Research Scientist- Industrial & Systems Engineering

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Research Scientist- Industrial & Systems Engineering at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Essential functions (job duties):

Under the direction of the Principal Investigator, provide scientific and technical leadership for cutting-edge research in translational data science and systems biology. Design and implement machine learning methods for the integrative analysis of complex multi-modal biomedical data, including single-cell and bulk transcriptomics, epigenomics, and clinical data. Develop, optimize, and maintain scalable bioinformatics workflows, build data-driven products, and create interactive visualization tools. Administrate High-Performance Computing (HPC) servers. Lead cross-functional research teams while contributing to grant writing, manuscript preparation, and translational research strategies.

With the assistance of the Principal Investigator, find and write research grants with the goal of obtaining additional research grant funding. Lead computational and data science sections of grant applications, including experimental design, statistical analysis plans, and A/B testing frameworks. Responsibilities may also include coordinating correspondence with applicants and grantees, acknowledging receipts of proposals, and maintaining a system to track proposals.

Perform computational and data science research, including machine learning pipeline development, single-cell and bulk RNA-seq analysis, and multi-omics data integration. Design and implement deep learning models, clustering algorithms for patient stratification and cell-type identification, and statistical models for survival and outcome analysis. Participate in implementing research objectives, ensuring compliance with all legal, regulatory, and protocol guidelines. Communicate with Principal Investigator and cross-functional teams on the status of research.

Collect and manage research data from internal experiments and public repositories. Develop reproducible bioinformatics workflows for preprocessing, batch correction, and biological interpretation. Evaluate and perform data analysis using interactive visualizations, dashboards, and statistical reports to highlight key findings. Build web-based tools for data exploration. Proofread and edit research data and documents to ensure accuracy.

Prepare and present presentations regarding research project results for professional, scientific, and academic conferences. Summarize and organize data results for submittal to peer-reviewed journals. Write scientific manuscripts and develop open-source software packages for the research community. Collaborate with external partners, key opinion leaders, and industry on translational research projects.

Maintain computational infrastructure including HPC environments, containerized workflows (Docker, Singularity), and cloud resources. Develop documentation and training materials to accelerate team onboarding. Mentor graduate students and junior researchers on computational methods and reproducible research practices.

Qualifications:

Education   Doctorate degree

Requires advanced knowledge acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

Experience   Specialist (minimum 5 years of job-related experience)

Administrate High-Performance Computing (HPC) servers for bioinformatics research.

Experience in performing computational biology and bioinformatics research.

Must have distinguished themselves in research with strong peer-reviewed publications.

Experience in writing research grant applications.

Experience with NGS, single-cell/single-nuclei data analysis including preprocessing, integration, and interpretation.

Experience in developing analytical pipelines and open-source software tools.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Programming & Data Analysis:
Expert proficiency in Python and R

SQL and database systems (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Elasticsearch)

Experience processing large-scale datasets in production environments

Experience with NLP and information retrieval systems

Knowledge of clinical data or healthcare settings

Machine Learning & Statistics:
Deep learning and neural network architectures

Clustering, classification, and ensemble methods

Dimensionality reduction (PCA, t-SNE, UMAP) for large-scale data

Statistical modeling, hypothesis testing, and experimental design

A/B testing and causal inference methods

Survival analysis and clinical outcome modeling

Bioinformatics & Genomics:
Single-cell and single-nuclei RNA-seq analysis

Bulk RNA-seq and differential expression analysis

Epigenomic data analysis (ATAC-seq, chromatin accessibility)

Multi-omics data integration for target discovery and biomarker identification

Infrastructure & Development:
HPC environments and containerization (Slurm, Docker, Singularity, Virtual Workspace)

Cloud platforms (Google Cloud Platform, AWS)

Web development for data visualization (JavaScript/TypeScript, React.js, D3.js)

Version control (Git)

Other:
Ability to work independently and lead research initiatives

Ability to secure grants and funding for research

Ability to analyze, summarize, and interpret research findings in reports and communicate results to diverse audiences

Demonstrated ability to mentor students and collaborate across disciplines

Knowledge of scientific integrity principles

Excellent time management and organization skills

Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with others in a collaborative environment

School/College/Division:

H05 - College of Engineering

Primary department:

H0509 - Det of Industrial & Sys Engineering

Employment type:

• Regular Employee
• Job type: Full Time
• Job category: Research

Funding/salary information:

• Compensation type: Annual Salary
  
• Salary minimum: TBD
• Salary hire maximum: TBD

Working conditions:

Typical work environment may include a laboratory and/ or office environment. May require working non-standard business hours including evenings and weekends. May be required to travel to scientific conferences.

Job openings:

• Number of openings: 1
  

Background check requirements:

University policy requires certain persons who are offered employment to undergo a background check, including a criminal history check, before starting work. If you are offered employment, the university will inform you if a background check is required.