Postdoctoral Associate

Required Qualifications: (as evidenced by an attached resume)

• Ph.D. (or foreign equivalent) in marine biology, genomics, computational biology, evolutionary biology, or a closely related field in hand by the start of the appointment.

• Track record of research productivity as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications.

• Proficiency in R and at least one scripting language (e.g., Python).

• Record of managing and analyzing large-scale genomics or population genetics datasets.

• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work both independently and collaboratively.

• Ability and willingness to work in both laboratory and field environments.

• Excellent written and oral English communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong background in evolutionary genetics/genomics, specifically using genomic approaches to analyze introgression, clonal diversity, and/or host-symbiont associations.

• Experience developing, scaling, or maintaining workflows within the Galaxy platform or similar bioinformatics workflow management systems.


• Experience querying and managing relational databases, including handling SQL queries and database syncing routines.

• Familiarity with the biological challenges of cnidarian-algal symbioses (co-analyzing host and symbiont data) is an asset but not required.

Brief Description of Duties:
A two-year postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Sheila Kitchen in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the Stony Brook University. We seek a postdoctoral candidate at the intersection of molecular ecology, evolutionary genomics, and bioinformatics. The successful candidate will split their time between two core research areas: (1) investigating the evolutionary genomics and symbiosis dynamics of cnidarians, and (2) managing the deployment and development of STAGdb (Standard Tools for Acroporid Genotyping Database). The candidate will also be encouraged to develop and pursue their own areas of research interest. The candidate will conduct original research, write manuscripts for publication, participate in professional meetings, and collaborate with faculty and graduate students at Stony Brook University and the Marine Conservation Group led by Dr. Iliana Baums at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (Baums Lab). Please visit our website for more information about our research and the Kitchen Lab or email Sheila Kitchen at View email address on click.appcast.io.

• Maintain operations of STAGdb, and monitor Google Group, GitHub and email for user support.

• Feature development for STAGdb, testing and reproducible documentation.

• Wet laboratory experimentation to be determined between Dr. Kitchen and candidate.

• Manuscript preparation including manuscript writing, editing, and figure preparation. May also assist in grant writing.

• Training/mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in analysis of sequencing data.

• Other duties as assigned, which may include professional development activities, outreach, or attendance at conferences and workshops.

Special Notes:
The Research Foundation of SUNY is a private educational corporation. Employment is subject to the Research Foundation policies and procedures, sponsor guidelines and the availability of funding. FLSA Exempt position, not eligible for the overtime provisions of the FLSA. Minimum salary threshold must be met to maintain FLSA exemption.

Candidate can start in Fall 26, but no later than 1/1/27.

Visit The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs to learn more about our postdoctoral community.

Online application should include Resume/CV, cover letter (2-pg max) that includes your research experience and interests, future research and career goals and your preferred start date and names and contact information of three references, including your current supervisor.

Stony Brook University is committed to excellence in diversity and the creation of an inclusive learning, and working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status and all other protected classes under federal or state laws.

If you need a disability-related accommodation, please call the university Office of Equity and Access (OEA) at View phone number on click.appcast.io or visit OEA.

In accordance with the Title II Crime Awareness and Security Act a copy of our crime statistics can be viewed here.

Visit our WHY WORK HERE page to learn about the total rewards we offer.

SUNY Research Foundation: A Great Place to Work.

The starting salary range (or hiring range) to be offered for this position is noted below, it represents SBU's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.