Science Fellow

Employer: Arc Institute - University Relations & Academic Affairs

Location: Palo Alto, California

Salary: $97,000 base plus bonus, housing stipend, and benefits

Closing date: Jan 12, 2026

Discipline: Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Computational Biology, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience

Position Type: Full Time

Job Type: Group Leader/Principal Investigator

Organization Type: Non-Profit

Arc Institute seeks an outstanding scientist to join the Institute as a Science Fellow. The successful applicant would be appointed for a five-year term, with a formal check-in after three years, and would be employed by the Arc Institute. Science Fellows are early-career independent group leaders that pursue research agendas with a combination of innovative technologies, originality, and risk that are unlikely to be supported by traditional funding sources. They are provided with no-strings-attached funding as well as cutting-edge scientific and infrastructure support to enable high-risk, high-reward science, including lab space at Arc Headquarters in Palo Alto.

Candidates who aspire to groundbreaking research in computational science/machine learning, chemical biology, human genetics, immunology, neurobiology, or technology development with an emphasis on application to complex human disease, are particularly encouraged to apply.

This search is open to individuals who have completed or expect to complete their graduate training (e.g., PhD, MD, MD/PhD) between spring 2024 and summer 2026. To receive full consideration, candidates are encouraged to apply by January 12, 2026. New applications will be accepted and reviewed until the position is filled.

About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution conducting curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

• Funding: Arc funds Core Investigators' and Science Fellows' (PIs') research groups with full annual funding for their labs, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators.
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and collaboration across disciplines and groups.

Arc scaled to nearly 200 people in its first two years. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly to several hundred in the coming years.

Science Fellow Role

Arc Institute’s Science Fellows program is designed for outstanding early-career scientists who are seeking an opportunity to transition to a principal investigator position directly after their doctoral training. To accelerate independent careers, this program provides Arc Fellows with leadership training and full salary and research support for their group. Arc Science Fellows are active members of the Arc community and will have the opportunity to interact and collaborate with our Core Investigators, Technology Centers, and Translational Programs.

Arc Science Fellows are employed by the Institute and appointed for a five-year term at Arc. Science Fellows will be independent group leaders that pursue research agendas with a combination of innovative technologies, originality, and risk that are unlikely to be supported by traditional funding sources. Arc Science Fellows are provided an annual direct cost budget of $300K to support their research program, including a team of 2-4 people. This is separate from and in addition to the salary and benefits of the Science Fellow (see below).

Additional details about the program are available here: https://arcinstitute.org/programs/science-fellows

Additional details about this year's search are available here: https://arcinstitute.org/programs/search-science-fellow

Salary

The base salary for Arc Science Fellows is $97,000. The base salary amount does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. All Science Fellows will also be paid an annual housing stipend equal to 10% of their base salary.

Eligibility

This search is open to individuals who have completed or expect to complete their graduate training (e.g., PhD, MD, MD/PhD) between spring 2024 and summer 2026. Individuals who pursued clinical training after receiving their MD or MD/PhD should apply within one year of completing their clinical training. We welcome applications from individuals at any organization, not just those from our partner universities.

Individuals who are authorized to work in the US as well as those who require visa sponsorship are eligible to apply.

Scientific Focus Area

The focus areas for the search this year are computational science/machine learning, chemical biology, human genetics, immunology, neurobiology, and technology development. All scientists in one of these areas who are excited to engage with Arc’s research mission, organizational model, and scientific community are encouraged to apply. You must choose a focus area when you submit your application.

Application Instructions

To receive full consideration, candidates are encouraged to apply by January 12, 2026. New applications will be accepted and reviewed until the position is filled.

To apply, please submit the following materials:

• Cover Letter
• CV
• Any format is acceptable, but we request an expanded academic CV (including, e.g., education, research experience, mentorship & teaching, full list of publications, awards, and funding)
• Research Plan (3 pages)
• Description of your past research (1 page)
• Description of proposed work (2 pages, inclusive of up to 2 figures)
• References should be included in your research plan document, but do NOT count toward the page limit
• Video Application (2 minutes)
• In this video, you are requested to review your proposed research program as a Science Fellow: the question you plan to address, its significance in understanding complex human disease, and the approach you will take. The video is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your skills in effective and concise oral communication of your research program. You are welcome, but not required, to use 1-3 slides during your video.
• List of 3 most significant publications with a brief description of your specific contributions to each paper (2 pages)
• PDFs of 3 most significant publications
• Confidential Letters of Recommendation* (3)

A detailed FAQ for applicants is available here: https://arcinstitute.org/programs/search-science-fellow. For additional questions, please contact sciencefellowsearch@arcinstitute.org.