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Job Title:Chief Technology Officer (CTO) / Head of AI — Drug Discovery Location:Remote (U.S. preferred) / India–U.S. hybrid Company Stage:Pre-Series A | Venture-Backed Sector:Biotech | AI-driven Drug DiscoveryAbout the Company Our client is a venture-backed biotech startup developing a novel oral regenerative drug candidate with a strategic platform approach. Backed by a world-class scientific advisory board (Harvard, UCSD, Helmholtz), they are preparing for IND filing and early-stage clinical development. They are now building the AI engine to power their next generation of drug discovery, inspired by pioneers like Insilico Medicine and Absci, and are seeking a senior CTO or technical co-founder to lead this transformative vision.Role Overview The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) / Head of AI will lead the development of a cutting-edge, AI-first drug discovery platform, combining generative modeling, predictive analytics, cheminformatics, computational chemistry, and biophysics modeling. This is a high-impact, strategic role ideal for an individual passionate about reimagining the future of medicine discovery. Key Responsibilities Architect and build the company’s AI/ML infrastructure for target discovery, molecular generation, and therapeutic design Lead the development of generative models (e.g., diffusion models, VAEs, GNNs) for novel molecule and protein design Integrate cheminformatics, computational chemistry, and biophysics modeling tools into the drug discovery workflow Partner with biology and chemistry teams to incorporate wet-lab feedback into model pipelines Establish and scale data pipelines, FAIR data systems, and ML model governance Drive the AI strategy, team building, and long-term platform roadmap Represent technology leadership in discussions with investors and strategic partners Ideal Candidate Profile PhD in Machine Learning, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, or related field 6+ years of experience applying AI/ML in life sciences, ideally within drug discovery Proven expertise with generative models and AI tools for drug design (e.g., GNNs, VAEs, LLMs, protein folding) Familiarity with cheminformatics, computational chemistry, or biophysics modeling platforms Demonstrated ability to scale ML projects in biotech or health-tech environments Excellent communication skills with investor-facing and partner-facing capabilities Nice to Have Startup or co-founder experience Contributions to open-source platforms (e.g., DeepChem, TorchDrug) Knowledge of drug repurposing, phenotypic screening, or multi-omic data fusion What’s on Offer Co-founder or executive-level equity opportunity Global exposure with a dual India–U.S. operational model A chance to build a differentiated, AI-powered biotech platform from the ground up Backing from a visionary founder and a world-class scientific advisory board