Group Leader – AI in Biology

Are you ready to lead groundbreaking research in AI for Biology? Join us at EMBL!

We are seeking a visionary scientist to establish their own independent research group bridging innovations in machine learning/AI with modern biology at the AI Hub Heidelberg as part of EMBL AI, a major institutional initiative to embed AI across all areas of life sciences.

EMBL provides a unique environment for young scientists to conduct groundbreaking research and technology development across the life sciences.

About us

EMBL AI is EMBL's ambitious new initiative aiming to exploit the full potential of AI-based approaches to advance scientific discovery. EMBL AI will host new AI research groups and data engineering teams, supported by state-of-the-art infrastructure, along with fellowship and skills development programmes that bridge AI and life sciences. EMBL AI groups will be embedded in a world-class environment of biological researchers covering a broad range of biological areas, from molecules to ecosystems.

EMBL has already established itself as a global leader in AI-driven innovation in biology research, with successes in areas including genomics, structural biology (e.g., AlphaFold), biomarker discovery, and imaging. EMBL hosts the world’s largest repository of biological data, the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), and has excellent pan-institutional data management, data science and open science infrastructures. Our goal is to build a dynamic community of AI specialists working alongside life science researchers, together creating innovative AI-based methods to address fundamental questions in biology and drive scientific breakthroughs. Discover more on our web page and explore our current research groups.

Scientific context and strategic fit
EMBL’s long-term scientific direction, Molecules to Ecosystems, aims to advance our understanding of ecosystems at the molecular level, applying expertise in molecular biology to study life in its natural context. Research areas include applying experimental, computational and theoretical approaches to study how cells and organisms interact with each other and respond to fluctuating environments. EMBL has a track record in establishing landmark data resources in these different areas (EMBL-EBI), leads in managing digital infrastructures, and operates a dedicated Data Science Center for handling complex primary biological data types across the institute.

We are interested in hosting scientists, who can enhance these biological areas using AI-based approaches and technological innovations. We welcome proposals that integrate ML/AI with model-driven experimentation, lab automation or study sampling, as well as those that advance machine learning methodology and theoretical concepts. 

Possible research areas include: machine learning foundations, generative modelling, foundation models, cross-domain/-modality learning, explainable AI and mechanistic interpretability, representation learning, Bayesian inference, causal inference, active learning, AI-based agents in the scientific process. You will use AI to enhance biological discoveries in any area of biology.

Incoming groups will be able to collaborate with scientists across EMBL’s scientific units, sites and cross-cutting research topics, and have access to unique biodata, biotechnologies, and a wide range of expertise in biological research. Example topics for interactions with the scientific units in Heidelberg include multi-modal data integration towards whole-cell models, prediction of protein function and protein-ligand interactions (Molecular Systems Biology), regulatory networks, single-cell and spatial omics, precision medicine (Genome Biology), multi-scale models in space and time for organelles and cells (Cell Biology and Biophysics) or collectives of unicellular and multicellular organisms (Developmental Biology). 

Your role 

You will:

• Lead an independent research group at EMBL AI’s Heidelberg Hub to pursue exciting, ambitious and original research in the broad domain of AI for biology. 

• Create an innovative research program developing or adapting cutting-edge AI techniques to address important biological questions.

• Bring your perspective and unique vision to science in an intellectually stimulating, collaborative, interdisciplinary and highly international environment.

Your profile

You should have an exciting research plan for your future team. You have an excellent research record in AI, a PhD in a relevant field, and an interest in AI applications to biology. Previous experience in biology is not required, but a strong interest in interdisciplinary collaboration is essential.

Key competencies

• Scientific Excellence and Vision – you have the potential to develop groundbreaking ideas and contribute to shaping the future of their field.

• Original and Innovative Thinking – you are curious and intellectually creative to approach important research questions from new and original perspectives.

• Collaborative Mindset – you are eager to engage with a diverse community of researchers, willing to step outside of your comfort zone, and open to interdisciplinary exchange.

• Mentoring Skills –  you are dedicated to nurturing and inspiring people in your team, supported by an inclusive leadership style. 

• Leadership Potential and Management Skills – you are ready and committed to grow into a leadership role, including learning how to efficiently manage and inspire a research team, adapting strategic planning, coordination, and an environment that fosters inclusiveness.​

Why EMBL is an excellent environment for you to become a Research Group Leader

EMBL typically appoints group leaders early in their career and provides everything you need to support this transition to your first independent position to achieve your research goals.

EMBL group leaders benefit from:

• Core Funding: Focus on your research with generous, reliable core funding throughout your time at EMBL. The offer includes a competitive yearly research package, core-funded Ph.D. students from our excellent international Ph.D. program, which allows student intake via the ELLIS PhD program, & access to competitive post-doc programmes.

• World-Class Resources: Access to world-leading core facilities and infrastructures in molecular biology and in IT, including on-site HPC and GPU farms and multiple channels to scale-out to European supercomputing resources.

• Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Environment: Thrive within a network of over 110 independent research groups and service teams across our six sites, covering a broad spectrum of topics in life sciences. EMBL fosters and supports creative, interdisciplinary and collaborative research.

• Creative Freedom: Enjoy the autonomy and resources to choose your direction of research.

• Well-connected Scientific Hub: Be part of EMBL Heidelberg, embedded in a thriving research environment with partnerships to world-leading institutions and cross-institutional initiatives, including the ELLIS Unit Heidelberg, the Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit (MMPU), and the Heidelberg-Mannheim Health & Life-Science Alliance.

• Networking & Visibility: Engage with hundreds of world-leading scientists coming for each of the over 30 international conferences hosted annually at EMBL’s advanced training centre.

• Data: EMBL, with its European Bioinformatics Institute, has a track record in providing the world’s major data resources in biology (EMBL-EBI).

• Global Excellence: Join a top-ranked research institute promoting discovery-driven science in a collaborative and inclusive environment.

Online interviews will be conducted in September 2026

Onsite interviews are planned for November 2026

Contract length: 5 years, renewable to a maximum of 9 years.

Salary: Grade 9, monthly salary from EUR 6.659,04 (after tax, and before 12.99% EMBL social security deductions) plus other paid benefits. 

Further information on Group Leader appointments can be found here: https://www.embl.org/careers/group-leader-recruitment/

If you would like more information about the position, if procedural please contact recruitment@embl.org, if on the position please contact Oliver Stegle ai@embl.org,  acting Head of EMBL AI.

How to apply

Before applying, please read the application instructions here. 

You should submit an exciting research plan with original and ambitious goals for your future team (maximum 4 pages). In your online application, you will be asked to include a cover letter, your CV, the names and contact details of 2 referees and a concise description of research interests & future research plans, highlighting your unique vision (up to four pages). Letters of recommendation should be submitted by the referees by or shortly after the application deadline.

Why join us

EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation. 

We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

• Financial incentives: Salary free of income tax, monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances

• Flexible working arrangements

• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)

• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition public holidays

• Relocation package including installation grant (if applicable)

• Campus life: Free shuttle bus (some sites), library, cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)

• Family benefits: 10 days of child sick leave, generous paid maternity/parental leave and monthly family & child allowances

• Benefits for international newcomers: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.

• For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here

What else you need to know

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Visit our International Applicants page, to find out more.

• EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.

• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

• Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date