The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) is currently seeking a Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist to conduct research into biological analyses and software development in big data computational biology, deployed on high performance computing (HPC) clusters. In this position, the selected candidate will engage in research projects with faculty and industry partners at UIUC, nationwide and internationally, to develop new bioinformatics methodologies for high throughput biological computing. The incumbent must have ability to collaborate on research projects and independently conduct analyses of big ‘omics data, primarily in healthcare and agriculture. The preferred candidate will be a great team player, self-starter with high initiative and ability to quickly learn new skills. The incumbent will possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, professional demeanor, outstanding work ethic, and the ability to perform in a high pressure, fast-paced environment.
NCSA is committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community. Candidates who have experience working with a diverse range of faculty, staff, and students, and who can contribute to the climate of inclusivity are encouraged to apply.
The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or veteran status. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu.EEO.
Key Responsibilities of the Research Scientist: Research Duties (70%):
Apply knowledge in biology and computing to develop novel data analyses and improve existing approaches to make them applicable for large and multidimensional genomic, proteomic and phenomic datasets, including development of scientific workflows, algorithms and statistical analyses. Design, develop, improve, test and validate complex bioinformatics workflows for production use in critical medical and industrial settings. Provide scientific and technical leadership on partner projects by breaking down objectives into individual tasks, identifying test data, designing tests and coordinating these duties across the project team. Assist in collecting performance measurements of software on different hardware architectures, collaboratively analyze these data and make recommendations to NCSA partners about best deployment of their codes. Analyze and summarize information on the latest trends in scientific research in the area of computational biological and health sciences using reports, white papers and presentations. Use these research results to advise the NCSA Directorate and NCSA Industry in computing for biological and health sciences. Critically assess software applicability and accuracy for a variety of biological analyses. Perform big ‘omics data analyses with collaborating researchers on HPC resources, evaluate statistical significance and summarize results. Contribute to research articles for peer-reviewed journals. Contribute original technical material to grant proposals and assist with other aspects of proposal preparation.
Research Software Support Duties: (10%)
Assist in unit testing, integration testing and functional testing of software. Help install, test and debug software packages and tools on the supercomputers at NCSA and its partners. Comply with nondisclosure agreements between NCSA and its industrial partners, as well as vendors. Provide support in biological computing for NCSA Industry partners, internal groups at NCSA and collaborating campus faculty at UIUC and elsewhere. Operate on HPC systems of NCSA Industry partners to provide biological software support as needed. Other duties as assigned.
Teaching and Training: (10%)
Prepare and deliver training materials for high performance, high throughput biological computing to NCSA partners and UIUC students and faculty. Provide expertise and assistance in data download and management, as well as job management on HPC
Professional Development (10%)
Maintain and improve competence in computational biology by attending seminars and colloquia at NCSA and elsewhere at UIUC, as appropriate. Represent NCSA in meetings and conferences by presenting slides and posters.
Requirements:
Ph. D in Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Biochemistry, CS, ECE or related field. Alternative degree fields will be considered if accompanied by equivalent experience as it relates to current NCSA projects. 1-3 years of experience in biological computing, such as genomics, transcriptomics, phylogeny, molecular modeling, computer simulation of biological processes, etc. Experience documenting projects, research effort and codes.
Preferred Requirements:
Experience with Bash, Linux command line, Python/Perl/R. Programming experience in Python, C/C++, Java or related languages. Experience with workflow management systems, such as Cromwell/WDL, CWL, Nextflow and similar. Experience writing research articles and grant proposals. Experience working in a multidisciplinary collaborative environment. Experience with independent project development. Experience with database development including both SQL and graph databases. Familiarity with modern hardware: CPU, GPU, disk and RAM. Ability to operate in a variety of HPC architectures, using job schedulers, parallel filesystems, and the cloud. Familiarity with Agile practices. Leadership skills.
