Research Assistant (N.1 Institute of Health, A/P Christopher Asplund's Lab)

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE; Singapore; On-site; SGD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research university in Singapore is seeking a backend engineer to design and maintain scientific data platforms. The role involves building cloud applications, ensuring system security, and supporting innovative research in neuroscience. Ideal candidates should have a strong background in backend programming and cloud services. This position offers the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary team focused on advancing research and understanding of human cognition.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in relevant technical disciplines.
• Strong proficiency in backend programming languages.
• Experience with database design and maintenance.
• Knowledge of DevOps practices and version control.
• Comfortable with network protocols and Linux system administration.
• Excellent written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and maintain cloud and on-premise databases.
• Develop and manage ETL pipelines for data processing.
• Ensure scalability, security, and documentation of systems.
• Build and maintain RESTful APIs for system interfacing.
• Implement and monitor security protocols.
• Manage deployment lifecycles across cloud environments.
• Design systems for versioned data storage and sharing.
• Support compliance with open science practices.

Skills

Backend programming (Python, Node.js, Go)

Cloud services (Firebase, GCP, AWS)

SQL and NoSQL database management

DevOps practices

Linux system administration

Excellent communication skills

Experience with UI/UX projects

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field

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

To design, build, and maintain hybrid scientific data platforms, focusing on backend systems that support both cloud-based and on-premise infrastructures. The role enables secure, human-centred analysis and sharing of scientific data to advance research in neuroscience and human cognition

Why Join Us: You will be part of a passionate, interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers working at the intersection of data science, neuroscience, and human behaviour. Your work will directly support research that deepens our understanding of human cognition and performance.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Backend Engineering & Data Infrastructure — Design, deploy, and maintain cloud-based and on-premise databases (relational and non-relational).
• Backend Engineering & Data Infrastructure — Develop and manage ETL pipelines for structured data ingestion and transformation for analytics and machine-learning models.
• Backend Engineering & Data Infrastructure — Ensure scalability, security, version control, and documentation of all systems.
• Backend Engineering & Data Infrastructure — Build and maintain RESTful APIs or equivalent for interfacing with other components.
• Backend Engineering & Data Infrastructure — Implement and monitor security protocols including penetration testing, version compatibility, access control, and malware protection.
• Backend Engineering & Data Infrastructure — Configure and maintain access to on-site servers (e.g., Synology NAS, Linux HPC nodes) including network routing, backups, and remote access.
• Cloud and DevOps Engineering — Use Firebase (Database, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging, Authentication, Analytics) to build real-time, scalable cloud applications.
• Cloud and DevOps Engineering — Manage deployment lifecycles, CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and troubleshooting across cloud environments.
• Data Management for Science — Design and maintain systems for versioned data storage, documentation, and sharing of large scientific datasets
• Data Management for Science — Support compliance with open science and reproducibility best practices
• Data Management for Science — Experience developing tablet-based user interfaces (Unity or web frameworks) is an advantage as well.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in computer science, software engineering, data engineering, or a related technical disciplines.
• Strong proficiency in backend languages (e.g., Python, Node.js, Go) and major cloud services (Firebase, GCP, AWS).
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL database design, deployment, and maintenance.
• Knowledge of DevOps practices, version control (e.g. Git), and automation tools.
• Comfortable with network protocols, firewalls, and Linux system administration.
• Excellent written communication and documentation skills.
• Prior experience supporting scientific, research, or UI/UX projects is highly desirable.