Postdoctoral Fellow (PREP0004155) Full-time

Postdoctoral Fellow

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title: AI Researcher: Engineering Biology

The work will entail: Plan and conduct research to advance measurement capabilities to aid in the predictive engineering of biological systems, such as proteins, as part of the NIST Engineering Biology Program. Develop artificial intelligence and machine learning analysis pipelines to support automation and protocol development for wetlab procedures, as well as development of platforms for new, quantitative measurements and validated methods for evaluating the functional performance of engineered biological parts and systems. Develop automation workflows for bottleneck processes in biosecurity screening and synthetic biology. Support NIST's mission through service as a subject matter expert in the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to measurement innovation in synthetic biology. Engage stakeholders and identify opportunities for standards development.

US Citizen Preferred

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Perform measurement analyses using artificial intelligence and/or machine learning
• Generate and maintain analysis software, along with documentation
• Conduct analysis and assist staff in conducting analysis
• Maintain and administer hardware solutions for project and group compute tasks
• Advise division and NIST management as a subject matter expert
• Organize, conduct, and attend relevant meetings and provide written summaries or other documentation to NIST management and stakeholders
• Obtain and provide relevant information to inform NIST management and stakeholders
• Maintain deep technical knowledge of advances in the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to measurement challenges in synthetic biology, such as those relevant to biosafety and biosecurity
• Demonstrate attention to detail
• Execute novel technical research
• Support sequence to function research for protein engineering
• Develop and apply infrastructure for data analysis
• Establish and document standard operating procedures for analysis pipelines

Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. in Computer Science, Engineering, Manufacturing, or a related field.
• 2 years of relevant experience.
• Familiarity with DevOps and CICD pipelines.
• Ability to work with real-time event data at scale.
• Familiarity with multiple scripting languages.
• Ability to develop prototypes of tools needed to analyze data.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.

Application Instructions:

Please upload the following with your application:

• CV/Resume
• Self portraits
• Phone number
• Home address/Country
• Citizenship status
• Languages spoken
• Sex/Gender

Salary Range:

The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.

Total Rewards:

Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.

Pre-Employment Information:

If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the HR Business Services Office.

Background Checks:

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check including education verification.

Vaccine Requirements:

Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit and all other JHU applicants should visit.

The following additional vaccine requirements may apply, depending upon your campus. Please contact the hiring department for more information. The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.