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Our candidate search has been put on hold while we complete our quadrenial Board of Scientific Counsellors review. Please check back in mid to late February

Soon to be Hiring: Data Scientist

The Data Science and Sharing Team (DSST) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD has an open position for a data scientist. With a current budget of over $2B per year, the NIMH is among the largest divisions of the NIH and is the largest funder of research on mental disorders in the world. The NIMH mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure.

The DSST is responsible for leading and supporting data-intensive scientific projects within the NIMH Intramural Research Program (IRP). We work closely with the Machine Learning Team who develop and apply new analyses to better understand complex brain function and disorders.

We also work to implement the policy guidance from the White House Office of Science Policy (OSTP) to ensure free, immediate, and equitable public access to federally funded research, foster greater collaboration and innovation, and strengthen public trust.

Responsibilities

Building tools and data pipelines

You will work with a team of researchers and developers to build and deploy data processing pipelines in collaboration with NIH investigators. You’ll have the resources of the NIH High Performance Compute (HPC) Cluster at your disposal, as well as cloud compute infrastructure through the STRIDES Initiative. Everything we create is open source and freely distributed.

Teaching, Guiding, & Mentoring on Data Science Best Practices

You will work to cultivate data science skills within the NIH by teaching courses to scientists on best data practices (e.g. Software and Data Carpentries, BrainHack Global as well as interfacing with specific neuroimaging repositories (e.g. The Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Project (ABCD), OpenNeuro, UK Biobank, The NIMH Data Archive).

Implementing, Advancing, and Creating Data Standards

Data standards are critical for making open data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). You’ll be implementing and contributing to projects throughout the world that are building standards and tools for open and reproducible neuroscience (e.g. OpenMicroscopy, BIDS, and (NWB).

Qualifications

Education

You should have a recent graduate degree (PhD preferred) in a STEM field. It’s fine if you’re fresh out or early in your career. Ideally, you should be comfortable building processing pipelines for complex biomedical data. For this position, we are particularly interested in candidates who have experience with microscopy data, but those with experience with other data types (e.g., electrophysiology, genomics, neuroimaging, etc.) are also welcome to apply.

Technical Experience

You should have experience coding in modern languages currently used in data-intensive, scientific computing (e.g., Python or R) and version control systems like git. Experience with distributed, high-performance computing tools such as Docker/Singularity and batch processing systems such as SLURM is a plus. So is experience with front-end development and visualization with JavaScript. Please provide some concrete examples of your code, ideally checked in to an online repository like Github or BitBucket, and any associated publications or pre-prints.

Drive and Motivation

We’re seeking someone who’s interested in and motivated by our mission to increase transparency and data availability in biomedical science. We decide on projects and priorities together as a team and are looking for people to participate fully in that process.

Our offices are on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland and preference will be given to candidates who are able to work onsite, though hybrid arrangements are possible.

How to apply…

Email your resume and a short cover letter in the body of the email to:

DATASCI-JOBSEARCH@mail.nih.gov

The National Institutes of Health is an equal opportunity employer. This position will be based at NIMH in Bethesda, MD via a third party contracting firm who is able to provide visa sponsorship.