Scientific Consultant - Part-Time

The Pennsylvania State University; Ferguson Township (PA); On-site; USD 2,755,000 - 4,133,000; Part time

Job summary

The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a Scientific Consultant to provide on-demand scientific expertise for NCEMS projects. The role involves developing computational methods, data wrangling, and maintaining open science pipelines to support emergent property analyses in molecular and cellular systems.

Ideal candidates are current Penn State graduate students with strong background in computational biology or bioinformatics and a keen attention to detail, able to rapidly learn new tools

Qualifications

• Proficiency in computational and data science methods relevant to NCEMS Working Group research.
• Current Penn State graduate student with demonstrated expertise in computational biology, bioinformatics, or a related data-intensive discipline.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to rapidly learn new software tools and databases.

Responsibilities

• Develop computational methods for integrating, analyzing, and visualizing molecular and cellular biology data.
• Wrangle, harmonize, and standardize biological datasets.
• Implement quality control and quality assurance protocols for data accuracy and reproducibility.
• Provide guidance on bioinformatics tools and pipelines.
• Support publication of intermediate data products, code, and documentation.
• Develop and maintain analysis pipelines compliant with NCEMS Open Science standards.

Skills

Computational biology

Bioinformatics

Data science

Databases

Programming (Python)

Programming (R)

Data visualization

Education

Graduate student at Penn State

Tools

Python

R

SQL

Matplotlib/ggplot

Job description

Job Description

The U.S. National Science Foundation National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS) at Penn State University is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual to join our team as a Scientific Consultant (Hours will vary depending on project needs and requested support). NCEMS is a national resource synthesizing diverse data to gain new insights and understanding of emergent properties in complex molecular and cellular systems.

This position will support the scientific research agenda of our Working Groups through interactions with NCEMS Staff Scientists, Postdoctoral Scholars, and Staff Scientist Assistants.

Responsibilities

Provide on-demand scientific expertise and support to NCEMS, including but not limited to:

• developing and implementing computational methods for integrating, analyzing, and visualizing molecular and cellular biology data;


• wrangling, harmonizing, and standardizing biological datasets;


• implementing comprehensive quality control and quality assurance protocols to ensure data accuracy, consistency, reliability, and reproducibility;


• providing guidance on bioinformatics and computational biology tools and pipelines;


• supporting the publication of intermediate data products, code, and documentation; and


• developing and maintaining analysis pipelines compliant with NCEMS Open Science standards.

Required Qualifications

Skills: Proficiency in computational and data science methods relevant to advancing NCEMS Working Group research.

Experience: Current Penn State graduate student with demonstrated expertise in computational biology, bioinformatics, or a related data-intensive discipline.

Attributes: Strong attention to detail, ability to rapidly learn new software tools and databases, and a commitment to providing high-quality scientific support.

Schedule and Compensation

Hours are variable and determined on an as-needed basis in consultation with NCEMS staff.

Background Checks/Clearances

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

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