Associate Scientist, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, AI-Guided Functional Immunology

Merck seeks a postdoctoral researcher to develop machine learning methods integrating single-cell transcriptomics and functional genomics to model immune cell perturbations and identify immunological disease mechanisms. The role combines computational modeling with experimental design and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Advance AI/ML methods connecting single-cell foundation models with functional perturbation data
• Develop interpretable computational approaches to predict immune cell state changes from genetic and chemical perturbations
• Design and interpret perturbation experiments with experimental teams and integrate results into models
• Develop active learning and optimization strategies to guide experimental selection and evaluate model generalization
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across data science, immunology, and translational research to communicate findings

Requirements

• PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics, AI/ML, computer science, immunology, bioengineering, statistics, or related quantitative field
• Strong expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and data science with demonstrated research productivity
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch
• Experience with single-cell omics analysis, representation learning, or biomedical data analysis
• Experience applying and evaluating deep models on high-dimensional biological data
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to multidisciplinary scientific teams
• Experience with CRISPR, target discovery, or perturbation modeling approaches

Compensation: $82,000-$92,000