Postdoctoral Fellow - Phillippy Lab

Johns Hopkins, founded in 1876, is America's first research university and home to nine world- class academic divisions working together as one university.

$63,480 - $80,000

Johns Hopkins University:
Whiting School of Engineering

Dr. Adam Phillippy is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to join his research group at Johns Hopkins University beginning in2026 or early 2027. The position will be based in the Department of Computer Science in the Whiting School of Engineering, with opportunities to engage with the broader Johns Hopkins researchecosystem, including the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Genetic Medicine.

The postdoctoral researcher will develop and apply computationalmethods across the problems of genome assembly, comparativegenomics, gene annotation, pan genomics, personalized genomes, and rare disease clinical diagnostics, with the specific focus shapedby the candidate's interests. Much of this work leverages recentlydeveloped reference pangenome databases, and their correspondingdata structures, that efficiently capture the genetic variation ofa species. These methods can be applied to population-scalesequencing and to the genotyping of complex structural variation.

While the approaches generalize to any species, they have directapplications to human health, including the identification of such variation in the genomes of rare disease patients. This workrequires expertise in algorithm design (especially on strings andgraphs), software engineering, bioinformatics, and efficientprogramming languages. The ideal candidate will be interested in developing novel, scalable algorithms and data structures for largegenomic datasets and in translating them into real-world impact.

Applicants with strong computer science, algorithmic, or software engineering backgrounds are encouraged to apply, even if theirprior work has not specifically focused on genomics orbioinformatics.

This is a full-time, on-site postdoctoral position with an initialappointment of 12 months and the possibility of extension based on performance and funding. Strong candidates need not meet every qualification listed below.

• PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related technical field
• Strong publication record in relevant peer-reviewed venues and evidence of impact as measured by citations to the candidate's ownwork
• Strong technical background in one or more of the following:
  • Bioinformatics
  • Genome assembly, alignment, annotation, and variantcalling
  • Algorithm and data structure design, especially on strings andgraphs
• Interest or experience in working on topics related to datacompression, machine learning, high-performance computing, andscalable data structures
• Proficiency in a performant programming language such as C++ orRust, a scripting language such as Python, and a shell / command line work environment
• Experience with tools such as common sequence aligners, assemblers, and pangenome software (e.g., minimap2, samtools, Verkko, vg, etc.)
• Ability to lead research projects independently, from problemformulation through analysis, implementation, and publication
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Interest in working in a collaborative and interdisciplinaryenvironment

Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and contact information for at least writers of letters of reference. Please also indicate your earliest possible start date.

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics. The University is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors or demographic characteristics that are irrelevant to the program involved.

The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.

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Johns Hopkins University strongly…