BDC Post-Doc Research Associate

Overview

Be a Tar Heel!: A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top public universities and is among the top ten research universities in the nation for federal research expenditures and federally funded social and behavioral sciences research and development. Here at Carolina, our postdocs play a vital role in our research enterprise and toward our overall commitment to research excellence.

Postdocs contribute to the intellectual vitality of the University, provide innovative ideas and perspectives, foster a stimulating research environment and advance knowledge within their fields. UNC-Chapel Hill offers postdocs comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits and services that support professional development and a healthy work/life balance. Chapel Hill regularly ranks as one of the best college towns and places to live in the United States.

Department Renaissance Computing Institute - 637100

Posting Open Date 08/05/2025

Open Until Filled Yes

Position Type Postdoctoral Scholar

Position Title BDC Post-Doc Research Associate

Vacancy PDS
004619

Full-time/Part-time Full-Time Temporary

Hours Per Week 40

FTE 1

Work Location Chapel Hill, NC

Position Location North Carolina, US

Hiring Range Dependent upon Qualifications

Proposed Start Date 09/01/2025

Estimated Duration Of Appointment 12 Months

At the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), we use data, creativity, and inclusive teaming to revitalize how science is done. Fostering data science expertise and creating cyberinfrastructure isn’t just about solving known problems – it’s about expanding human potential by unlocking data. We Need Innovators, Builders, Strategists, Technologists, Architects, And Creative Thinkers Across All Domains To Drive This Work Forward. When You Join Our Team, You’ll

• Spend your time solving the interesting and unique problems of research and development.
• Shape your future through experimentation and unfettered access to premier education and research.
• Make connections to people and projects that ignite your passion.

We know that diversity of people and ideas is a cornerstone of innovation, and we work to ensure our culture reflects that knowledge. We provide the tools you need to do your job effectively; we offer flexibility so you can be the most productive version of you; and we encourage thoughtful and challenging discourse. Join our research institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today and help us spark a scientific renaissance across the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and beyond.

The Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC Chapel Hill is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to contribute to innovative projects within the NIH Bio Data Catalyst (BDC) ecosystem, a cloud-based platform that provides secure access to biomedical data, analytic tools, and collaborative work spaces. This position offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge initiatives aimed at improving how researchers interact with complex data and analysis workflows.

Potential project areas include developing semantic search capabilities to help users efficiently locate relevant datasets, designing natural language interfaces for more intuitive navigation of the BDC environment, creating BDC-specific foundation models, and enabling large language models (LLM) and machine learning-based workflows within the platform. The role may also involve advancing harmonization techniques to improve data interoperability and usability across the ecosystem.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to high-impact, translational research infrastructure at the intersection of biomedical informatics, cloud computing, and AI.

Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Biomedical Informatics, Computer Science, or a related field.

• Experience deploying and working with LLMs
• Agentic workflows and retrieval augmented generation (RAG)
• Prompt engineering experience
• Developing, training, and testing machine learning (ML) models
• Software engineering expertise

• Experience with biomedical data, including clinical, EHR, omics, and imaging
• Knowledge graphs (KGs), and integrating LLMs with KGs
• Multimodal LLMs

For information on UNC Postdoctoral Benefits and Services