Research Programmer II- Machine Learning & Computational Neuroscience, Kennedy Lab

ABOUT US: 

Scripps Research is ranked the most influential institution in the world for its impact on innovation. We expand basic knowledge in the biosciences and use these fundamental advancements to develop profound innovations that improve wellbeing. Our educational and training programs mold talented and committed students and postdocs into leading edge scientists. Scientists in the institute’s five academic research departments work hand-in-hand with researchers of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and Calibr to merge foundational studies in biology, chemistry and computer science with translational science to produce pioneering drugs and advances in digital and precision medicine. Together, we cultivate new scientific leaders and expand the frontiers of knowledge to deliver medical breakthroughs to better human health around the globe. If you have a passion for making a difference, this could be your opportunity to join our transformative team.

POSITION TITLE: Research Programmer II (Software Engineer)

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Kennedy laboratory is involved in numerous projects to track, quantify, and forecast behavior and relate it to recorded neural activity. We develop new computational methods to understand how agents (animals, humans, virtual) gather information about their sensory environment, integrate this with internal motivational needs, and execute goal-directed actions in complex, naturalistic environments. We seek motivated postbaccalaureates interested in gaining hands-on experience in scientific research projects, with a goal of contributing to scientific papers and participating in an active lab environment. You will also have the opportunity to lead independent research projects on existing datasets from our collaborators (U Penn, UCLA, Harvard, U Utah, Northwestern, and others). This is an ideal position for applicants interested in building their scientific CV ahead of applying to graduate programs in Computational Neuroscience or Machine Learning, or those looking for a longer term position where they can contribute to original scientific research and model development.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Applied Math, or related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training and/or experience. Other STEM degrees may be accepted if accompanied with programming education, training, and/or experience.
• Minimum of two years experience in software application development or research programming.
• Experience with software development in Python.
• Experience building and training deep neural networks for supervised, unsupervised, or reinforcement learning problems.
• A demonstrated ability to apply the fundamentals of software application development.
• Experience with version control, including git and github.

Please include code samples and/or a link to a public code repository with examples of your work.

PREFERRED SKILLSET:

Prior experience with the one or more of the following is preferred:

• Experience with sequence/time series data, control/reinforcement learning problems and environments, time series forecasting.
• An understanding of generative modeling (hidden Markov models, diffusion models, etc).
• Familiarity with topics in motor control, robotics, and neuroscience.

As a member of a computational lab working in team projects, the following general skills are also preferred:

• Experience developing scalable system architectures that adhere to good software engineering principles.
• Ability to tackle large, open-ended research questions independently and as part of a team.
• Willingness to be an active participant in a computational lab environment, including taking part in lab meetings, journal clubs, and hackathons.
• Experience working within a diverse, interdisciplinary team.
• Experience contributing to open source software projects.

LOCATION: La Jolla, California.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:  This position works in an office environment. Further details of the physical requirements of established essential functions for this position will be addressed/discussed during the interview process.

COMPENSTAION: