Researcher

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

• CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

• If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

POSITION SPECIFICS

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Huck Institutes of The Life Sciences (The Huck) and the U.S. National Science Foundation National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS) seek to hire a Researcher to support and advance NCEMS’s mission of catalyzing and conducting community-scale synthesis in the molecular and cellular sciences through research and externally facing activities.

The successful candidate will contribute to a dynamic and collaborative research environment and will work closely with internal and external faculty, staff, students, and partners. This position is intended to support an individual in the early stages of a research career who will contribute to ongoing research efforts while continuing to build expertise in computational and data-intensive synthesis science. The role is primarily research-focused and emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, reproducible analytical approaches, and scholarly output.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Advance the NCEMS mission through participation in community-scale synthesis research in the molecular and cellular sciences

• Contribute to research activities involving computational biology, bioinformatics, biological data analysis, and related quantitative approaches

• Analyze and interpret complex molecular and cellular datasets

• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams across NCEMS and with external research partners

• Contribute to the preparation of technical reports, manuscripts, presentations, and other research outputs

• Support the development and application of reproducible and open-science-oriented research workflows, tools, and resources

• Participate in scientific meetings, project discussions, and other research activities that contribute to the progress of NCEMS initiatives

• Assist with mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, as appropriate, in support of research activities

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Biosciences, Plant Sciences, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field

• Demonstrated experience in computational biology, bioinformatics, AI-driven biological data analysis, and scalable open-science research infrastructure and training

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Demonstrated ability to contribute to research products such as analyses, manuscripts, technical reports, presentations, or related scholarly outputs

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working with large-scale biological datasets

• Experience with reproducible computational workflows and open-science research practices

• Experience contributing to externally funded research projects

• Experience working collaboratively across disciplines and with research teams

• Record of publications, manuscripts in preparation, technical reports, or other scholarly contributions

• Interest in community-scale synthesis research in the molecular and cellular sciences

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Applicants must submit:

• A cover letter describing relevant experience and interests

• A current curriculum vitae (CV)

• Contact information for three professional references

Applications must be submitted electronically through Penn State’s employment system.

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

BENEFITS

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional wellbeing. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.

For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.)

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