Scientific Writer

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 fully funds Core Investigators’ (PIs’) research groups, 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 selfless collaboration.

Arc has scaled to over 350 people to date. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.

About the position

As Arc’s Scientific Writer, you'll serve as the bridge between Arc's world-class interdisciplinary research and its diverse audiences. You'll work collaboratively with Arc’s Core Investigators, Science Fellows, Innovation Investigators, and Tech Center researchers to ensure their work is accurately and compellingly communicated to other researchers, employees, and other Institute audiences. You’ll develop a deep understanding of Arc’s science, the Institute’s's goals, and where everything fits into the larger research ecosystem to prepare content that resonates with scientific readers. This is a hybrid onsite role, reporting to the Head of Communications.

About you 

• Exceptional writer, editor, and presenter with a portfolio of work communicating to researcher and/or technical audiences
• Thoughtful about translating complex science for target audiences without sacrificing accuracy
• Detail-oriented professional who asks good questions, takes feedback well, and understands the importance of scientific precision
• Strong collaborator who can work effectively with diverse research teams and support staff
• Lifelong learner who is excited to communicate about a range of research happening at the interface of biology, AI, engineering, neuroscience, and immunology

In this position you will

• Write and edit research updates, blog posts, press releases, and web content that accurately represents Arc's diverse research portfolio
• Assist researchers with journal commentaries and perspective manuscript preparation, particularly in translating technical findings for broader scientific audiences
• Collaborate with Arc scientists to develop presentations for internal meetings, conferences, and stakeholder presentations
• Work closely with Arc scientists to understand and communicate emerging research developments while identifying opportunities to participate in broader scientific discussions that could raise Arc’s profile
• Identify opportunities for strategic content that would help Arc tell its story

Requirements

• PhD in biological sciences, computational biology, machine learning, neuroscience, or related field with demonstrated research experience
• 3+ years conducting original scientific research with a track record of peer-reviewed publications
• Proven ability to write about complex scientific topics for both technical and general audiences
• Experience creating presentations and visual materials for scientific audiences
• Excellent project management skills and ability to work on multiple pieces simultaneously
• Able to commit to a hybrid onsite schedule.

The base salary range for this position is $110,250 - $135,500. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.