Staff Scientist

HHMI; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

HHMI is seeking a Staff Scientist for the Science Education Alliance (SEA) to build new research directions and lead independent projects across SEA's network of colleges and universities.

The role requires a PhD in biology, postdoctoral experience, and strong bench fluency with bacteria and bacteriophages, plus expertise in molecular biology, microbiology, bioinformatics, and large-scale sequencing projects.

Qualifications

• A scientist who leads, with ownership of research from question to publication or preprint.
• PhD in biology or a related field; postdoctoral experience preferred.
• Experience with large-scale genetic screens, sequencing projects, and bioinformatics.

Responsibilities

• Lead independent research projects advancing SEA's scientific mission.
• Develop larger-scale research directions with SEA leadership and collaborators.
• Design and implement experimental approaches and analytical frameworks for genomic workflows.
• Run experiments, build pipelines, and interpret findings.
• Contribute to methodologies to scale science across SEA's network.
• Publish and present results as a scientific contributor and program representative.
• Advise junior researchers and provide scientific leadership within SEA.

Skills

Independent research

Scientific leadership

Bioinformatics

Molecular biology

Microbiology

Genomics

Data analysis pipelines

Education

PhD in biology or related field

Tools

Bacteria/bacteriophage bench work

Sequencing workflows

Job description

Primary Work Address: 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815

HHMI is focused on supporting and moving science forward in a variety of different ways ranging from conducting basic biomedical research, empowering educators, inspiring students, developing the next generation of scientists - even stretching into film and media production. Our Headquarters is in the greater Washington, DC metro area and is home to over 300 employees with expertise in investments , communications, digital production, biomedical sciences, and everything in between. The work housed here supports and augments the groundbreaking research conducted in HHMI labs across the nation. As HHMI scientists continue to push boundaries in laboratories and classrooms, you can be sure that your contributions while working here are making a difference.

This is a role for a scientist who wants to build a research program, not simply carry out someone else's design.

The Science Education Alliance (SEA) is an HHMI program that connects hundreds of faculty at two-year and four-year colleges and universities into a national research community. Through the PHAGES and GENES projects, SEA has built a distributed model for inclusive research and education, where students contribute to scientific discovery through their coursework. The program provides instructor training, centralized infrastructure, and scientific coordination to make that possible at scale.

The Staff Scientist sits at the center of SEA's scientific work, building on what the PHAGES and GENES projects have already generated and identifying the questions worth pursuing next. The role involves developing new research directions, working closely with SEA leadership and lab staff, interpreting complex datasets, and translating discovery science into opportunities that faculty and students across the SEA network can participate in. It calls for someone who can hold a scientific vision and a distributed, collaborative context at the same time, working alongside people who are committed to both the science and the educational mission.

This position will report in-person to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with occasional travel to Headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Please note, we are not able to sponsor a visa for this position at this time.

What you will actually do

• Drive the science forward. Lead independent research projects that advance SEA's scientific mission. Identify promising new questions emerging from PHAGES and GENES data and develop research strategies to pursue them.
• Build new directions. Work with SEA leadership and external collaborators to develop larger-scale research areas and collaborative initiatives that extend what SEA does scientifically. This is not just executing an existing roadmap.
• Design and implement. Develop experimental approaches and analytical frameworks, including large-scale genomic and sequencing workflows. Run the experiments, build the pipelines, interpret the findings.
• Make meaning from data. Analyze complex datasets and synthesize findings into scientific and programmatic direction. Help the team understand what the data indicates and what to do next.
• Develop community tools and methods. Contribute to the methodologies and collaborative approaches that SEA's distributed faculty and student community can use. The goal is science that scales.
• Communicate and publish. Contribute to scientific publications, conference presentations, reports, and other research communications. Serve as a named scientific contributor and representative of the program's work.
• Support junior researchers. Advise junior lab members and contribute scientific leadership within the SEA community.

What we are looking for

• A scientist who leads. Has run an independent research project from question to publication (or preprint), rather than executing someone else's design. Held ownership of the work and has a first-author paper or preprint to show for it.
• PhD in biology or a related field. A doctorate is required. At least one year of postdoctoral research experience is preferred and will be the common profile for this role.
• Deep technical fluency. Bench experience with bacteria and bacteriophages, along with proficiency in molecular biology, microbiology, and bioinformatics. Understanding of how large-scale genetic screens and sequencing projects work, including building and running data analysis pipelines for transcriptomics, amplicon sequencing, or metagenomics.
• Comfort with complexity at scale. Ability to handle large, heterogeneous datasets and to build