Key Responsibilities of the Senior Research Scientist: Research Duties (70%)
Apply knowledge in biology and computing to develop novel data analyses and improve existing approaches to make them applicable for large and multidimensional genomic, proteomic and phenomic datasets, including development of scientific workflows, algorithms and statistical analyses. Design, develop, improve, test and validate complex bioinformatics workflows for production use in critical medical and industrial settings. Formulate and negotiate partner projects, identify objectives and assign duties across the project team. Assist in collecting performance measurements of software on different hardware architectures, collaboratively analyze these data and make recommendations to NCSA partners about best deployment of their codes. Analyze and summarize information on the latest trends in scientific research in the area of computational biological and health sciences using reports, white papers and presentations. Use these research results to advise the NCSA Directorate and NCSA Industry in computing for biological and health sciences. Critically assess software applicability and accuracy for a variety of biological analyses. Lead big ‘omics data analyses with collaborating researchers on HPC resources, evaluate statistical significance and summarize results. Prepare and submit research articles for peer-reviewed journals. Prepare grant proposals for submission to federal and private funding agencies.
Research Software Support Duties: (10%)
Assist in unit testing, integration testing and functional testing of software. Help install, test and debug software packages and tools on the supercomputers at NCSA and its partners. Comply with nondisclosure agreements between NCSA and its industrial partners, as well as vendors. Provide support in biological computing for NCSA Industry partners, internal groups at NCSA and collaborating campus faculty at UIUC and elsewhere. Operate on HPC systems of NCSA Industry partners to provide biological software support as needed. Other duties as assigned.
Teaching and Training: (10%)
Prepare and deliver training materials for high performance, high throughput biological computing to NCSA partners and UIUC students and faculty. Provide expertise and assistance in data download and management, as well as job management on HPC.
Professional Development (10%)
Maintain and improve competence in computational biology by attending seminars and colloquia at NCSA and elsewhere at UIUC, as appropriate. Represent NCSA in meetings and conferences by presenting slides and posters.
Requirements:
Ph. D. degree in Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Biochemistry, CS, ECE or related field. Alternative degree fields will be considered if accompanied by equivalent experience as it relates to current NCSA projects. 4-6 years of experience in biological computing, such as genomics, transcriptomics, phylogeny, molecular modeling, computer simulation of biological processes, etc. Experience with Bash, Linux command line, Python/Perl/R. Experience documenting projects, research effort and codes. Expereince contributing to research articles and grant proposals.
Preferred Requirements:
Experience in Python, C/C++, Java or related languages. Experience with workflow management systems, such as Cromwell/WDL, CWL, Nextflow and similar. Expereince working in a multidisciplinary collaborative environment. Experience with independent project development. Experience with database development, including both SQL and graph databases Familiarity with modern hardware: CPU, GPU, disk and RAM.. Ability to operate in a vareity of HPC architectures, using job schedulers, parallel filesystems, and the cloud. Familiarity with Agile practices. Leadership skills.
This is a regular academic professional position at NCSA and is an annually renewable, 12/12, 100%-time appointment with regular University benefits. Salary is commensurate with experience and start date will be as soon as possible after the close date of the search. Applicants must possess required education and experience by start date of position. Interviews may occur before the closing date; however, all applications received by the closing date will receive full consideration. For further information regarding our application procedures, please visit http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu or email NCSA-HR@illinois.edu
To apply, please create your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and upload your cover letter and CV/resume by the close date (01/05/2022). Contact information for three references must be included on the application. For full consideration, candidates must complete the Hiretouch application process by the above date.
The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. As a qualifying federal contractor, the University of Illinois System uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility. The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit Policy on Consideration of Sexual Misconduct in Prior Employment.
University of Illinois faculty, staff and students are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This employment offer is contingent on your timely submission of proof of your vaccination. If you are not able to receive the vaccine for medical or religious reasons, you may seek approval for an exemption in accordance with applicable University processes.
