Research Scientist II

About the role

The Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) aims to advance freshwater and coastal ocean research as a foundation for health, economic prosperity and global sustainability through interdisciplinary research cutting across Michigan Tech’s academic programs. The GLRC institute includes collaborative faculty from twelve disciplines within the Colleges of Engineering, Computing, Sciences and Arts, Business, and Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate and apply bioinformatics approaches to environmental data.
• Contribute technical expertise to sponsored research as both a project lead and team member.
• Successfully grow a funded research program, to become self-supporting into the future.
• Prepare and deliver reports or presentations of research projects/analysis results to project sponsors as appropriate.
• Lead and contribute to the generation of proposals and external funding.
• Apply safety-related knowledge, skills, and practices to everyday work.
• Apply research security knowledge to data, facilities, and personnel.
• Commit to learning about continuous improvement strategies and applying them to everyday work.
• Actively engage in University continuous improvement initiatives.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in bioinformatics, computational biology, biological sciences, or similar related field.
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident with ability to obtain and maintain necessary government clearances and access.
• Experience developing reproducible bioinformatics analysis pipelines for environmental data.
• Successful track record of working in multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong record of scholarly productivity, including peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, or other research outputs.

Desired Education and/or Experience

• Demonstrated leadership, project management, and mentoring experience in a research environment.
• Track record of successful major grant proposal authorship and execution.
• Rigorous graduate-level coursework in one or more programming languages and statistical courses, particularly with environmental or ecological data.
• Industry experience in the areas of interest, or similar areas.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong programming skills with experience in one or more of the following programming languages/software: python, R, metagenomic pipelines such as DADA2, basic handling of high throughput sequencing data such as Samtools, GATK, statistical analysis tools for genetic associations, including mixed model platforms, multivariate models, and Bayesian approaches.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage diverse partners and represent the organization externally.
• Commitment to advancing Michigan Tech’s research mission and supporting a collaborative, inclusive research environment.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to translate research into applied outcomes, including technology development, policy engagement, or industry partnerships.
• Demonstrated success in, or potential future contributions to, working with persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and viewpoints.

Work Environment and/or Physical Demands

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.