architecture, software architecture, and code.
Requirements
Required
- Advanced degree (PhD, or MS with relevant experience) in systems biology, biomedical or chemical engineering, computational biology, applied mathematics, or related quantitative discipline. Open to candidates coming directly from a PhD or postdoc.
- Demonstrated experience developing ODE-based models of complex nonlinear systems.
- Hands-on experience using AI tools to support model development and analysis.
- Strong scientific communication skills and ability to work across the science–engineering boundary.
Highly Desired
- Prior experience developing ODE-based biological models.
- Familiarity with Bayesian inference and management of structural and parametric uncertainty and variability in dynamic models.
- Experience with AI-assisted coding (vibe coding) and agentic workflows.
- Experience with Mathematica.
- Experience in pharma or biotech organizations.
- Familiarity with neurodegeneration, aging biology, or brain physiology.
Location & Travel
Ideally based in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to travel to the company’s office in South San Francisco, CA one day per week. Remote candidates should be willing to travel to South San Francisco every 1–2 months.
What We Offer
- Opportunity to shape a first-of-its-kind mechanistic causal model of brain health at an early-stage company.
- Co-authorship on publications arising from contributions.
- Meaningful early-stage equity and a contract rate commensurate with experience.
- Full-time, contract-to-hire role intended as a path to full-time employment.