Postdoctoral Scholar
US-OR-Portland
Requisition ID: 2026-41810
Position Category: Postdoctoral
Job Type: Postdoctoral
Posting Department: Vollum Institute - Gouaux Lab
Posting Salary Range: Commensurate with education and experience and the HHMI Postdoc salary scale
Posting FTE: 1.00
Posting Schedule: Monday - Friday, flexible with some evenings/weekends as experiments demand
Posting Hours: 9:00am - 5:00pm, flexible with some evenings/weekends as experiments demand
HR Mission: Research
Drug Testable: No
Department Overview
The Vollum Institute is a privately endowed research institute at Oregon Health & Science University dedicated to basic research that will lead to new treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases. Vollum scientists have broad-ranging interests that coalesce around molecular neurobiology and cellular physiology. Their work has transformed the field of neuroscience and, in particular, have provided important advances in the study of synaptic transmission, neuronal development, neurotransmitter transporters, ion channels and the neurobiology of disease.Function/Duties of Position
- Planning, executing, and analyzing experiments for independent research project(s) using biochemical methods and single particle and tomographic cryo-EM methods to elucidate the structure(s) of the target molecule(s) and their organization.
- Manuscript preparation for individual projects and assisting other lab members with manuscripts as needed.
- Assisting the PI and other lab members with grant application (data acquisition, writing assistance, editing) as needed.
- Traveling to national and international meetings to present on findings.
- Helping to mentor and train junior members of the laboratory.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- PhD in computational structural biology, protein design, biophysics, bioinformatics, or machine learning applied to biology.
- Proficiency in computational design of proteins using machine learning and AI approaches together with wet-lab studies of the designed targets, as well as development of computational workflows.
- Demonstrated proficiency in Python and Linux, AI-guided and machine learning protein design algorithms, in depth knowledge of proteins and protein biochemistry.
Preferred Qualifications
- In-depth experience in the design of proteins, the testing of designs using biochemical or biophysical approaches, and the development and utilization of computational strategies.
Hands-on experience with protein structure prediction and sequence-design tools; familiarity with protein language models, diffusion-based generative models, and LLM tool-calling architectures.
Experience developing reproducible computation workflows on GPUs or HPC systems.
Knowledge and skills in the areas of electron microscopy, preparation of EM grids, use and knowledge of computer programs for single particle cryo-EM and knowledge of membrane protein expression and purification from mammalian, insect or bacterial cells, along with accompanying biochemical analysis.
- Fluent English language skills for writing and speaking, as well as ability to draft manuscripts and prepare oral presentations.
Additional Details
Standard laboratory work, Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm, flexible with some evenings/weekends as experiments demand.
Benefits
- Healthcare for full-time employees covered 100% and 88% for dependents.
- $50K of term life insurance provided at no cost to the employee.
- Two separate above market pension plans to choose from.
- Paid time off - 208 hours per year, prorated for part-time.
- Extended illness bank - 64 hours per year, prorated for part-time.
- 9 paid holidays per year.
- Substantial Tri-Met and C-Tran discounts.
- Employee Assistance Program.
- Childcare service discounts.
- Tuition reimbursement.
- Employee discounts to local and major businesses.
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