OPS Research Assistant - AI-driven Drug Discovery

OPS Research Assistant - AI-driven Drug Discovery

Job no: 534603

Work type: Temp Part-Time

Location: Main Campus (Gainesville, FL)

Categories: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence

Department: 32030000 - PH-MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY

Classification Title:
OPS Research Assistant - AI-driven Drug Discovery

Job Description:
The OPS Research Assistant in AI-driven Drug Discovery will work in the lab of Dr. Yanjun Li in the College of Pharmacy's Medicinal Chemistry department.

Job Description:

• Be an active member of a scientific group that develops and prototypes novel AI algorithms for impactful drug discovery problems involving sequence and structure modeling for protein, RNA, or small molecule.
• Apply computational techniques, data analysis, and visualization methods for ongoing studies.
• Train and validate large deep learning models at scale.
• Develop optimized data pipelines to fuel deep learning models, and maximize the value of public and proprietary data assets.
• Collaborate closely with PI, research assistants, computational biologists, experimental biologists, and chemists on research projects and scientific papers.

Expected Salary:
Starting at $15/hour; Commensurate with education and experience

Employment Benefits include:

Health Insurance: UF participates in state-sponsored benefits programs for individuals, families and domestic partners, and offers voluntary insurance that includes vision, dental, long-term disability and more. OPS employees are eligible for state benefits if your FTE is 0.75 (30 hours per week) or greater.

Retirement Options: The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Alternative Plan is a mandatory retirement savings plan under Internal Revenue Code section 401(a) with Fidelity Investments and is required for eligible OPS employees. You may also voluntarily participate in other retirement saving plans.

To learn more visit: hr.ufl.edu/benefits

Minimum Requirements:
Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer science, electronic engineering, bioinformatics, computational biology, computational chemistry, statistics, data science, or related disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Interests in AI-driven drug discovery, deep learning research, and self-motivated.
• Solid Math/Statistics and coding skills in Python/R, PyTorch, and TensorFlow.
• Demonstrated research experience in the deep learning and computational biology field.
• Good written and oral communication skills. Proactive, perseverant, and eager to learn.
• Ability to manage time efficiently and meet deadlines.

Special Instructions to Applicants:
To be considered, you must upload your cover letter, resume, and list of three professional references.

As a part of our review for research and research support positions, we look for a full CV which includes all professional appointments/engagements, all post-secondary education, and all publications from post-secondary education and all respective dates. Please be sure to not use acronyms in your CV. This CV should include names of entities associated with any projects.

This position is in-person and is not eligible for remote work.

Review of applications will begin Jan. 25, 2025, and continue until the position is filled.

Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.

Health Assessment Required:No

Advertised: 16 Dec 2025 Eastern Standard Time

Applications close: 31 Aug 2026 Eastern Daylight Time

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