Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

We are offering a Postdoctoral fellowship in computational biology commencing 1 April 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.

We are looking for a highly competent motivated and dynamic senior Postdoc with a solid background in scientific software engineering of algorithms for large scale next generation genomics data.

The position is funded by the Balzan Foundation and is central for the project Towards peta-scale methods for taxonomic assignment of ancient environmental DNA awarded to Eske Willerslev. The project aims to develop new methods to improve taxonomic accuracy and computational efficiency of large ancient environmental DNA data sets.

Workplace
The position will be tightly interconnected with activities at the Centre for Ancient Environmental Genomics which is a newly established interdisciplinary research center specializing in sequencing and analyzing ancient environmental DNA (aeDNA). Our international research team collects samples from ice soil and lake deposits and utilizes cutting-edge sequencing technologies to extract and analyze ancient DNA from such samples. Through the reconstruction of ancient environments our research provides valuable insights into ecological and evolutionary processes including the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities. The research brings together a diverse team of researchers with backgrounds in geology genetics ecology evolutionary biology computer science statistics and more. During onboarding there will be particular emphasis on facilitating integration in the Center and the Institute.

Your job
You will be an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team working within metagenomics and ecosystems responses to climate changes from an evolutionary perspective.

Your job will be to advance methods for searching immense databases and accurately assigning taxonomy to novel sequences. You will be leading and developing new cost and time effective tools for sequence search and taxonomic assignment of degraded eDNA that meet the need for scalability to large datasets and robustness to sequencing errors.

Profile
We are looking for motivated bioinformaticians or data scientist with the following competencies skillset and possible experience: Previous experience with development of computational methods for the analysis of short-read sequencing data. Previous experience with development of statistical and computational methods for phylogenetic assignment of DNA sequencing data from environmental DNA to taxonomic groups.

Essential experience and skills

• Ph.D. in Life sciences Computer Science Statistics data science or related fields.
• Experience with software engineering Next-Generation-Sequencing data.
• Experience in software engineering for probabilistic phylogenetic methods.
• Extensive programming experience in C/C++.
• Proficiency in the English language both written and spoken.
• Strong organizational skills regarding code documentation.

Desirable experience and skills

• Experience with methods for statistical taxonomic assignment of DNA sequences using phylogenies.
• Experience in methods development for low-coverage Next-Generation-Sequencing data analyses from non-model organisms

Place of employment
The place of work is at the Section for GeoGenetics Globe Institute University of Copenhagen. We offer supportive creative and stimulating working conditions within a dynamic and international research environment.

Globe Institute is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse environment where employees and students can belong and thrive. See the website for more information. All qualified applicants will receive full consideration. Candidates who contribute to our institute's diversity and competencies through their service are encouraged to apply. The University of Copenhagen strives to offer a family-friendly and flexible working environment with a sustainable balance between work- and private life including parental leave schemes (up to 47 weeks for both parents) and up to six weeks of paid holidays per year.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The positions are fixed-term of 2 years with the possibility of extension.

Employment will be in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations). The monthly salary will be based on the number of years of work experience (seniority) with the possibility to negotiate a salary supplement based on prior experiences and qualifications. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund.

Questions
For further information regarding the position please contact Rasmus Nielsen: rasmus_nielsen@berkeley.edu or Thorfinn Sand Korneliussen tskorneliussen@sund.ku.dk.

Application
Your application should be in English and should include:

• Letter of application addressing the requirements (max. one page).
• Curriculum Vitae
• A certified/signed copy of certificate(s) of education
• References

Please submit your application by clicking on Apply Now below.

Application deadline: 18 January 2024 23.59 CET.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

Interviews are expected to be held in the beginning of February.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.