Seeking a Technical Staff I (26-177)
Laboratory
Laboratory for Brain Resilience
RIKEN Center for Brain Science
(Team Director: Emi Ling)
Outline of Laboratory
The Laboratory for Brain Resilience explores the molecular basis of individual variation in brain aging, asking why some brains remain resilient while others decline. We integrate molecular neurobiology, biochemistry, and single-cell omics to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these differences, with the ultimate goal of translating these insights into lifelong strategies for cognitive health.
Job title and Job description
Job title
Technical staff I: 1position
Job description
The Laboratory for Brain Resilience seeks a highly motivated technical staff member to advance research on the molecular mechanisms underlying inter-individual variation in normal brain aging. The successful candidate will support the lab’s computational analyses of large-scale biological datasets including single-cell genomic and transcriptomic data.
Primary duties and responsibilities include:
- Under the supervision of the PI, collaborate with experimental team members to design and implement computational workflows for single-cell omics and other large-scale biological datasets.
- Communicate findings clearly and rigorously in writing and in presentations.
- Interface with supercomputer systems at RIKEN and external institutions to manage computational infrastructure and lab data.
- Build and maintain code repositories, contribute to publications, and develop public web browsers for dataset visualization.
- Mentor team members on computational best practices and reproducible research standards.
- Attend lab meetings, share progress updates, and participate in discussions.
- Perform other related tasks as assigned.
The job description may be changed during the contract period or upon contract renewal to the extent described above.
Qualification
Key qualifications include:
- Requires a strong quantitative background in computational biology, bioinformatics, or related disciplines, demonstrated by a Bachelor's degree with at least two years of experience, MS, or PhD.
- Extensive experience with Linux clusters and cloud computing; proficient in Java, Python, and R.
- Experience with processing and analysis of genomic or transcriptomic datasets is preferred.
- The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, self-motivated, adept at troubleshooting, thrives in a collaborative setting, and is eager to acquire new skills and expertise as needed.
Proficient in both spoken and written English.
Work location
RIKEN Wako Campus (2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198)
RIKEN may order the employee to change work locations, if necessary.
Salary and benefits
- 1.A one-year fixed-term employment contract, renewable based on evaluation, up to the end of the fiscal year (March 31) in which the employee completes 3 years of employment.
- 2.RIKEN may adjust the above maximum period of renewability based on a) the employee’s abilities, work load at the time of contract completion, performance and work attitude and b) the continuation of the employee’s center, laboratory or project and RIKEN’s management situation and budget at the time. In principle, employment contracts will not be renewed for individuals older than 70 years.
In principle, the first two months of employment are considered a trial period.
Salary will be an annual salary based on experience, ability, and performance, and will consist of a base salary and a variable salary. The variable salary will be determined each fiscal year based on experience, ability, and performance.
Discretionary work, commuting and housing allowances will be provided. Social insurance will be applied.
- The approximate amount of salary at the time of employment:
- The total amount of monthly discretionary work allowance and monthly salary at the time of hiring will be 313,660 JPY or more.
RIKEN has implemented a telecommuting system that allows employees to work from home or other locations permitted by RIKEN.
This position falls under the specialized duties discretionary work system; one working day will be calculated as 7 hours and 30 minutes.
Days off include public holidays, New Year's holidays (Dec. 29 - Jan 3), and RIKEN Foundation Day.
Paid leave includes annual paid leave (up to 20 days depending on the month of employment), special paid leave (caring for a sick child, family nursing care, etc.), and work life balance holidays (up to 7 days depending on the month of employment).
There are also additional leave systems such as maternity leave, childcare leave, and family nursing care leave.
Smoking is entirely prohibited on site.
These and other provisions are in accordance with RIKEN regulations.
Mandatory membership in the RIKEN Mutual Benefit Society (RIKEN Kyosaikai).
RIKEN is actively undertaking initiatives to promote gender equality and diversity, and moving forward with the establishment of a diverse and vibrant research environment. If multiple candidates are found to have the same aptitude following a fair assessment, active efforts will be made to recruit female candidates.
The Wako Campus has an on-site daycare, RIKEN Kids Wako. For details, please send an email to kids@riken.jp.
Application and required documents
Required documents
- 1.Complete CV or CV
- *RIKEN CV: Write the RIKEN job ad number “26-177”, indicated in the parentheses next to the job title, in the RIKEN job ad number section in the upper right corner of your CV.
- *Original CV: Write down in the notes section of your CV the number written next to the title of the job position (e.g. 26-177).
- 2.List of research achievement (if available)
(including ResearcherID or Google Scholar ID, if available) - 3.List of acquired skills
- 4.Reason for applying for the post
(Personal strengths, motivation, etc.) - 5.2 letters of recommendation (including one from the current supervisor, If available)
- 6.Agreement on handling of personal information (Handling of personal information based on the Hiring Privacy Policy, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation)
Please review the following web page before submitting the consent form.:- *Hiring Privacy Policy
- *The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- *Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation)
How to apply
The above documents, except the letters of recommendation, should be uploaded as a single zip file to the following link:
The file name should include your contact email address (e.g. name@example.com.zip).
Letters of recommendation must be directly submitted from the referees to the following link with the file name “RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Technical Staff [applicant’s name] (Letter of recommendation)”. Please specify the applicant's name, and referee's name and contact information in the letter of recommendation.
Note: All the submitted documents will not be returned.
Deadline
Open until the position is filled
Handling Personal Data
Submitted documents are strictly protected under the RIKEN Privacy Policy and will be used only for the purpose of applicant screening at RIKEN. Personal information will not be disclosed, transferred or loaned to a third party under any circumstances without just cause.
Selection process
Application screening and interview for selected applicants
Notification of hiring decision
The notification of hiring decision (conditional offer of employment) regarding this selection shall be carried out through the presentation of an Employment Contract or a Conditional Offer of Employment issued by RIKEN.
Start of Employment
As early as possible
Contact information
RIKEN Center for Brain Science
Laboratory for Brain Resilience
Email: emi.ling@riken.jp
For inquiries, please send an email.