Machine Learning Resident – Client: Qualisure (12 month term)

Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute); Edmonton; On-site; CAD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship by an Amii Scientist

Professional development activities

Access to the Amii community andevents

Networking opportunities

Potential ongoing ML role at client’s;

Job summary

Amii invites applicants for a 12-month paid residency hosted in Canada. The Resident will work under an Amii Scientist, collaborating with Qualisure Diagnostics to develop a transcriptomic-based ML model for precision oncology.

The role involves building a foundational model for bulk RNA sequencing data, ensuring biological fidelity and robust representations across data generation methods. The successful candidate will have graduate-level training in CS or bioinformatics, experience with

Qualifications

• Completion of a graduate level program (M.Sc/Ph.D) in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology or related fields.
• Experience with foundation AI models for biology or related research.
• Proficient in Python and related libraries.
• Familiarity with HPC environments and bash scripting.

Responsibilities

• Work with large transcriptomic datasets and build ML/DL models for contrastive/adversarial tasks.
• Conduct applied research on ML techniques for improved biology models.
• Translate scientific code into working solutions for MVPs and client-facing outputs.
• Engage in regular client meetings and contribute to presentations and reports.

Skills

Machine Learning

Bioinformatics

Python

Bash scripting

Education

Graduate degree (M.Sc./Ph.D.) in CS/Bioinformatics/Computational Biology or related

Tools

HPC clusters

Job description

“If you are looking to develop a transcriptomic-based ML model for precision oncology, this is a great opportunity. Join a team of ML scientists and domain experts to leverage molecular diagnostics for personalized patient care.”

• Anjana Puliyanda, Machine Learning Scientist

About The Role

This is a paid residency that will be undertaken over a twelve-month period with the potential to be hired by our client afterwards. The Resident will be reporting to an Amii Scientist and regularly consult with the Client team to share insights and engage in knowledge transfer activities.

About Our Client

Qualisure Diagnostics is a Calgary-based precision oncology company redefining how molecular diagnostics are developed, deployed, and scaled. Founded by clinician-scientists and engineers, it sits at the intersection of cancer biology, artificial intelligence, and health system implementation, with a mission to advance diagnostic biomarkers for personalized patient care across the world. We encourage you to visit their website to learn more (https://qualisuredx.com/).

About The Project

As the ML Resident on this project, you'll build a proof-of-concept foundation model for bulk RNA sequencing data that produces stable, biologically faithful representations which stay invariant to how the data was generated. The goal is a model where equivalent biology yields equivalent outputs, regardless of the upstream workflow, while preserving the gene–gene relationships, pathway activity, and disease signatures that downstream clinical tasks depend on.

Required Skills / Expertise

We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic resident with strong knowledge of machine learning, and working experience in bioinformatics.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with large-scale heterogeneous transcriptomic datasets.
• Build, train, and evaluate ML/DL models for contrastive and adversarial tasks.
• Undertake applied research on ML techniques to address the limitations in existing models.
• Translate scientific code into working solutions.Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop minimum viable products (MVPs) and client-centric solutions.
• Engage in regular client meetings, contributing to presentations and reports on project progress.
• Optimize ML pipelines to ensure efficiency, scalability, and real-time processing capabilities.

Requirements

• Completion of a graduate level program (M.Sc/Ph.D) in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology or related fields.
• Research and/or applied project experience in foundation AI models for biology.
• Proficient in Python programming language and related libraries and toolkits.
• Proficient in bash scripting and working with HPC clusters.
• A positive attitude towards learning and understanding a new applied domain.
• Must be legally eligible to work in Canada.

Assets / Nice to Haves

• Experience working with NGS technologies for RNA-seq.
• Publication record in peer-reviewed academic conferences or relevant journals.
• Knowledge and experience in designing experimental frameworks for large datasets.

Non-technical requirements

• Interdisciplinary team player enthusiastic about working together to achieve excellence.
• Capable of critical and independent thought.
• Able to communicate technical concepts clearly and advise on the application of machine learning.
• Intellectual curiosity and the desire to learn new things, techniques, and technologies.

Why You Should Apply

Besides Gaining Industry Experience, Additional Perks Include

• Working under the mentorship of an Amii Scientist for the duration of the project.
• Participating in professional development activities.
• Gaining access to the Amii community and events.
• Building your professional network.
• The opportunity for an ongoing machine learning role at the client’s organization at the end of the term (at the client’s discretion)

About Amii

One of Canada’s three main institutes for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, our world-renowned researchers drive fundamental and applied research at the University of Alberta (and other academic institutions), training some of the world’s top scientific talent. Our cross-functional teams work collaboratively with Alberta-based businesses and organizations to build AI capacity and translate scientific advancement into industry adoption and economic impact.

Applicants must be legally eligible to work in Canada at the time of application.

Amii is an equal opportunity employer and values a diverse workforce. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability. Accommodations for disability‑related needs throughout the recruitment and selection process are available upon request. Any information provided by you for accommodations will be kept confidential and won’t be used in the selection process.