AI Biologist - Microscopy
LatchBio · San Francisco · $120,000–$180,000 (stated in the posting)
AI Biologist - Microscopy
Latch builds rigorous scientific benchmarks (benchmarks.bio) for AI agents across biology. We work with frontier labs and pharma to measure whether agents can handle real biological workflows: the messy, multi-layer reasoning that matters in the field.
We’re seeking an AI Biologist to join our Microscopy team, pushing what AI can achieve in biological imaging.
About the Role. You will be the scientific authority on ground truth, testing whether agents can reason like an expert microscopist. AI agents today struggle to interrogate raw images, separate real biology from artifacts in acquisition, staining, and segmentation, and reach conclusions an expert would stand behind. Experts themselves disagree on roughly 1 in 6 images, so knowing where the evidence ends is part of the work. You will work with software engineers and scientists to build the tasks and datasets behind our benchmarks across cell biology, tissue, and disease. Your judgment will set the standard agent outputs are held to, including:
Build the task
Define what expert reasoning looks like for an imaging question, and write gold-standard answers with the rationale an experienced microscopist or pathologist would defend
Design realistic scenarios across the imaging workflow: sample prep, staining, acquisition, preprocessing, segmentation, quantification, and interpretation
Curate image datasets across modalities: immunofluorescence, confocal and live-cell, electron microscopy, histology and histopathology, and high-content screening
Build analysis pipelines in Python, including deep-learning segmentation, that produce verifiable ground truth
Partner with software engineers to turn your judgment into new workflows
Set the hard calls
Test whether agents distinguish true signal from artifact, such as bleed-through, uneven illumination, fixation damage, out-of-focus planes, or segmentation failure
Adjudicate ambiguous images: decide what the data supports, where reasonable experts would disagree, and which additional stain, image, or experiment would settle the call
Test whether agents choose the right imaging modality, resolution, and unit of analysis for the question
Judge the agent
Interrogate agent reasoning step by step, and challenge conclusions that sound right but would not survive pathologist review or lab meeting
Pinpoint where agents go wrong: why a step fails, what an expert would do instead, and what evidence would change the call
Score agent confidence, rewarding explicit uncertainty over overconfident calls on ambiguous images
Requirements
PhD in cell biology, bioimage analysis, pathology, or a related field; or an MD with pathology training
Senior, hands-on imaging experience: you have looked at thousands of samples and know what normal and abnormal look like
Direct experience with image segmentation tools such as CellProfiler, Cellpose, StarDist, QuPath, ilastik, napari, or Fiji
Deep expertise in at least one area (bioimage analysis, cell biology, or histopathology) and working fluency across the others
Strong command of experimental design, image quantification, and statistics
AI-ready from day one: daily use of Claude, Cursor, or similar agents, with the judgment to spot where model reasoning is technically correct but scientifically unsound
Confidence to overrule an AI agent when the evidence demands it, and the openness to update when shown wrong
Ability to calibrate confidence and communicate uncertainty rather than defaulting to binary calls
Bonus: electron microscopy, pathology, or pharmacology experience (e.g., pharmacodynamic or drug-uptake imaging assays)
Bonus: familiarity with public resources such as the Image Data Resource (IDR), BioImage Archive, Human Protein Atlas, Cell Painting Gallery, or TCGA whole-slide images
Culture. We practice radical transparency: you’ll know how the company is doing, what’s working, and what isn’t. It’ll always be us against the problem, never each other. We’re opinionated but respectful, and we bring solutions with our problems. You decide how you work; we judge the output. We use AI constantly, so what we reward is original expert judgment, not AI output passed off as your own. You’ll start on the bench that fits your expertise and can move across teams as you build a track record. People who do well here and bring leadership experience can move quickly into senior roles. Outside of work, we have company outings most months, team off-sites, a Latch run club, cycling, boxing, ice skating, and soccer. Feel free to add to the list.
Compensation & Logistics
Contract: 1099 (or W-8BEN internationally), no end date
Pay: guaranteed for weeks 1-4 while you ramp, then paid per certified task. Most people in this position earn $120K–$180K+ (uncapped upside); certify twice the tasks/week, earn twice the pay that week.
Commitment: full-time, on your own schedule. Most of the team works 40+ hours a week.
Meetings: a few pod check-ins a week. The rest of your time is yours.
Location: remote (anywhere), hybrid, or onsite in SF. We prefer onsite.
Onsite perks: catered lunch and dinner daily, a waterfront office in Mission Bay, and monthly parking when available
Work authorization: US citizens, permanent residents, and OPT holders. We can’t support STEM OPT extensions or sponsorship.
Interview Process
We move fast: about 2–3 weeks from your first call, to offer.
Intro Screen - Latch Talent Team
Take-Home Project - HackerRank
Technical Interview - Member of Technical Staff
Culture Interview - C-Suite
Offer