Postdoctoral Associate - Xavier Lab

Broad Institute; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

At least 13 paid holidays and paid time off

Job summary

The Broad Institute in Cambridge is seeking a motivated Postdoctoral Associate to lead data analysis for health and disease research. This role is integral in discovering mechanisms of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases through multifaceted data approaches.

Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. in a quantitative field, with expertise in computational biology. A competitive salary and extensive benefits package are provided, promoting a collaborative research environment.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of a variety of biological areas of research with 0+ years of experience.
• Experience with Next Generation Sequencing pipelines.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee data generation and analysis for various collaborations.
• Develop and implement improvements for high-quality datasets.
• Use single cell and spatial transcriptomic approaches to understand tissue organization.

Skills

Scientific and numerical programming in Python or R

Knowledge of class ML methods and deep learning

Bioinformatic analyses

Excellent communication skills

Critical thinking and analytical skills

Education

Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Computer Science, Physics, Math, Statistics

Job description

Description & Requirements

The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Associate to join the Xavier Lab and Klarman Cell Observatory and lead data analysis and algorithm development designed to determine the underlying factors contributing to health and disease, with a strong focus on discovering disease mechanisms at the level of their molecular and cellular pathways.

We are an interdisciplinary group with expertise in computational biology, functional genomics, microbiology, and immunology. The candidate for this position will be working closely with computational and experimental biologists, including Principal Investigators, graduate students, and staff scientists in the group. They will contribute by directing, planning, and executing the analyses of large multi-omic datasets with the goal of identifying biological features (e.g., variants, genes, microbes) that are relevant to human health. Prospective applicants should have made significant contributions to their area of study, as evidenced by a strong publication record. We are seeking creative and highly motivated individuals who want to work in a dynamic, multi-disciplinary research environment.

The ideal candidate will be the computational analysis lead for projects discovering the mechanisms behind inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. They should have excellent technical expertise while being driven to make a biological impact. In particular, we are seeking a postdoc to take primary leadership for analyzing spatial and single-cell multiomics datasets collected from human tissue samples as well as mouse models.

Responsibilities

• Oversee data generation and data analysis across various internal and external collaborations, including single-cell RNA-Seq, single-cell ATAC-Seq, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and/or microbiome data.
• Demonstrate flexibility to execute tasks requiring various skill levels and learn new skills as needed.
• Perform analyses using current processes and identify, propose, and implement improvements to ensure output of high-quality datasets.
• Work with other team members and leadership to plan project requirements and timelines, shift priorities as needed, and efficiently execute project tasks.
• Identify and help solve methodological problems, including adjustments to experimental and computational protocols to ensure generation of high-quality datasets suited to answer core biological questions.
• Use single cell and spatial transcriptomic approaches to understand tissue organization and how they are altered in disease environments such as chronic inflammation.
• Use a systems medicine approach to understand inflammatory and other diseases.
• Develop novel methods to facilitate exploration of unstructured datasets.
• Write well-crafted, maintainable, scalable, and performant code.
• Lead and carry out projects with minimal supervision.
• Participate in writing papers and grant proposals.
• Present project progress during group meetings.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Computer Science, Physics, Math, Statistics, or related quantitative fields and strong knowledge of a variety of biological areas of research with 0+ years of experience within the field.
• Scientific and numerical programming in Python or R and knowledge of class ML methods and deep learning methods.
• Well versed in a variety of bioinformatic analyses, including Next Generation Sequencing pipelines (single-cell RNA-Seq, single-cell ATAC-Seq, spatial transcriptomics analyses etc...).
• Excellent critical thinking, research, and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to work with biologists, computational biologists, data scientists, and software engineers.
• Must be able to work independently as well as part of a team in a fast‑paced, highly collaborative environment.
• Demonstrated ability to carry out a variety of tasks in parallel, recognize and solve problems effectively, and shift priorities rapidly.

Selected Publications

• Intra- and Inter-cellular Rewiring of the Human Colon during Ulcerative Colitis – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31348891/
• The landscape of immune dysregulation in Crohn's disease revealed through single-cell transcriptomic profiling in the ileum and colon – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36720220/
• Bidirectional CRISPR screens decode a GLIS3-dependent fibrotic cell circuit – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41501466/
• Population-scale multiome immune cell atlas reveals complex disease drivers – https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.25.25340489v1
• A structure-informed deep learning framework for modeling TCR-peptide-HLA interactions – https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.31.715361v2.full
• Bridging AI and biology: Foundation models meet human physiology and disease – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41519120/

The expected base pay range for this position as listed above is based on a 40 hour per week schedule. Broad provides pay ranges representing its reasonable and good faith estimate of what the organization reasonably expects to pay for a position at the time of posting. Actual compensation will vary based on factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, education, qualifications, and other factors permissible by law.

At Broad, your base pay is just one part of a comprehensive total rewards package. From day one, this role offers a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; a 401(k) retirement plan; flexible spending and health savings accounts; at least 13 paid holidays; winter closure; paid time off; parental and family care leave; and an employee assistance program, among other Broad benefits.

The Broad Institute is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

Should you need a reasonable accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact [e-mail] for assistance.