Senior Research Data Engineer (Small Molecule Drug Discovery

At Hot Spot Therapeutics, nature is inspiring us to create a wave of new medicines. Through a proprietary technology platform, we are uncovering privileged allosteric sites used by nature to control proteins – called regulatory hotspots – that can be exploited through small molecule drug discovery. Regulatory hotspots are allowing sought‑after targets to be drugged for the first time while delivering molecules with exquisite selectivity and attractive drug‑like properties.

Hot Spot is supported by a syndicate of leading healthcare investors based in the US and Europe.

You will be joining a seasoned team of drug hunters with an excellent track record in drug discovery. At Hot Spot, we're not just looking for the brightest minds or for the most brilliant individual contributors. We want passionate team members who are comfortable adjusting their lens, aren't afraid to think big, test bold ideas, and celebrate collective wins. We have established core values that resemble who we are and define our company culture.

We are building a company where values drive everything we do inside and outside the organization:

#Courageous Adventurers #Leave your Mark #Keep it Human #Make it Real

We are seeking a hands‑on, execution‑driven Senior Research Data Engineer (Small Molecule Drug Discovery) to scale and secure Hot Spot's growing data operations infrastructure. This role serves as a vital operational bridge between our core software/cloud architecture and our computational biology and laboratory teams. You will partner closely with our Senior Data Engineer to drive alignment, eliminate single points of failure, and establish an automated, production‑grade data paradigm that accelerates our drug discovery workflows.

• Lead AI & LLM Data Readiness: Architect and execute the strategy to structure, clean, and index our historical and incoming research datasets, making them fully ready for machine learning and advanced ontology initiatives.
• Automate External Data Pipelines: Own and maintain robust Python ETL pipelines, ensuring seamless automated ingestion of chemistry and biology experiments from external CROs.
• System Stewardship & Data Ops: Act as the primary technical steward for our core research platforms (including Revvity Signals ELN, Certara D360, and our internal data ingestion tool, Ladle), handling Oracle schema updates, routine database maintenance, and direct user support for our scientists.
• Bridge Science and Engineering: Partner across disciplines to help scientists map biology and chemistry workflows into production templates, serving as a data continuity bridge that translates laboratory progress into scalable data models.
• Drive Operational Follow‑Through: Identify dependencies and critical paths in our data delivery pipelines, actively manage infrastructure risks, and provide clear technical context to leadership.

• Advanced Scientific Background: PhD degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, or a related quantitative life sciences discipline and a minimum of 2+ years of relevant industry experience or a combination of post‑doctoral and industry experience; MS degree in bioinformatics or related discipline with 5+ years of relevant industry experience may be considered.
• Production‑Grade Engineering: Proven commercial or advanced hands‑on experience writing clean, maintainable Python code and advanced SQL queries. You know how to build software that stands up to production environments.
• Cloud & Database Fluency: Demonstrated experience navigating cloud environments (AWS/GCP) and managing relational database schemas (Oracle, Postgres).
• Execution‑Driven Planner: An autonomous problem‑solver who brings clarity to complex data dependencies, actively tracks technical risk, and handles firefighting or data cleaning with equal dedication.
• Excellent Communicator: Ability to synthesize complex technical data constraints across disciplines and drive follow‑through in a lean, fast‑paced startup environment.

We believe that people are our greatest resource and foster a supportive environment that provides growth and development for all…