Senior AI Research Engineer

The Petroni lab at EMBL Rome is seeking a Senior AI Research Engineer to join our team focused on advancing AI-driven scientific discovery. You will be part of an innovative group of research scientists and engineers working on cutting-edge AI technologies for biology. Our overarching goal is to research and develop AI agents that collaborate with researchers throughout the discovery journey by understanding multi-modal and multi-omics data, conducting literature research, and brainstorming hypotheses and ideas, ultimately accelerating scientific breakthroughs. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront of AI and bioinformatics.

Your role

Work closely with researchers and cross-functional partners spanning multiple teams and disciplines to define technical goals and lead implementation

Collaborate with postdocs, PhD students, research scientists, and engineers to design and implement state-of-the-art AI algorithms and models for scientific discovery

Design and conduct thorough evaluations of AI models on real-world biological data, identifying limitations and proposing improvements to enhance their performance and robustness

Effectively communicate complex features and systems in detail to diverse stakeholders

Publish research results and contribute to the scientific community

Minimum Qualifications

5+ years of industry or lab experience, or advanced degree with equivalent experience

Experience building systems based on machine learning and/or deep learning methods

Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, C++, or similar

Interest in collaborative projects within a large scientific organization

Ability to work independently and in teams at the interface between life sciences and computer science

Excellent communication and presentation skills, high motivation, and fluency in English

Preferred Qualifications

Ph.D. in computer science, computer engineering, bioinformatics, computational biology, or related fields

Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by grants, fellowships, patents, and publications at leading workshops, journals, or conferences in Machine Learning (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR), Natural Language Processing (ACL, EMNLP, TACL) or Bioinformatics (Nature, PNAS, Cell).

Experience solving complex problems and comparing alternative solutions, tradeoffs, and diverse points of view to determine a path forward

Experience manipulating and analyzing complex, large-scale, high-dimensional data from varying sources

Contract length: 3 years renewable to 9 years

Salary: Grade 7 (monthly salary starting at €3.846,37 after tax and before 12,05% EMBL social security deductions) + other paid benefits based on personal circumstances

Why join us

EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation.

We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

Financial incentives: Salary free of income tax, Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances

Flexible working arrangements

Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)

Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to public holidays

Relocation package including installation grant (if applicable)

Campus life: Free shuttle bus (select sites), on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)

Family benefits: Kindergarten (Heidelberg), 10 days of child sick leave, generous paid maternity/parental leave and monthly family & child allowances

Benefits for international newcomers: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.

For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here

What else you need to know

International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Visit our International Applicants page, to find out more.

EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.

Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ & individuals from all nationalities.

How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date05/11/2025

JR2477