Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences NSF NCEMS Postdoctoral Scholar

The Pennsylvania State University; State College (Centre County); Hybrid; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits package

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. This role involves developing computational methods for analyzing complex biological data. Candidates should possess a PhD in Computational Biology or a related field, with a strong foundation in Python or R and experience in bioinformatics tools.

Join a collaborative team that emphasizes ethics and integrity in research. The position offers a competitive benefits package designed for personal and professional well-being.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Expertise in Python and R for data analysis and statistical modeling.
• Experience with large-scale biological datasets.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement computational methods for data integration and analysis.
• Provide technical expertise with biological datasets and quality control.
• Guide working groups in evolutionary biology and data processing.

Skills

Python

R

Data analysis

Bioinformatics software

Data wrangling

Git

Team collaboration

Education

PhD in Computational Biology or related field

Tools

BLAST

GATK

Bioconductor

Job description

Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences NSF NCEMS Postdoctoral Scholar

United States, Pennsylvania, University Park

Application Instructions

• If you are a current Penn State employee or student, log in to Workday and complete the internal application process.
• If you are an external applicant, click “Apply” and complete the external application process.

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

This is a term position; the length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with center working groups to develop and implement computational methods for integrating, analyzing, and visualizing complex molecular and cellular biology data.
• Provide technical experience in wrangling, harmonizing, and standardizing existing biological datasets, including advanced experience with next‑generation sequencing data. Implement comprehensive quality control measures to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
• Provide expert advice to working groups in evolutionary biology, including construction of phylogenetic trees and population genetics analyses.
• Offer support and guidance on selection and application of bioinformatics and computational biology tools and pipelines, especially for sequence alignment, gene expression analysis, and variant calling, following open and reproducible science best practices. Develop and maintain quality assurance protocols for workflows.
• Have hands‑on experience in data processing from raw data for modern techniques, including RNA‑Seq, single‑cell RNA‑Seq, ChIP‑Seq, DNA‑Seq, ATAC‑Seq, and Hi‑C. Support publication of intermediate data products, code, and documentation.
• Stay up‑to‑date with the latest advancements in bioinformatics, computational biology, and available biological datasets.

Education and Experience

• PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field.
• Solid foundation and expertise in Python and/or R for data analysis, scripting, and statistical modeling.
• Mastery using bioinformatics or computational biology software (e.g., BLAST, GATK, Bioconductor).
• Expertise in data wrangling, harmonization, big data analytics, ETL processes, and extracting meaningful insights from complex datasets.
• Experience with large‑scale molecular and cellular datasets, including genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, lipidomic, epigenomic, interactomic, structural, glycomic, and single‑cell multi‑omics data.
• Hands‑on experience with Git version control systems and Data Version Control (DVC).
• Understanding of genetic principles, molecular biology techniques, and genomic databases.
• Experience developing new bioinformatics tools as required by research needs.
• Publications in peer‑reviewed journals demonstrating contributions to the field.

Candidates must also have impeccable ethics and integrity, a strong work ethic, strong interpersonal and written skills, and the ability to work well in a team environment.

Candidates are required to provide the following

• A current Curriculum Vitae or Resume
• A cover letter detailing the candidate's interest in the role

Background Checks/Clearances

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background checks in accordance with University policies.

Benefits

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full‑time employees designed to support personal and professional well‑being. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page. (For Postdoctoral benefits, see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.)

EEO IS THE LAW

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814‑865‑1473.