AI Research Engineer, Multiomics and Imaging
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Before you apply
LocationNashville, TN, United States
Typefull-time
SeniorityMid
Experience1+ yrs
Company size10,000+ people
First seenNov 3, 2026 · 19h ago
Verified live19h ago
At a glanceSummarised by Seekless from the posting.
Strong software development and technical ability through research, open-source work, internships, industry experience, competitions, or substantial independent projects
A bachelor's degree in a relevant scientific or computational field is sufficient; exceptional candidates with unconventional backgrounds are encouraged to apply
Strong Python skills and familiarity with scientific libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, pandas, scikit-image, or scikit-learn
Experience developing, releasing, and maintaining software projects
Experience with, or strong interest in developing, agentic and LLM-based workflows (e.g., Claude Agent SDK, LangChain, or similar frameworks)
Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with technical and non-technical colleagues
Self-motivated, enterprising, intellectually curious, and comfortable operating with an incompletely specified roadmap
A minimum of 1–2 years of postgraduate or industry experience in software engineering, software development, or a related field is required
Experience with multi-omics data types (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) and/or bioimage analysis (light-sheet, high-content, or spatial imaging)
Knowledge of workflow orchestration and parallel/distributed computing technologies (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow, NVIDIA CUDA, OpenMPI, or cloud-based HPC)
Experience with production-scale software engineering, scientific computing, or large-scale data systems
Master's or PhD preferred but not required
Skills
Python
NumPy
SciPy
pandas
scikit-image
scikit-learn
Claude Agent SDK
LangChain
Snakemake
Nextflow
NVIDIA CUDA
OpenMPI
Position Summary:
Build the computational infrastructure for discovering how cells organize into tissues.
The Biological Information Architecture (BIA) Lab, led by Dr. Felix Zhou at Vanderbilt University, seeks a strong, self-motivated Research Engineer to help build the software, AI workflows, and computational methods that will power a new generation of biological discovery.
This is not a conventional academic programming role. You will have substantial ownership over the lab’s technical direction: architecting software from the ground up, building agentic AI systems for scientific analysis, developing new computational methods, and turning promising ideas into robust tools used by researchers.
We are interested in strong software engineers from industry, computationally exceptional undergraduate or master’s students, and quantitative scientists who want to work on genuinely difficult scientific problems. We care more about technical ability, curiosity, and evidence that you can build things than academic qualifications.
You will also contribute to publications and grants, help establish engineering practice, mentor trainees, and help identify technologies with potential for open-source release, licensing, or commercialization.
This position is a term position. A term position is a staff appointment established for a defined period of time based on the operational needs of the business unit and Vanderbilt University, generally expected to exceed six months but not extend beyond one year. This position’s incumbent will be evaluated at the end of a one year assignment for renewal.
About the Work Unit:
The BIA Lab is a new, interdisciplinary computational biology group built around a founding north star mission: “develop the computational tools to decode and ultimately help reprogram the rules governing how individual cells determine tissue-scale behavior”. The lab pursues this objective through atlas-scale multimodal data analysis: combining advanced microscopy, quantitative cell phenomics, spatial tissue profiling and multi-omics data; first-principles open-minded, curiosity-driven scientific inquiry integrating ideas across disciplines without borders, be it theoretical physics, philosophy, economics, biology, computing or mathematics.
We work closely with an expansive network of internal and external collaborators, and committed to open, well-engineered software for the wider bioimage-analysis and computational biology community. The lab is based in Vanderbilt’s Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and affiliated with the Center for Computational Systems Biology (CCSB), a trans-institutional center spanning Vanderbilt Basic Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and the College of Connected Computing, placing the lab within a growing community of computational biologists, imaging scientists, and systems-level researchers on campus.
Though newly launched, the lab has a strong methods track record. We have released a suite of open-source tools used by the community, including u-Segment3D (3D cell segmentation); u-Unwrap3D (geometric computing), u-Protrude3D (surface protrusion analysis), SAM-SPOT and MOSES (phenotyping and motion quantification), and v-InfoTrace (information-flow analysis in images). The opportunity now, with real ownership, is to connect and build these cell-level tools into scalable workflows to reverse-engineer the logic circuitry of tissue signaling.
