Postdoctoral Research Associate - AI-driven Lab Automation for Life Sciences (AI)

Location: On-site in Upton, New York, United States

Salary: $71,900–$119,000 per year

Company

hirify.global is a multidisciplinary U.S. Department of Energy laboratory focused on discovery science and transformative research, including work at the National Synchrotron Light Source II.

What you will do

• Develop AI-enabled workflows for automated crystallization screening, optimization, and characterization.
• Design computer vision methods to detect and track crystal growth using imaging and experimental data.
• Build closed-loop optimization approaches for crystallization conditions and harvesting strategies.
• Train and integrate AI/ML models with crystallization robotics, liquid handlers, and imaging platforms.
• Build scalable data pipelines connecting metadata, imaging data, and diffraction results.
• Collaborate with beamline scientists and laboratory staff, document results, publish findings, and present at conferences.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in computer science, bioinformatics, biophysics, applied mathematics, or a related field.
• Expertise in machine learning, computer vision, or image analysis.
• Experience with data management, databases, Python, scientific software development, Git, and collaborative coding.
• Ability to work in interdisciplinary teams and a strong publication record.
• Candidates must complete all degree requirements before employment begins.
• Selected candidates must be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Uncleared Personal Identity Verification credential.

Nice to have

• Experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, lab automation, robotics, or ML integration in research facilities.
• Experience with black-box, active-learning, or Bayesian optimization.
• Experience with imaging, time-series, high-dimensional, or multimodal datasets.
• Exposure to crystallography, structural biology, experiment tracking, or reproducible workflows.

Culture & Benefits

• Two-year appointment with possible renewal subject to performance and funding.
• Comprehensive employee benefits program.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration across beamline science, crystallization, laboratory, and computing teams.
• Work focused on structural biology, life sciences, and high-throughput research facilities.
• REAL-ID-compliant documentation is required for laboratory site access.