Postdoctoral Research Associate

Research Associate (7) / Research Assistant(6a) in Computational Biology and Software Engineering

Grade 6a

Salary £34,866 – £36,924

Grade 7

Salary Range £37,999 - £46,485

Full Time/Fixed Term (30-months)

Commencing January 2025 

The Opportunity

This post represents an exciting opportunity for an ambitious individual to join the Biological Systems (BioSys) research group in Keele University’s School of Computer Science and Mathematics, under the supervision of Dr Goksel Misirli (Computer Science) in collaboration with Dr Roberto Galizi (Life Sciences). This 30-month multidisciplinary project is funded by BBSRC and aims to enhance and support data standardisation in bioengineering in the UK and globally. The successful candidate will research, design and develop a computational and web-based platform to create, visualise and validate biological designs. 

Synthetic biology involves programming biology and designing novel applications, and the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) has a well-defined data schema to encode these designs in a standard format. This project focuses on developing essential software infrastructure for synthetic biology, building on the recent version of SBOL to easily encode and analyse these designs for reuse, reproducibility and data-driven bioengineering. The project also involves engaging with national and international stakeholders. 

BioSys is heavily involved with data standardisation in synthetic biology, for example, producing libraries for programmatically creating and validating biological designs. This project will leverage these existing resources. Training opportunities about SBOL and related concepts will be provided based on your skills.

• You will have a MSc or PhD (dependant on grade 6a/7) in Computer Science or a related discipline.  
• Experience in software engineering (e.g. Java and Python) and web development are essential.
• Experience or familiarity in a JavaScript framework (e.g., React), Git, data visualisation, open-source software development, and working with graphs is desirable.
• You will have good communication skills to engage with stakeholders, share research findings, and provide support for project-specific workshops.
• Experience in writing and publishing scientific papers is also desirable.

The Benefits

The University recognises that its success depends upon the contribution and dedication of its talented staff. In return, we have a competitive benefits package available, including:  

• Competitive rate of pay with annual increments within the grade (Keele Spine)
• Generous annual leave entitlement with opportunities to purchase additional leave  
• Excellent staff pension scheme   
• Access to continued personal, professional and career development   
• On site ‘outstanding’ nursery    
• Discounted health & fitness facilities on site  
• Cycle to work scheme (subject to eligibility)

Please note that the starting salary will typically be at the bottom of the pay scale shown above.

The University is committed to operating flexible working practices wherever possible. 

The University

Further information can be found at https://www.keele.ac.uk/about/

Keele University values equality and diversity across our workforce and to ensuring our staff community is reflective of the diversity of our student population. In support of these commitments the University welcomes applications from individuals of Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds for all roles.

How to Apply

To apply online for this vacancy and for full post details and copies of job descriptions, please click on the 'Apply' button above. 

Keele University employees wishing to apply should login to Employee Self Service and click on the 'View current vacancies' link.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Goksel Misirli (g.misirli@keele.ac.uk).  Applications to this address will not be accepted. 

Closing Date: 30th October 2024

Interviews: 15th November 2024

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