Computational Synthetic Biology

Postdoctoral Research Associate

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Position Description

We are seeking an exceptional and innovative individual with a doctoral degree in computer science, computer engineering, bioinformatics, or related field to lead the bioinformatics and computational aspects of a project aiming at developing a technology to issue and verify digital certificates for synthetic genetic constructs.

The postdoc could also be involved in the development of models (gene network and machine learning) to optimize the performance of genetic designs.

Required Qualifications

  • Doctoral degree in bioinformatics or computational biology
  • No more than 3 years of postdoctoral experience.
  • Demonstrated proficiency using a variety of bioinformatics resources and tools.
  • Experience developing production-grade applications using a combination of languages including Java, Python, Ruby, or JavaScript
  • Working knowledge of data modeling processes using a variety of frameworks including deterministic gene network models, stochastic gene networks, statistical models, neural network models.
  • Effective oral and written communication skills
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.
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Preferred Qualifications

  • Working knowledge of synthetic biology workflows.
  • Working knowledge of digital signatures, error correction codes, and a cryptographic algorithms to encode data in DNA sequences.
  • Good understanding of software engineering workflows include code versioning, continuous integration, and automated testing.
  • Prior experience with computing cloud platforms (AWS or GCP)
  • Demonstrated ability to use different media to communicate scientific and technical issues to different audiences including members of the general public.
  • Demonstrated ability to secure financial support of research projects.
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Essential Job Duties

Research (70%)

  • Participate in the design of application architecture.
  • Develop new algorithms to support research projects
  • Implement new software features into the software
  • Collaborate with other software engineers to ensure the period release of new software version.
  • Contribute or lead to the analysis of data generated by experiments.
  • Hire, train, and supervise undergraduate students participating in software development efforts
  • Keep laboratory notebooks and other research records.
  • Lead or contribute to the writing of scientific articles.
  • Assist with the development of research proposals.
  • Participate in the activities of the relevant scientific organizations.
  • Assign work to undergraduate students according to their technical proficiency.
  • Review code contributed by other team members prior to release.

Teaching (20%)

  • Assist with teaching graduate-level classes on genetic design.
  • Guide journal-club style discussions in class
  • Provide feedback to students on project presentations
  • Host guest lecturers and accompany students to site visits
  • Assist with the grading of student assignments

Communication and outreach (10%)

  • Contribute articles to the research group websites
  • Assist with the management of the group’s social media channels.
  • Work with the CSU communication team to communicate research results to the general public using different media including written articles or videos.