Scientist II - AI-Accelerated Drug Discovery

The Systems Pharmacology AI Research Center (SPARC) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is seeking an early-career Scientist II to drive computational and artificial intelligence research. The incumbent will design, benchmark, and deploy cutting-edge AI models for protein and antibody design, molecular dynamics, virtual cell modeling, and retrosynthesis within an advanced GPU/HPC infrastructure. Responsibilities include conducting in silico research, partnering with experimental and clinical collaborators in a lab-in-the-loop framework, co-authoring grant proposals and scientific manuscripts, and mentoring junior researchers. Candidates should possess a strong foundation in machine learning or biomedical informatics, paired with a commitment to advancing computational drug discovery.

• Design, implement, benchmark, and deploy novel artificial intelligence and machine learning models for drug discovery pipelines, including protein and antibody design and molecular dynamics simulations.
• Conduct in silico computational research studies and collaborate with experimental partners in a lab-in-the-loop workflow.
• Contribute substantively as a Co-Investigator to extramural grant proposals to secure research funding from federal, foundation, and industry sponsors.
• Provide technical infrastructure, model registries, and project support services for SPARC center initiatives.
• Draft and submit scientific manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals and prepare regular progress reports for sponsors.
• Establish active research collaborations with university faculty, regional research institutions, and national industry partners.
• Mentor and train undergraduate students, graduate trainees, and postdoctoral fellows in modern artificial intelligence methods and reproducible research.