BIA lab website: https://bia-lab-team.github.io/BIA_Lab_Website/index.html
BIA lab GitHub: https://github.com/BIA-Lab-Team
BIA lab publications: https://bia-lab-team.github.io/BIA_Lab_Website/publications.html
Why Join:
•
Direct influence over software architecture, tooling choices, and engineering culture from day one
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Work at the frontier of agentic AI applied to multi-omics and imaging science, with substantial latitude to prototype and ship your own ideas
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Solve real scientific problems involving large, messy, multimodal datasets
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Work closely with the PI on scientific and technical direction in a high-trust environment with substantial autonomy.
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Build tools that enable non-expert researchers to run sophisticated analyses at scale.
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Shape your own growth path toward technical leadership, scientific software, AI systems, computational biology, or technology development.
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Potential opportunities for open-source releases, technology transfer, licensing, or spin-out development as promising technologies mature.
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Join an interdisciplinary environment without borders where ideas from computing, mathematics, physics, biology, arts and philosophy can directly shape the work.
Key Functions and Expected Performance:
Shape the lab’s technical vision and roadmap
•
Define software architecture, development standards, and infrastructure choices for the lab
•
Advise the PI on build-vs-adopt decisions and long-term technical strategy
Design and development of agentic workflows for multi-omics and imaging data
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Build agentic, LLM-based pipelines that automate ingestion, quality control, processing, and analysis of multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) and imaging (light-sheet, high-content, spatial) data
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Integrate agentic workflows with existing lab software and HPC/cloud compute infrastructure
Evaluation, integration, and potential commercialization of new methodologies and tools
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Research and assess suitability of emerging methodologies, algorithms, and open-source packages relevant to the lab’s research direction
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Turn promising research ideas into reliable, reusable software.
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Identify lab-developed technologies with translational or commercial potential and support early-stage technology-transfer, licensing, or spin-out discussions.
Teaching, onboarding, and community engagement
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Onboard and train graduate students, postdocs, and rotation students on lab software and computational workflows.
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Promote and communicate the lab’s software through open-source releases, conferences, GitHub, forums, workshops, and other community channels.
•
Contribute to publications and grant writing
Experience and Skills:
Necessary
•
Strong software development and technical ability through research, open-source work, internships, industry experience, competitions, or substantial independent projects.
•
A bachelor’s degree in a relevant scientific or computational field is sufficient; exceptional candidates with unconventional backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
•
Strong Python skills and familiarity with scientific libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, pandas, scikit-image, or scikit-learn.
•
Experience developing, releasing, and maintaining software projects.
•
Experience with, or strong interest in developing, agentic and LLM-based workflows (e.g., Claude Agent SDK, LangChain, or similar frameworks).
•
Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with technical and non-technical colleagues.
•
Self-motivated, enterprising, intellectually curious, and comfortable operating with an incompletely specified roadmap.
Nice to have
Preferred
•
Experience with multi-omics data types (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) and/or bioimage analysis (light-sheet, high-content, or spatial imaging).
•
Knowledge of workflow orchestration and parallel/distributed computing technologies (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow, NVIDIA CUDA, OpenMPI, or cloud-based HPC).
•
Experience with production-scale software engineering, scientific computing, or large-scale data systems.
Education and Certifications:
•
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant scientific or computational field with strong computational emphasis.
•
A minimum of 1–2 years of postgraduate or industry experience in software engineering, software development, or a related field is required.
•
Exceptional undergraduate and master’s candidates are encouraged to apply, particularly those with substantial software-building experience.
•
Master’s or PhD preferred but not required.
At Vanderbilt University , our work - regardless of title or role - is in service to an important and noble mission in which every member of our community serves in advancing knowledge and transforming lives on a daily basis. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, on a 330+ acre campus and arboretum dating back to 1873, Vanderbilt is proud to have been named as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” as well as a top employer in Tennessee and the Nashville metropolitan area by Forbes for several years running. We welcome those who are interested in learning and growing professionally with an employer that strives to create, foster and sustain opportunities as an employer of choice.
We understand you have a choice when choosing where to work and pursue a career. We understand you are unique and have a story. We want to hear it. We encourage you to apply today so that you might become a part of our story.
Legal
Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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