Post Doctoral - Bioinformatics

ISU Research Park; Ames, Northern (IA, KY); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health in Ames, IA, seeks a Bioinformatics Post-Doctoral Fellow to conduct computational analyses that inform targets for vaccines and therapeutics. The role emphasizes developing pipelines, applying ML/AI, and collaborating with biologists, data scientists, and software engineers in a small, agile bioinformatics team.

The successful candidate will present findings, maintain rigorous data governance, and contribute to the Boehringer Ingelheim Post-Doctoral Program

Qualifications

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, CS, Structural Biology or related field.
• Strong programming skills in Python, R, or similar.
• Experience with Git and modern version control practices.
• Experience with HPC or scalable computing environments.
• Preference for backgrounds in infectious disease and animal health.
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop computational workflows for protein sequence, structure, and function.
• Apply ML/AI methods to support protein design and predictive modeling.
• Collaborate with biologists, protein scientists, data scientists, and software engineers.
• Mentor junior scientists and promote best practices in bioinformatics.
• Ensure data governance, reproducibility, and rigorous documentation.
• Communicate findings through reports and presentations.

Skills

Bioinformatics

Computational biology

Python

R

Git

Teamwork

Technical communication

Education

PhD in Bioinformatics or related

Tools

Git version control

HPC

Job description

Boehringer Ingelheim is seeking a motivated, enthusiastic, and creative Bioinformatics Post-Doctoral Fellow to join our Future Innovation team the Research department located in Ames, Iowa. The primary role of this position is to conduct bioinformatic analysis within animal health to provide targets for vaccine and therapeutic solutions. This position is part of the global Boehringer Ingelheim Post-Doctoral Program https://careers.boehringer-ingelheim.com/post-doc/

The incumbent is accountable for development and maintenance of computational pipelines and algorithms across diverse biological research projects. They will be responsible for the design, interpretation, and presentation of analyzed results to generate actionable conclusions. The individual be part of a small, highly collaborative bioinformatics team and will need to demonstrate agility, accountability and innovation in everyday work.

About us:

Boehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health (BIAH) is a family-owned company dedicated to the protection and treatment of animals from genetic disorders and infectious disease. BIAH recognizes the essential link between animals, humans and the environment as part of a One Health solution. Operating in over 150 countries with greater 10,000 employees BIAH is a truly global company with over $4 billion in sales in 2021. Innovation is a core principle to BIAH and that begins with cutting edge research centered in state-of-the-art facilities, including the newly built location centered in the Iowa State University Research Park in Ames, Iowa. BIAH recognizes and cares for its employees and encourages a strong work/life balance.

As an employee of Boehringer Ingelheim, you will actively contribute to the discovery, development, and delivery of our products to our patients and customers. Our global presence provides opportunity for all employees to collaborate internationally, offering visibility and opportunity to directly contribute to company success. We realize that our strength and competitive advantage lie with our people. We support our employees in several ways to foster a healthy working environment, meaningful work, mobility, networking, and work-life balance. Our competitive compensation and benefit programs reflect Boehringer Ingelheim's high regard for our employees.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Conduct computational research supporting protein design, protein engineering, and structural biology initiatives.
• Develop and apply computational workflows for protein sequence, structure, and functional analysis using state-of-the‑art bioinformatics and modeling approaches.
• Contribute to development of robust data capture, management, and curation processes that enable high‑quality datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications.
• Support data infrastructure, metadata standards, and workflow automation to improve data accessibility, traceability, and reproducibility across research programs.
• Develop and document software tools, pipelines, and analytical workflows using Python, R, or other appropriate programming languages.
• Utilize version control systems (Git) and collaborative software development practices, including code review, testing, documentation, and release management, to ensure maintainable and reproducible computational research.
• Apply machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to support protein design, predictive modeling, candidate prioritization, and biological discovery.
• Create species‑specific computational workflows leveraging comparative genomics, protein homology, structural modeling, literature review, and other computational approaches.
• Effectively communicate and defend scientific findings and computational approaches in written reports, presentations, and cross‑functional discussions.
• Collaborate closely with biologists, protein scientists, data scientists, and software engineers to translate research goals into scalable computational solutions.
• Demonstrate technical leadership by mentoring junior scientists and promoting best practices in bioinformatics, software development, and data management.
• Maintain the highest standards of scientific integrity, data governance, and ethical use of data and computational methods.
• Comply with all applicable corporate, national, and local regulations, maintaining appropriate documentation and records in accordance with company policies and SOPs.

Requirements

• PhD from an accredited institution in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Structural Biology, Protein Engineering or related fields.
• Demonstrated expertise computational biology, protein sequence and structural analysis, protein modeling, or protein design methodologies.
• Strong programming skills in Python, R, or other scientific programming languages.
• Experience utilizing Git and modern version control practices for collaborative software development, code review, and documentation.
• Experience working in high‑performance computing (HPC, or scalable computational environments is preferred.
• Background in infectious disease and animal health is preferred.
• Ability to function in multi-disciplinary teams is required.
• Ability to create written scientific reports and protocols, through strong written and verbal communications skills.
• Ability to clearly articulate scientific concepts related to biologics discovery, protein engineering, and computational research across functions.
• The role requires highly motivated, dependable and well‑organized individuals who can operate in a collaborative team environment.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without restriction.
• Must be willing to take a drug test and post‑offer physical (if required).