Founding Scientist

Apply on YC · Original job listing

• Role: Science / Research
• Experience: 11+ years
• Visa: Will sponsor

About this Role
Parasma is looking for a founding scientist to own the following:

• Scientific roadmap for training biological substrates
• Design, execute, and analyze closed-loop training experiments
• Develop learning protocols for biological neural systems
• Define reward structures, stimulation policies, feedback loops, and evaluation metrics
• Build theoretical frameworks and benchmarks around learning, control, and information transfer in biological substrates
• Identify and solve core bottlenecks in biological training, including noise, variability, non-stationarity, and limited observability
• Work with engineering to build the software, hardware, and ML infrastructure required for real-time training

Preferred Experience

• Well published in information theory or related fields
• Deep understanding of learning systems, optimization, exploration, credit assignment, and adaptive control
• Experience designing experiments for complex biological, neural, or adaptive systems
• Understanding of the challenges involved in training biological substrates
• Currently or previously a professor, PI, or senior research scientist at a top institution
• Proven ability to lead an independent research agenda

Source: Y Combinator job 98189. Listed on YC when retrieved 2026-11-02.