Research Assistant (Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum)

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE; Singapore; On-site; SGD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading university in Singapore is seeking a Research Assistant for a 2-year role to oversee project operations and collaborate on biological research. The successful candidate will manage specimen workflows, assist in AI model training, and supervise interns, requiring a passion for biology and relevant academic qualifications. This position offers the chance to work in a dynamic research environment while contributing to significant scientific projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in a Biology-related field required.
• Interest in taxonomy and experience in specimen handling.
• Familiarity with biodiversity data platforms and project management is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Manage workflows for biological specimen images for databases.
• Supervise interns on specimen sorting and data entry.
• Assist with project administration and report preparation.

Skills

Organizational skills

Time management skills

Communication skills

Experience in leading/supervising

Good knowledge of Excel and MS Office

Education

Bachelor of Science in Biology

Tools

Image processing software

Job description

Interested applicants are invited to apply directly at the NUS Career Portal

Your application will be processed only if you apply via NUS Career Portal

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Job Description

Research Assistant (2-year position) to function primarily as a project operations coordinator and assist the Project lead in the following aspects of work.

Primary Duties:

• Specimen Image Collation: Manage workflows to gather, organize, and quality-check images of biological specimens for inclusion in digital databases and AI training datasets
• Taxonomic Literature Collation: Oversee the collection, organization, and curation of taxonomic literature relevant to targeted taxa
• Intern Management: Supervise interns assisting with specimen sorting, imaging, data entry, and literature collation; develop work schedules and task lists.

Secondary duties:

• AI Model Training Support: Assist in preparing, validating, and managing datasets to train and improve AI model accuracy in species identification and classification
• Project Administration: Assisting with coordination between research staff, maintaining detailed records of project progress, and preparing data for project milestone reports.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science in a Biology-related field (e.g., Biodiversity, Ecology, Zoology, Life Sciences)

Experience:

• Interest in taxonomy, systematics, and entomology
• Experience in specimen handling and (macro)photography
• Familiarity with image processing software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, ImageJ)
• Exposure to or basic understanding of AI concepts and data preparation for machine learning
• Familiarity with biodiversity data platforms (e.g., GBIF) and basic biodiversity informatics concepts
• Experience in project management

Skills:

• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Good working knowledge of Excel and MS Office applications.
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Experience in leading/supervising students or interns is advantageous
• Comfortable working independently and as part of a team in a dynamic research environment.