The problem Where we work Who we help Roles we fill Team Book a call
Data & ML hiring for biotech · US East Coast

Hire the data and ML talent your discovery depends on.

We fill four roles for East Coast biotech teams: computational biologists, data scientists, ML engineers and data engineers. It's the only work we take, and it's why the candidates we introduce can do the job.

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Prefer to call? +1 518-722-3296 (US East Coast hours)
BostonCambridgeNew YorkNew JerseyPhiladelphiaResearch Triangle
A biotech team working together in a bright office
THE TEAMS WE BUILD
Passive
talent, approached directly
8,000+
data & ML specialists in network
Four roles · research-side discovery only
Passive talent · not just applicants
90-day replacement guarantee
The problem

Titles lie. Four different candidates write the same CV.

"Python. Machine learning. Biotech." A computational biologist, a data scientist, an ML engineer and a data engineer all write those same words. They are four completely different hires.

Most recruiters can't tell them apart, so they send a data engineer for a modelling job, or a notebook analyst for a role that has to ship to production. Right words on the CV, wrong person in the room.

You work that out three interviews in. By then weeks have gone and the seat is still empty.

Get the wrong one of the four and you lose a month you didn't have.
What you get

How we get your hire right.

Every brief starts with one question: what does this role need to do day to day? Then we go and find the specialists who can do it, and we prove it before you open a single CV.

You meet the right person

We judge candidates on what they build, not the title on the CV. You won't sit through four "data scientists" to find the one who fits your team.

No time wasted

We match the biology to the job. No PhD overkill on a pipeline role, no shallow analyst on a modelling seat. You meet the ones who can do it, and nobody else.

You reach passive talent

The best data and ML specialists aren't answering job ads. We already know them, so you're introduced to the ones who fit, not buried in applicants.

Scientist using a microscope in a biotech research lab
THE WORK WE HIRE FOR
Before you see a CV

We screen the way your tech lead would.

By the time a CV reaches you, we've already checked the things that decide it. Did they build the model or just call someone else's API? Would their pipeline survive production? Do they know your modality? The candidates you meet would pass your own tech lead's screen.

  • We know your data: single-cell, imaging, high-throughput screening.
  • We can tell a model-builder from someone who just calls an API.
  • We only put forward candidates who'd clear your tech lead's bar.
We speak your science

You don't have to translate for us.

Tell us what you're working on. We already know what it means, and which of the four roles it points to.

YOU SAY  →  WE HEAR
RNA-seq→Transcriptomics. Real discovery data-science and comp-bio work.
scRNA-seq→Single-cell. The frontier of the field, and top-tier comp-bio work.
AlphaFold→Protein structure and design. Biologics-side ML.
small molecule→Chemistry. Molecular-property-prediction ML.
NGS→Next-gen sequencing at scale. Big files, a data-engineering problem.
mRNA→Sequence-based genomics data.

We put you in front of talent that can do the job. And we move fast.

Book a call
Where we work

We know your corner of the East Coast.

It's the only place we work, so we know the teams, the salaries and the talent wherever you're hiring.

Boston & Cambridge, MA

We know this cluster inside out: the labs around MIT, Harvard and the Broad, the teams inside them, and the names worth knowing.

New York City

A fast-growing scene for AI-driven discovery. We know who's hiring, and who's worth hiring.

New Jersey

Big-pharma discovery teams. We know how hiring works here, procurement and all.

Greater Philadelphia, PA

A fast-growing hub for cell and gene therapy.

Maryland, DC & Virginia

Federal-adjacent science: genomics, data, and a growing cyber scene.

Research Triangle, NC

Where teams expand to keep costs down, plus remote roles across the coast.

Hiring outside these hubs? We cover remote roles anywhere on the East Coast.

flotech://match COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY MATCH · 98% MACHINE LEARNING
Who we help

Is this you?

We work best with funded, research-heavy teams: platform and AI-first biotechs, tools vendors, and startups making their first computational hire. This page is for two kinds of reader. If one of them is you, get in touch.

For hiring teams

You need to hire, fast and right.

You lead a biotech or pharma team on the East Coast, and you're tired of CVs that waste your time.

  • You're a founder or head of science hiring computational talent.
  • You want candidates screened on real skills, not keywords.
  • You want the right candidates in weeks, not a months-long search.
Book a 20-min call
For candidates

You do data or ML work in drug discovery.

You want work that matters, and a recruiter who understands what you do.

