PHD STUDENT - SPOILCONTROL (R1)

About BSC   The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain.
It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe.
The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress.
BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over staff from 60 countries.
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In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.
We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.
If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer.
We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.
Context And Mission   The Computational Genomics group, led by ICREA professor Toni Gabaldón, is looking for a PhD candidate to work in the context of the European Doctoral Network SPOILCONTROL (https://spoilcontrol.
ub.
nrae.
r/) This network will study non-conventional microbial species related to safety issues and quality in fermented foods to promote best practices for both industrial and consumer end-users, the project is expected to yield significant scientific, societal, and economic benefits.
The role of the student at BSC will be to assess the presence of microbes with virulence potential in different types of fermented food.
A particular focus will be put on yeast Candida pathogens for which additional publicily available datasets will be analyzed.
In this context, we are looking for a motivated doctoral candidate with expertise in genomics and bioinformatics to build and used computational pipelines for the analysis of shotgun sequencing data.
The candidate will collaborate with other researchers in the Comparative Genomics Group of the Life Sciences Department and other research groups at the BSC and IRB.
The work is in the framework of the research lines of the group, involving in the study of the origin and spread of emerging pathogens.
The Life Sciences Department at the BSC integrates the independent research of senior scientists that work on various aspects of computational biology, ranging from bioinformatics for genomics to computational biochemistry and text mining.
The Computational Biology group (http://cgenomics.
rg), which is jointly affiliated with the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), is involved in multiple projects covering a wide range of topics, including evolutionary and comparative genomics, phylogenomics, and metagenomics.
The Researcher will work in a highly sophisticated HPC environment, will have access to state-of-the-art systems and computational infrastructures, and will establish collaborations with experts in different areas both at international and local levels, in particular.
The Researcher’s tasks will involve applying state-of-the-art phylogenetic methods for the reconstruction of evolutionary processes and the discovery of selective processes and constraints that drive the evolution of gene families in the ancestral eukaryotes.
Key Duties   Development and application of state-of-the-art metagenomics analysis methods for the study of relevant microbes.
Perform analysis of large datasets of shotgun metagenomics dataset from various human-related and environmental niches.
Inference of population genomics parameters from sequencing data.
Inference of virulence potential based on genomic content.
Explore novel applications for the analysis of metagenomics data, including the development of novel computational tools and approaches.
Preparation and presentation of scientific articles.
Collaborate in the preparation and presentation of scientific projects.
Establish and maintain collaborations with national and international researchers.
Requirements   Education Master degree in a topic related to comparative and evolutionary genomics (or equivalent).
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience Experience in microbiology, metagenomics, and bioinformatics Familiarity with biology of diverse microbial pathogens.
Programming.
Python or R.
Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience Knowledge and experience in metagenomics tools (Kraken2, MetaPhlan, etc..) Knowledge and experience compartive genomics.
Use of HPC cluster.
Fluency in spoken and written English.
Competences Capacity to explore new research lines.
Good communication and presentation skills.
Ability to work both independently and within a team.
Conditions   The position will be located at BSC within the Life Sciences Department We offer a full-time contract (37.
h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures Duration.
3 years PhD contract Holidays.
23 paid vacation days plus 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement Salary.
we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona Starting date.
asap   Applications procedure and process   All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain.
A full CV in English including contact details A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered.
Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included.
Applications without this document will not be considered.
Development of the recruitment process The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición").
The recruitment process consists of two phases.
Curriculum Analysis.
Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position.
- 40 points Interview phase.
The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources.
In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated.
- 60 points.
A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.
The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women.
In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process.
After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview.
At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process.
The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.
At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes.
For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact recruitment [at] bsc [dot] es.
For more information, please follow this link.
Deadline   The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired.
Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.
OTM-R principles for selection processes   BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R).
This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.
We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
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