Scientist I, Computational Infrastructure at Genentech

Apr 06, 2026

What is your current job title and, in a few words, please tell us what it is that you do?

My job title is “Scientist I”. I work in preclinical R&D developing and maintaining computational tools and pipelines to process high-throughput perturbation screen data. I collaborate with scientists across different departments to facilitate their analyses and prepare the data to be used by AI models.

What is the highest degree you have earned and what can you tell us about your academic path?

My highest degree is a PhD in Neuroscience. I originally started college at the University of Kentucky as a computer science major, but after three semesters I switched to neuroscience. That combination of neuroscience and computer science ended up becoming the foundation for my work during my PhD. After finishing undergrad, I returned to my home country, Brazil, and worked as a research assistant at a university for two years. During that time I worked on a wide range of projects, including mouse behavior experiments, machine learning models for psychiatric disease, and genomics analyses. For my PhD, I came back to the University of Kentucky where I had the opportunity to really develop my computational skills while working under Dr. Mark Ebbert. My research focused on Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that affected both of my grandfathers when I was growing up. About a year before finishing my PhD, I was accepted into the SMDP program. Through the network and soft skills I built there, I was able to secure an internship at Genentech. Following the internship, I received a full-time offer and joined Genentech after finishing my PhD in December 2025.

Where do you work now and what is your company about?

I currently work at Genentech, one of the original biotechnology companies. The company focuses on discovering and developing medicines, particularly in areas like cancer, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious disease. Genentech became a member of the Roche Group in 2009. Today, it operates as an important part of Roche’s global pharmaceutical research and early development efforts, helping drive the discovery of new therapies that can eventually become medicines for patients.

How did you first learn about the company?

I first learned about Genentech when my PhD advisor told me that it was the pharmaceutical company he would like to work for if he was not an academic.

What do you like most about the company?

I never feel like the smartest person in the room at Genentech, and that is a good thing at this stage in my career. It means I am working with talented and experienced people that I can learn a lot from.

What skills make you successful in your role and why did you choose this role?

My collaborative nature, along with my combination of computational skills and biological knowledge, helps me succeed in this role. I work with people across both computer science and biology, and I enjoy bridging those areas to build tools and pipelines that turn biological data into meaningful insights. I chose this role because pipeline and tool development was the work I enjoyed most during my PhD. I find the process of building these tools very engaging and rewarding.

How do you define success?

I define success as enjoying the journey I’m on while being surrounded by good people. Professionally, success also means creating work that has a positive impact on others. In my role, that often takes the form of building tools that make my colleagues’ work easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. Knowing that something I built helps others do their work better and seeing people excited to use it is a meaningful measure of success for me.

What's the most fulfilling aspect of your job?

The most fulfilling aspect of my job is building tools that make other people’s work easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. It brings me joy when people use my tools and are thankful or excited about them.

What advice do you have for students and job seekers?

Use your SMDP network. Reach out to people who are working in roles or companies you’re interested in and ask about opportunities. When I was applying for internships, I didn’t receive responses from companies where I had only submitted an application. The opportunities that moved forward were the ones where I had reached out to someone in my network. In fact, two out of the three companies where I connected with someone through my network ended up offering me an internship. It really showed me how powerful networking can be. The internship I got led to the job I have today.

What book did you read last?

The last book I read was Wind and Truth, the fifth book of the Stormlight Archives series by Brandon Sanderson.