Director of AI/ ML - Foundation Models

_{05th May, 2026}

Senior Director of Machine Learning – Foundation Models
London – Hybrid

We are looking for a motivated, experienced leader in the Machine learning and AI space to join this company in their mission to reimagine how drug are discovered.

You will recruit and lead a team focused on building AI foundation models for biology that learn from massive amounts of data, and transfer across several; diseases, tissue/cell types, and data types.

The team you hire will be focused on genomics foundation models, patient representation learning, and perturbation modelling. We are looking for scientists, strategists, and builders – someone who thrives at the intersection of AI/ML, biology, and leadership.

You might be a good fit if you have:

• Deep expertise in building foundation models, self-supervised learning, and representation learning
• Extensive experience working with complex multimodal biological data (genomics, imaging, expression etc)
• Strong publication record and have presented at top conferences
• Have led and recruited high performing teams of 5 or more researchers for 5 or more years

Key qualifications:

• Must have a PhD in related field, eg Mathematics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics etc
• Must have significant post PhD experience – ideally in an industry setting (eg biotech, techbio, pharmaceutical company)
• Proven experience building a team – inspiring, influential leader who teams want to follow

This is a genuinely fantastic opportunity for an experienced leader to join this company right at the start, and play key role in building this hub and steering their strategic direction. If you are ready for your next challenge and this position sounds like it could be for you, please submit your application as soon as possible so we can arrange a conversation to assess your suitability.

Keywords: AI / ML / Machine learning / artificial intelligence / foundation models / genomics foundation models / self-supervised learning / representation learning / patient representation learning / perturbation modelling / leader / leadership / strategy / strategic / techbio / biotech / biology / biological / biotechnology / pharmaceutical / pharma