Research Assistant 2

McGill University; Duff; On-site; CAD 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Canadian university in Saskatchewan is seeking a Bioinformatics Researcher to execute laboratory projects relating to chronic pain. The ideal candidate will have a master's degree in Bioinformatics and Data Analysis, and at least five years of research experience. Responsibilities include data management, statistical analysis, and machine learning algorithm development. This full-time position offers an hourly salary of $31.44 and requires fluency in English. Applicants must be authorized to work in Canada.

Qualifications

• At least five years of research experience.
• Solid experience in programming with R.
• Fluent in English, fluent in French is desired.

Responsibilities

• Participate in laboratory projects applying statistical genomics methods.
• Perform data cleaning and quality control.
• Design machine learning algorithms for data analysis.

Skills

Statistical genetics

Programming with R

Bioinformatics

Genomics

Machine learning

English communication

Linear algebra

Education

Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and Data Analysis

Tools

R programming packages (dplyr, ggplot2)

Job description

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Position Summary

Under the direction of the immediate supervisor, participates in the execution of laboratory projects and experiments in order to apply statistical genomics methods to further the understanding of chronic pain development, conditions featuring pain, and pain sensitivity.

Performs a variety of specialized tasks, such as:

• data transformation, data reformatting, data cleaning and quality control of newly generated datasets
• Construct phenotype data tables from raw data
• Build and maintain reproducible data analysis scripts, algorithms and pipelines that utilize Compute Canada\'s parallel computing infrastructure
• Calculate summary statistics within a regression framework
• Construct data filters and scripts that link together the components of the data analysis pipelines
• Design machine learning and computational statistics algorithms for post processing and further analysis of pipeline outputs
• Perform principal component analysis, Parse results data, Create result tables and visualization of results for manuscripts
• Once the data and analysis management aspects of the position are set up, the candidate will have the opportunity to work on projects in novel method development according to their specific interests and expertise

Qualifications:

The appointee will have at least a master’s degree in Bioinformatics and Data Analysis or equivalent educational credential and at least five years research experience, and should have:

• A background in statistical genetics, bioinformatics, computational biology, machine learning, genetic epidemiology or any other mathematical or quantitative field (mandatory)
• Solid experience in programming with R, including the packages for data manipulation dplyr and data.table as well as visualization packages like ggplot2 (mandatory)
• Knowledge in the field of genetics and bioinformatics (mandatory)
• Experience with large genomic databases, such as the UK Biobank or the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, and understanding of their data organization and data representation (mandatory)
• Fluent spoken and written English (mandatory)
• Fluent spoken and written French (desired)
• Knowledge and conceptual understanding of statistical concepts including maximum likelihood estimation, linear regression, logistic regression, linear and generalized linear mixed models, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, correlation, etc. (mandatory)
• Knowledge of machine learning algorithms, e.g. multivariate normal and generalized chi-squared distribution fitting, k-nearest neighbors, k-means clustering, regularized regressions and LASSO, collaborative filtering, gradient descend and Newton\'s method (essential)
• Working knowledge of linear algebra, including eigenvalue and singular value decomposition of matrices with application to principal component analysis and dimensionality reduction (essential)
• Understanding of data structures, data organization and data representation, e.g. associative array representations of trees, adjacency and incidence matrix representations of graphs and networks (desirable)

Before applying, please note that to work at McGill University, you must be both authorized to work in Canada and willing to work in the province of Quebec at the campus where the position is based / located.

McGill University is an English-language university where most teaching and research activities are conducted in the English language, thereby requiring English communication both verbally and in writing.

Hourly Salary: $31.44

Hours per Week: 35 (Full time)

Location: Duff Medical Bldg.

Supervisor: Assistant Professor

Position Start Date: 2026-01-12

Position End Date: 2026-06-03

Deadline to Apply: 2026-01-27

This position is covered by the Association of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE) collective agreement.

McGill University hires on the basis of merit and is strongly committed to equity and diversity within its community. We welcome applications from racialized persons/visible minorities, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. McGill implements an employment equity program and encourages members of designated groups to self-identify. Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, [e-mail].