Flatiron Research Fellow - Biomolecular Design, Center for Computational Biology

Description

The Center for Computational Biology (CCB) , of the Simons Foundation ’s Flatiron Institute is actively seeking enthusiastic, full-time post-doctoral Flatiron Research Fellows to join its Biomolecular Design Group . The start date is flexible, with the Fellow expected to begin no later than September 2027. 

Applications will be reviewed beginning in Fall 2026 and considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates with strong backgrounds in computational biology/biochemistry/biophysics, applied and computational mathematics, computer science/engineering, machine learning, and related fields are particularly encouraged to apply.

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY: CCB has a twofold mission: to develop the rigorous modeling tools and theory needed for understanding biological processes, and to create computational frameworks that will facilitate the analysis of the large, complex data sets being generated by quantitative experimental technologies. To accomplish this, CCB brings together experts in various biological domains (including genomics, molecular, cellular, and developmental biology) whose approaches are informed by the modern computational tools of applied mathematics, statistical inference, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), biophysics, and computer science. The goal: to enable CCB to undertake ambitious, long-term research projects that transcend conventional disciplinary boundaries and that lead to a quantitative and predictive understanding of biological phenomena; and to develop high-quality, well-tested, versatile and extensible software across its research areas.  

CCB currently comprises more than 50 scientists at career stages from Ph.Ds through senior scientists, as well as visiting scientists and guest researchers, affiliated graduate students and interns. Together, the CCB scientific staff are pioneering an approach to biology in which theory,computation, and experimentation are integrated, from problem conceptualization onwards. This approach enables CCB to tackle not only recognized, fundamental problems in biology that have so far eluded solution, but also, because of the value placed on curiosity-driven research, to find and develop new areas of biological inquiry.

ABOUT THE BIOMOLECULAR DESIGN GROUP: The Biomolecular Design Group (BmD) develops and applies computational tools to design natural polymers and synthetic heteropolymers built from noncanonical chemical building blocks. These molecules — including heterochiral cyclic peptides and peptoid foldamers — can adopt structures inaccessible to natural proteins and perform new functions, with potential applications as therapeutics, nanomaterials, and catalysts. By designing molecules beyond the scope of natural proteins, we both test our understanding of protein folding and function and push the boundaries of computational molecular design.

BmD is also part of the Collaboration on Molecular Physics and Sampling Strategies (COMPASS), which brings together research groups across the Flatiron Institute to advance computational methods for understanding molecular motion and designing molecules with specific dynamic properties. Together, we address challenges in the accuracy and computational tractability of molecular modeling.

The successful candidate will pursue a research project that advances these goals. Potential research directions include:

• • Developing open-source software infrastructure to analyze macromolecular motion and design motile macromolecules.

  • Integrating physics-based simulation with machine learning methods.

  • Developing improved approximation methods, including implicit solvation and coarse-graining, to make computationally expensive calculations more tractable.

  • Developing molecular modeling and design methods that use current and next-generation gate-based quantum computers and quantum annealers.

  • Designing molecules with potential medical applications.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Flatiron Research Fellows in CCB are individuals at the postdoctoral level with backgrounds in one or more of the following areas: applied mathematics, statistics, computational biology, biochemistry, biophysics, computer science, engineering, mathematical physics, or related disciplines.

Reporting to the Group Lead(s), Fellows are expected to carry out an active research program that c…