Research Assistant in Chemical Data Science

Department of Chemistry
Research Assistant in Chemical Data Science
80-100 %
The Fenner group at the University of Zurich is looking for a research assistant in Chemical Data Science to contribute to the further development of envipath.org , an internationally unique resource for collecting and predicting information on the degradation of contaminants by environmental microbial consortia.
This position is part of the 2-year project enviPathPlus funded by Swiss Universities through the Open Research Data (ORD) program within action area B “Establish projects”. The aim of this action area is to foster research practices and tools to enable, facilitate and promote the sharing of research data based on ORD principles.
Your responsibilities
The successful candidate will join a team of 3-4 researchers, including bioinformaticians and data scientists, who will work together in the project enviPathPlus to further develop the platform enviPath into a community-wide open research data platform. Your responsibility will be focused on facilitating the improved interaction of users with the platform. This will include defining standard input and output data formats for biodegradation data and their metadata, developing harmonized templates for data submission, and updating REST and python APIs for data import and export. Additionally, you will develop new services for the user community in terms of documentation and to provide good user guidance. You will also support users and the team with bug fixing and adaptation of the software code to integrate new developments within enviPathPlus . Finally, you will help with the organization of an initial “scope finding” and final “dissemination” workshop.
Your profile

• MSc in (bio-)chemistry, systems biology, or a related field
• Advanced programming skills, including proficiency in common Python libraries (e.g., pandas, numpy), cheminformatic tools (rdkit). Experience with java is a plus.
• Self-driven personality with excellent interpersonal skills
• Creative, proactive, and problem-solving attitude

We seek an enthusiastic individual with the ability to work both highly independently as well as in a team. In addition to relevant experience in the abovementioned activities, the candidate should be fluent in English. The candidate should have received their MSc degree within the last 2-3 years. Applications of researchers with higher level of education will not be considered.
What we offer
The project will be led by Kathrin Fenner, and co-led by our international enviPath partners (Dr. Jörg Wicker, University of Auckland and Tim Lorsbach ). Kathrin Fenner is professor in Environmental Chemistry at the Chemistry Department of the University of Zurich and group leader at the Department of Environmental Chemistry at Eawag. Both Eawag and the University of Zurich are located within the Zurich metropolitan area.
The University of Zurich is a modern employer and offers an excellent working environment where staff can contribute their strengths, experience and ways of thinking. We promote gender equality and are committed to staff diversity and inclusion. The compatibility of career and family is of central importance to us.
Place of work
University of Zurich Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zürich, Switzerland
Start of employment
Employment starting date will be mutually agreed upon (preferably as soon as possible).
We ask strongly motivated candidates to submit their applications containing a motivation letter, a CV (resumé), and 1 letter of support (or the names and contact details of 2 referees) in a single pdf file by 20th February 2023.
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