  • We only call when a role truly fits you.
  • We know the science, so we won't waste your time.
  • Your details stay private. Always.
Send us your profile

Not hiring yourself, but know someone who is? Send them this page ↓

The four roles

Titles lie. Output tells the truth.

These are the four roles that build discovery. We tell them apart by what they deliver, not the words on the CV, so you get the one your role needs.

Hands over → a biological insight

Computational Biologist

Finds the target or mechanism that changes what your lab does next. Biology PhD, R, omics data, publications. When you need the biology figured out, this is who you hire.

Hands over → an answer

Data Scientist

Turns a data question into a prediction: "test these 500 compounds." Stats, ML, and enough biology to know what RNA-seq, imaging or screening data really is.

Hands over → a running system

ML Engineer

Turns a model into software your team can rely on: deployed, retraining, monitored. If it has to run in production, we make sure they can ship it.

Hands over → clean data infrastructure

Data Engineer

Builds the pipelines everyone else relies on. Omics-scale data, SQL, Spark, Airflow, cloud. No models and no biology, but nothing works without them.

We also catch the things that sink a hire at the last minute. "Data scientist" can mean three different jobs. "Can code" isn't the same as "can engineer." And we check work authorisation, location and modality on the first call, not at offer stage.

How it works

Four simple steps.

No retainer, and you only pay when you hire.

We talk

A 20-minute call. You tell us the role and what "great" looks like.

We calibrate

We set the bar with your tech lead, so we screen for the real work.

We introduce

You meet the individuals who fit, including the ones who aren't actively looking.

We back it

90-day replacement guarantee. Pay only when you hire.

Ways we work

Three ways to hire with us.

Pick what fits the role: a full search, a lighter one, or a contractor for a single project.

Exclusive & retained

For your critical roles

For senior hires you can't get wrong. We go after the specialists who never apply, and we commit to filling the seat.

Contingency

For simpler hires

For more straightforward roles. You pay only when we place someone. No upfront fee.

Contract & interim

For a single program

A contractor for one project, without adding permanent headcount. Month by month, for as long as you need.

4
Research-side roles.
Nothing else.
Passive
most of our talent
isn't job-hunting.
8,000+
data & ML specialists
in our network.
90 days
Replacement
guarantee.
"They sent four candidates. Three we wanted to hire. That never happens."
Director, Computational Biology · Series B biotech · Cambridge, MA
Pass it on

Know a team that's hiring?

If someone you know runs a biotech team on the East Coast and needs to hire data or ML talent, send them this. It might save them a month.

We pay a thank-you for any intro that turns into a hire. Ask us how.

Questions

The short answers.

For permanent roles you pay only when we place someone, a set percent of their first-year base salary. For senior searches we also offer retained and exclusive terms, and we place contractors too. There's no upfront fee to start, and permanent hires come with a 90-day replacement guarantee.

Four research-side roles: computational biologists, data scientists, ML engineers and data engineers. Only those, and only for biotech discovery.

The US East Coast: Boston and Cambridge, New York, New Jersey, Greater Philadelphia, the Maryland to DC area, and the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Remote too.

No. We stop at discovery R&D and the data platform under it. Staying in one lane is why we know these roles so well.

Yes. We judge candidates by what they ship: insight, answer, system or pipeline. And we know the science, from RNA-seq and single-cell to AlphaFold and small-molecule versus biologic. Tell us what you're building and we'll know what it needs.

No. We don't do CV dumps. We approach the specific individuals who fit your role, most of whom aren't actively looking, and introduce them when they're seriously interested.

The team

Who you'll be working with.

You deal directly with the consultants running your search. No juniors, no handovers.

Danny Buglione, Founder of Flotech Recruit

Danny Buglione

Founder · Data & ML Search
US +1 518-722-3296 UK +44 7377 706870 danny@flotechrecruit.com
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James Jones, Principal Consultant

James Jones

Principal Consultant · Computational & Eng
US +1 518-722-3296 UK +44 7546 447703 james@flotechrecruit.com
Email James Call
Let's talk

Let's fill that role.

Book 20 minutes with us. Tell us what you need, and we'll be honest about whether we can help.

Book a 20-min call Email us
US +1 518-722-3296 UK +44 7377 706870 danny@flotechrecruit.com

Privacy policy.

Last updated: 2026

Introduction

Flotech Recruit cares about your privacy. This policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and how we keep it safe.

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Last updated: 2026

Services

Flotech Recruit provides specialist machine-learning and computational-science recruitment for pharma and biotech companies across the US East Coast.

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