Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biometrics for In Silico Breeding

The University of Edinburgh; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Edinburgh seeks a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biometrics for In Silico Breeding, focusing on developing statistical frameworks and software tools for complex data simulations. This full-time role offers a salary of £40,497 per annum, with opportunities for part-time arrangements. Join a vibrant international community and contribute to significant advancements in plant and animal breeding research.

Benefits

Comprehensive Staff Benefits

Generous holiday entitlement

Competitive pension schemes

Staff discounts

Family-friendly initiatives

Qualifications

• Passionate about biometrics, statistics, and quantitative genetics.
• Expertise in mixed models and machine learning.
• Experience in high-level programming languages.

Responsibilities

• Develop statistical frameworks and software tools for simulating complex phenotypic data.
• Enable large-scale simulations of high-dimensional experimental data.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams.

Skills

Biometrics

Statistics

Quantitative Genetics

Machine Learning Algorithms

Programming in Rcpp and C+

Open-source Software Development

Collaboration

Job description

Grade UE07: £40,497 - £48,149 per annum (pro-rata if part-time)

CMVM/The Roslin Institute

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Fixed-term: for 36 months

We are looking to fill a 3-year post for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biometrics for In Silico Breeding within the BBSRC-funded HiPerBreedSim project. In this role, you will develop a general statistical framework and software tools for simulating complex phenotypic data capturing multiple data streams (e.g., genetic, environmental, multi-omics) along with their linear and non-linear interactions. The framework will enable large-scale simulations of the high-dimensional experimental data emerging from plant and animal breeding. The software here will accompany our breeding ecosystem comprising AlphaSimR and FieldSimR.

This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. Fixed-term for 36 months.

The salary for this post is£40,497 per annum.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• You are passionate about biometrics, statistics and quantitative genetics applied to experimental breeding data.
• You have expertise in linear and generalised mixed models, as well as machine learning algorithms.
• You have experience in a high-level programming language, such as Rcpp and C+.
• You are interested in developing open-source software for academic and applied work.
• You are independent, organised, and thrive in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams working in globally important sector.
• Please inspect the call documentation regarding the essential and desirable knowledge, skills and experience needed for the post.

Click to view a copy of the full job description (opens new browser tab).

Application Information

Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:

- CV

- Cover letter

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, competitive pension schemes, staff discounts, and family-friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on ourstaff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits.

Championing equality, diversity and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on ourright to work webpages (opens new browser tab).

The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.

Please note if the role is offered on a part-time basis, it may result in sponsorship being dependent on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant or the role no longer meeting the Home Office’s criteria for sponsorship.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 18th June 2025.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

Interviews will be held shortly after the closing date (late June or early July, 2025).