Founding Scientist / Co-Founder at Clera — Remote

About the Role

We are an early-stage startup working at the intersection of AI and wet labs, operating within the aerospace and defense sector. This is a rare founding-level opportunity for a senior scientist who wants to shape both scientific strategy and company direction from day one. You will combine hands-on biological expertise with computational thinking to build core technology, define research direction, and bridge laboratory work with AI-driven workflows to accelerate discovery.

Work arrangement: On-site | Visa sponsorship: Not available — candidates must be eligible to work in the UK without sponsorship.

What You'll Do

• Define and lead the scientific vision and research roadmap for early-stage AI + wet-lab products.
• Design and execute key molecular biology, biochemistry, or genomics experiments to validate models and assays.
• Collaborate closely with engineers and ML researchers to translate experimental needs into computational requirements.
• Implement and oversee lab automation and data pipelines to scale experiments and improve reproducibility.
• Prototype computational tools and analyses; contribute code or notebooks to integrate wet-lab data with models.
• Mentor and recruit early scientific hires; establish laboratory best practices and safety standards.
• Apply AI/ML methods to biological data within aerospace and defense sector constraints.

What We're Looking For

Required:

• PhD in Biotechnology, Genomics, Biology, or a closely related field.
• Senior-level research experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, genomics, biotech, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI/ML to biological data (computational biology or bioinformatics).
• Experience in aerospace or defense domains and understanding of sector-specific constraints.
• Comfortable with computational thinking and coding; ML experience is a plus but not required.
• Training or research background at leading research institutions or universities.

Nice to Have:

• Prior experience at AI-for-biology companies, biotech startups, or similar industry environments.
• Lab automation experience and enthusiasm for integrating AI with wet-lab workflows.
• Prior founder experience or direct experience scaling early-stage teams and operations.
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and comfort with ambiguity in a fast-paced startup environment.

Location

This is a full-time, on-site role based in London, United Kingdom. Candidates must have the right to work in the UK — visa sponsorship is not available.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation details have not been specified for this role. As a founding-level position, equity participation is expected to be a meaningful component of the overall package. Details will be discussed directly with candidates during the interview process.