Community Support Contractor, Virtual Cell Challenge
About Arc Institute
Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.
Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.
Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:
- Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
- Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.
More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.
About the position
In 2025, Arc Institute created the Virtual Cell Challenge (VCC) to accelerate progress in applying machine learning to understand cells in new ways. The competition follows a long history of similar mechanisms that have helped forge new paths in machine learning and science. The VCC has created major traction in its first year, with thousands of participants joining a new community focused on this massive opportunity. Arc plans to run the VCC annually, introducing new datasets and increasingly complex biological objectives over time. We're seeking a part-time Community Support Contractor to help manage participant engagement, respond to support inquiries, and foster the growing VCC community.
About you
- You love being organized. Bringing order to ambiguity is one of your strengths. You get satisfaction from getting to “inbox zero” and seeing a list with everything checked off.
- You can learn quickly. This role will require understanding everything from single-cell biology concepts to machine learning evaluation metrics. You don't need to be an expert in all these areas, but you should be excited about learning them and have a track record of diving into new domains.
- No job is too big or too small. We have a lean team and everyone does whatever they can to help the competition succeed. You’re not afraid to roll up your sleeves no matter the task.
In this position you will
- Collaborate with the Virtual Cell Challenge employee team at Arc to understand the competition and be well informed in order to operate as independently as possible
- Respond to support tickets from competitors, providing timely and accurate answers about challenge rules, submission processes, and technical requirements
- Monitor our Discord community and social media for competitor questions, concerns, and feedback, escalating complex issues to the appropriate team members
- Maintain and update the Challenge FAQ and other documentation based on recurring participant questions and feedback
- Welcome and onboard new participants to the community, helping them get oriented and connected to relevant resources
- Track and summarize common support trends and participant feedback, sharing regular updates with the core team to inform challenge improvements
- Work with Communications team on announcements, create and publish VCC assets, and track participation and other metrics
Requirements
- Technical background, i.e. in biology and/or computer science
- Excellent communication skills
- Exceptional organizational abilities to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously
- Strong bias for action and ability to drive results in an ambiguous, fast-moving environment
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous exposure to bio AI or computational biology
- Track record of high impact in a fast moving startup environment
- Experience with community management
Fees
This is an independent contractor role paying $35/hour, with the expectation of 5-10 hours per week of work from August to November 2026. You will be solely responsible for all taxes and withholdings on these fees.