Recursion application questions — all 31, word for word
Recursion hires through Greenhouse. Beyond name, email and CV, its application form asks 31 questions, 27 of them required. 3 of them are required, fixed-choice questions about your eligibility to work. A cover letter is optional.
40 roles were open when this was last checked, mostly in healthcare and legal. The questions below are the form's own wording, not a paraphrase.
What Recursion has open
These are the roles the form was read from, as Recursion titles them, in Remote Opportunity - United States, New York, New York; Salt Lake City, Utah, New York, New York, Salt Lake City, Utah:
- Associate Director, Computational Biology – Early Discovery
- Don't see what you're looking for?
- Executive Director, Chemical Biology
- Executive Director, Clinical Pharmacology/Pharmacometrics
- Interested in an internship?
- Principal AI Researcher
- Scientist, Assay Development (Contractor)
- Senior AI Researcher
- Senior Computational Biologist - Early Discovery Oncology
- Senior Computational Biologist – Early Discovery Immunology
- Staff Engineer, Identity & Access Management (IAM)
- Vice President, Business Development and Licensing
22 of the questions below are ones at most two of the 213 employers measured ask (median: 18), the least standard being “This position is located at our HQ in Salt Lake City, Utah. Qualifying candidates who are not local to the area can receive relocation support. Are you local to SLC OR willing to relocate to Salt Lake City for this position?”.
The eligibility questions
These are required, and answered from a fixed list rather than in your own words: work authorisation, visa sponsorship or security clearance. Employers often use questions like these to filter applications automatically, but Greenhouse's public data does not say whether Recursion does — so treat them as the answers most likely to matter, not as a verdict. Answer them honestly either way.
| Question | Answers accepted |
|---|---|
| Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship? required, fixed choice | Yes, No |
| Are you authorized to work in the United Kingdom for any employer? required, fixed choice | Yes, No |
| Are you authorized to work in the United States for any employer? required, fixed choice | Yes, No |
Every question on the form
| Question | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Are you authorized to work in the United Kingdom for any employer? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Are you authorized to work in the United States for any employer? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| First Name | text | Yes |
| Last Name | text | Yes |
| Preferred First Name | text | No |
| text | Yes | |
| Phone | text | Yes |
| Resume/CV | file | Yes |
| Cover Letter | file | No |
| LinkedIn Profile | text | Yes |
| How did you initially hear about this job? AngelList, BioSpace, Drop Out Club, Glassdoor, Handshake, Indeed (+8 more) |
select | Yes |
| If you chose Recursion Employee, Recursion Event, or Other, please specify here: | text | No |
| Please select the country (or countries) where you have work authorization: Canada (CA), United Kingdom (UK), United States (USA), None of the above |
multiselect | Yes |
| This position is located at our HQ in Salt Lake City, Utah. Qualifying candidates who are not local to the area can receive relocation support.
Are you local to SLC OR willing to relocate to Salt Lake City for this position? Yes, No |
select | No |
| I identify my ethnicity as: | text | Yes |
| I identify my gender as: | text | Yes |
| I identify as transgender: | text | Yes |
| I identify my sexual orientation as: | text | Yes |
| Veteran Status | text | Yes |
| I have a physical disability | text | Yes |
| What is your current notice period? | text | Yes |
| GDPR Confirmation Acknowledge/Confirm |
select | Yes |
| Do you have 5-7+ years of experience as a Clinical Scientist? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| What specifically appeals to you about Recursion, and why do you feel drawn to be a part of it? | textarea | Yes |
| Do you have 10+ years of experience working in biopharma with a focus on strategic leadership of clinical assets? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Do you have deep expertise in the development of small molecule therapeutics in the areas of oncology and immunology/inflammation? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| This position is located at our NYC office. Qualifying candidates who are not local to the area can receive relocation support.
Are you local to NYC, or willing to relocate for this position? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| This position is located at our office in New York City. Qualifying candidates who are not local to the area can receive relocation support.
Are you local to NYC OR willing to relocate to New York City for this position? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Do you have 10+ years of experience working in biopharma and/or life sciences consulting with a focus on portfolio prioritization, strategic positioning of assets, competitive landscape analysis and commercial assessments? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Please let us know which internship(s) disciplines you're most interested in Data Science , Software Engineering, Biology/Chemistry, Product, G&A, Other: please specify in the textbox below |
multiselect | Yes |
| If you selected "Other" in the textbox above, please specify which internship discipline you would be interested in. | text | No |
| Do you have deep expertise in the development of small molecule therapeutics in the areas of oncology and/or immunology/inflammation? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Do you have at least 5 years of experience specifically managing clinical supply chains or clinical projects within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| This position is located at our HQ in Salt Lake City, Utah, and requires on-site presence. Are you currently local to the Salt Lake City area? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Do you have 3+ years of hands-on laboratory experience in assay development within pharma, biotech, a CRO, or an academic research setting? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| This is a contract position. Are you available to work on a contract basis for the stated duration? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Do you have hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
What it's really asking about
Grouped by what each question is for, so you can prepare the answers that repeat across employers.
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Other | 9 |
| Voluntary diversity questions (EEOC) | 6 |
| Years of experience | 4 |
| Relocation | 3 |
| Work authorisation | 3 |
| How you heard of them | 2 |
| Cover letter | 1 |
| Notice period | 1 |
| Remote or on-site | 1 |
| Visa sponsorship | 1 |
What other employers ask
The same question rarely comes out the same way twice. These employers' forms are measured the same way, from their own job boards:
Sofi · Sourcegraph · Sovrn · Spaceium · Squarespace · Stockx
Before you apply
Have the answers to the required questions ready before you open the form — Recursion's asks for 27 of them, and Greenhouse does not save a partial application by default. Settle the eligibility questions first — they are the ones with no room to elaborate, so knowing your answer before you start tells you whether the rest of the form is worth your time.