Chief of Staff

About Arc Institute Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco. Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone. Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action: Virtual Cell Initiative : Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials. Alzheimer's Disease Initiative : Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes. More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding. About the position The Chief of Staff serves as a scientific and strategic partner, proxy, and "shared brain" to the Institute's Executive Director and Core Investigator. This is a technical, full-time role for someone who can engage substantively with the science, from CRISPR-based transcriptome engineering and functional genomics to computational modeling and disease biology, and translate that engagement into sharp decision-making, program execution, and cross-disciplinary coordination. On a given day you might pressure-test the experimental design or interpretation of a scientific project, distill complex inputs into clear decision frameworks and meeting agendas, scope and foster cross-lab collaboration, prepare a scientifically rigorous external deliverable, and protect the Executive Director's time for deep work by optimizing her schedule. You will create leverage for the Executive Director's highest-priority scientific and organizational work by owning her operating rhythm, helping drive technical initiatives to completion, and connecting the right people, data, and resources to unblock science. You will be trusted with confidential scientific and organizational information and empowered to act on her behalf, so scientific judgment, discretion, and follow-through are essential. The Executive Director is a Core Investigator and Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford whose laboratory studies the molecular pathways driving neurodegenerative disease with the goal of developing rationally targeted therapeutics. Her group develops CRISPR-based technologies to directly perturb the transcriptomic landscape of the cell, including engineered type VI RNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas systems, and applies them across functional genomic screens and disease models. She operates as a biologist and PI, scientific leader for our Institute Initiatives, and overall institutional leader, and needs a Chief of Staff who can deeply understand and support all three. About you You love engaging with science deeply across functional genomics, neuroscience and computational science You are fluent across the experimental/computational divide. You are comfortable talking with wet-lab scientists and computational biologists alike and can help them collaborate effectively. You are highly organized and 10/10 detail-oriented You are a natural information gatherer, synthesizer and connector. You proactively seek out the right people and data, ask incisive technical questions, and turn a complex, ambiguous picture into clear options and recommendations. You build trust and enable others. You are persuasive but tactful, bringing diplomacy, curiosity, and positive energy to every interaction. You love structuring hard pr…