In our work so far, the Nucleic Acid Observatory has focused on the technical core of a pathogen-agnostic early warning system: how do you go from sample to detection? This has included developing new sample processing protocols, designing and implementing computational algorithms, and efficacy modeling. We’ve recently received funding from Open Philanthropy to expand our scope: we’re now aiming to take on the problem of early warning from end to end. This means ensuring systems are in place to detect novel threats, and that detection leads to effective response. To support this expanded mission, we’re hiring for four roles, with referral bonuses of up to $6k per role:

• A Head of Partnerships to help us deploy our technology by securing funding and collaborations to build a comprehensive biosurveillance network. This role will focus on winning governmental and commercial contracts while expanding our sample collection network and building strategic partnerships across the biosurveillance ecosystem. They’ll build and lead the partnerships program, with the opportunity to grow and manage a team as the NAO scales.
• A Head of Laboratory Science to lead our wet lab research and operations. We’re seeking an experienced manager to combine hands-on research with mentorship and team leadership. They’ll lead our work to develop, validate, deploy, and scale pathogen-agnostic biosurveillance methods, advancing humanity’s ability to detect new and unknown pathogens as sensitively and reliably as possible.
• A Genomic Biosecurity Scientist to investigate flagged sequences and evaluate their threat level. Each flagged sequence is a puzzle: What are the components of this sequence? Is it real or an artifact? If it’s real, where does it come from? Could this cause harm, and if so, how? As these puzzles are solved, they will identify common patterns and work with our computational team to implement automations, saving time for the most difficult and important cases. Alongside this work, they’ll help develop playbooks and procedures for responding to urgent flags.
• A Head of Biosecurity Response to lead our response strategy, and ensure detection translates into effective response. They’ll create escalation frameworks for different threat levels, establish partnerships for external validation and response, and craft proactive crisis communication templates that acknowledge uncertainty. They’ll need to think creatively about what an effective response would look like, maintain ongoing relationships with people throughout government and public health to minimize time to appropriate action during escalations, and ultimately coordinate the entire response when we detect something concerning. They’ll also work closely with our Genomic Biosecurity Scientist, to translate technical findings into actions appropriate for our level of knowledge.

We are primarily looking for candidates who can join us in-person in Boston, but for the Heads of Partnerships and Biosecurity Response we’re open to DC-based candidates.

You can read more and apply by following the links above. We offer referral bonuses of $4.5k to $6k for each of these roles, and would appreciate you sharing these with your networks! If you have questions, reach out to info@naobservatory.org.