Seeking a Research Scientist or Postdoctoral Researcher (26-308) Part-time

Research Scientist Or Postdoctoral Researcher

Laboratory for Motor Circuit Plasticity RIKEN Center for Brain Science (Team Director: Aya Takeoka)

Neurocircuit mechanisms of motor control

Job title and job description

Job title

Research Scientist or Postdoctoral Researcher: 2 positions Research Scientist is defined as those with a doctoral degree more than 5 years. Postdoctoral Researcher is defined as those with a doctoral degree of 5 years or less.

The Laboratory of Motor Circuit Plasticity (PI: Aya Takeoka) at RIKEN Center for Brain Science is seeking an organized and highly motivated lab technician to join our group. Our lab employs multi-disciplinary approaches, including genetics, quantitative behavior analysis, electrophysiology, and neural circuit mapping and manipulation to study the basic mechanisms underlying how we learn to control movements. The applicant will be assigned to an appropriate position based on his/her ability, aptitude, etc.

Job description

The successful candidate will be expected to take the lead in running, analyzing and publishing experiments which integrate advanced analytical methods with complex motor learning and execution paradigms.

• In vivo electrophysiology
• Use of genetic approaches to “tag” defined neural populations
• Circuit stimulation and silencing
• Analysis of behavioral and neuronal activity data

The job description may be changed during the contract period or upon contract renewal to the extent described above.

Qualification

• Ph.D. degree in biotechnology or related fields.
• The successful candidate must be meticulous, self-motivated, and able to troubleshoot and interact well with other members of a diverse research team.
• Is flexible and willing to obtain new expertise and experiences.
• Good verbal and written English communication skills.

Work location

RIKEN Wako Campus (2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198) RIKEN may order the employee to change work locations, if necessary.

Salary and benefits

• A one-year fixed-term employment contract, renewable based on evaluation, to a maximum of the end of March 31, 2029.
• RIKEN may adjust the above maximum period of renewability based on a) the employee's abilities, workload at the time of contract completion, performance and work attitude and b) the continuation of the employee's center, laboratory or project and RIKEN's management situation and budget at the time. In principle, employment contracts will not be renewed for individuals older than 70 years.

In principle, the first two months of employment are considered a trial period.

Salary will be an annual salary based on experience, ability, and performance, and will consist of a base salary and a variable salary. The variable salary will be determined each fiscal year based on experience, ability, and performance.

Discretionary work, commuting and housing allowances will be provided. Social insurance will be applied.

The approximate amount of salary at the time of employment:

The total amount of monthly discretionary work allowance and monthly salary at the time of hiring will be 448,990 JPY or more for Research Scientist, and 382,610 JPY or more for Postdoctoral Researcher.

RIKEN has a telecommuting system, but this position requires attendance at the work location. Therefore, the telecommuting system is not available for this position, in principle.

This position falls under the specialized duties discretionary work system; one working day will be calculated as 7 hours and 30 minutes.

Days off include public holidays, New Year's holidays (Dec. 29 – Jan 3), and RIKEN Foundation Day. Paid leave includes annual paid leave (up to 20 days depending on the month of employment), special paid leave (caring for a sick child, family nursing care, etc.), and work life balance holidays (up to 7 days depending on the month of employment). There are also additional leave systems such as maternity leave, childcare leave, and family nursing care leave. Smoking is entirely prohibited on site. These and other provisions are in accordance with RIKEN regulations. Mandatory membership in the RIKEN Mutual Benefit Society (RIKEN Kyosaikai).

* Eligible to apply for the MEXT Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Kakenhi).

RIKEN is actively undertaking initiatives to promote gender equality and diversity, and moving forward with the establishment of a diverse and vibrant research environment. If multiple candidates are found to have the same aptitude following a fair assessment, active efforts will be made to recruit female candidates.

The Wako Campus has an on-site daycare, RIKEN Kids Wako. For details, please send an email to kids@riken.jp.

Application and required documents

Required documents

• 1. Complete CV or CV
• 2. List of research achievement and publications (including ResearcherID or Google Scholar ID, if available)
• 3. External funding awarded
• 4. Summary of research experience to date
• 5. Reason for applying for the post
• 6. A letter of recommendation from the current supervisor (If unavailable, a letter from a substitute reference will be acceptable.)
• 7. Agreement on handling of personal information (Handling of personal information based on the Hiring Privacy Policy, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation) Please review the following web page before submitting the consent form.:

How to apply

The above documents, except the letters of recommendation, should be combined into a single PDF file and uploaded to the following link:

For Researcher position, Laboratory for Motor Circuit Plasticity Team, Center for Brain Science, RIKEN

After you uploaded the ZIP file, please let us (aya.takeoka@riken.jp) know the file name of the uploaded file.

Letters of recommendation must be directly submitted from the referees to the following link with the file name “XXXX [applicant's name] (Recommendation letter)”. Please specify the applicant's name, and referee's name and contact information in the letter of recommendation.

For Researcher position, Laboratory for Motor Circuit Plasticity Team, Center for Brain Science, RIKEN

After the referees uploaded the recommendation letter, please let us (aya.takeoka@riken.jp) know the file name of the uploaded file. If a confirmation email is not received within 7 days after submission, please contact: aya.takeoka@riken.jp.

Note: All the submitted documents will not be returned.

Deadline

Open until the position is filled

Handling Personal Data

Submitted documents are strictly protected under the RIKEN Privacy Policy and will be used only for the purpose of applicant screening at RIKEN. Personal information will not be disclosed, transferred or loaned to a third party under any circumstances without just cause.

Selection process

Application screening and interview for selected applicants

Notification of hiring decision

The notification of hiring decision (conditional offer of employment) regarding this selection shall be carried out through the presentation of an Employment Contract or a Conditional Offer of Employment issued by RIKEN.

Start of employment

As early as possible

Contact information

RIKEN Center for Brain Science Laboratory for Motor Circuit Plasticity Email: aya.takeoka@riken.jp For inquiries, please send an email.