Huck Institutes Life Sciences NSF NCEMS Researcher

POSITION SPECIFICS

JOB TITLE:

Researcher

LOCATION:

University Park, PA

DEPARTMENT: NCEMS
COLLEGE/UNIT:
Huck

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.

• 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

• 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

• 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

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.

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

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.)

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact .

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