Job Opportunities

University of Maryland, College Park job opportunities are posted on the UMCP Job Board, located here: https://umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UMCP

Open JIFSAN-CFS3 Positions:

Post-Doctoral Associate, JR101795

SUMMARY:

The Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), a partnership between the University of Maryland and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Human Foods Program, is seeking a highly motivated Post-Doctoral Associate to support FDA’s GenomeTrakr Program. This position focuses on applied research in computational analysis of foodborne pathogens—including Salmonella, Listeria, and emerging viral threats such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

JIFSAN postdoctoral appointments at the FDA provide a unique opportunity to apply academic training to regulatory science and public health research. GenomeTrakr, FDA’s national pathogen surveillance program, provides an interdisciplinary environment that welcomes candidates with computational expertise from diverse backgrounds, including, microbiology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, food science, or related fields.

The position is located at FDA’s campus in College Park, MD, with eligibility for partial telework.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

* Method Validation: Lead and/or contribute to the evaluation, validation, and implementation of new next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods for the GenomeTrakr Program. Projects may include assessing the impact of protocol modifications, evaluating novel sequencing platforms, validating analysis tools for emerging pathogens, and refining quality control workflows. (30%)
* HPAI Surveillance: Develop and implement data handling workflows, quality control pipelines, and sequence analysis approaches for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) recovered from FDA food product testing. (25%)
* Phylogenetics: Develop and expand phylogenetic and comparative genomics resources to support outbreak investigations and long-term surveillance across the GenomeTrakr network. (20%)
*Applied Science Collaboration: Collaborate with laboratory-based principal investigators to provide bioinformatics support for microbial research and regulatory science projects. (15%)
*Engage with external working groups (e.g., Gen-FS, GSC, FoodON) to ensure GenomeTrakr remains aligned with evolving community standards for genomic data, metadata, and analysis frameworks. (10%)

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

* Education: Ph.D. degree in Microbiology or related field.
* Experience: 1-3 years of significant training and/or research experience leading projects with strong computational components and/or phylogenetic theory.
* Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Fluency in modern bioinformatics tools, e.g. navigating a Linux environment, running analyses on an HPC, using Nextflow and Conda environments, and writing analytical pipelines using Python, JavaScript, bash scripting, R, or other relevant scripting languages. Familiarity with dashboard visualization tools, such as Tableau, Power-BI, and/or R-Shiney. Strong oral and written communication skills.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

*Predominantly sedentary work.
*Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects.
*Repetitive motions.
*Substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
*The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading.
*Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
*The person in this position needs to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
*Ability to use analytical instrumentation and computers in a laboratory environment.

PREFERENCES:
N/A

LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS:
N/A

Additional Job Details:
Required Application Materials: A complete application includes a cover letter, CV/resume, unofficial academic transcripts, and three (3) professional references including name, affiliation, telephone number, and email address.

Best Consideration Date: 07/15/2025

Posting Close Date: N/A

Open Until Filled: Yes

Additional Information: This position requires incumbents to pass a background check that is predicated upon residency in the U.S. for three full years (a total of 36 months) during the last five years in order to gain access to U.S. FDA facilities.

This position is unable to support J-1 or H-1B visa sponsorship. F-1 sponsorship may be supported dependent upon incumbent's ability to complete required identity and eligibility verifications to work in the United States.

Financial Disclosure Required

For more information on Financial Disclosure, please visit Maryland's State Ethics Commission website.

Department: AGNR-Dean-Joint Inst for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition
Worker Sub-Type : Faculty Regular
Salary Range: $65,000 - $70,000
Benefits Summary: For more information on Regular Faculty benefits, select this link.

Background Checks
Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify anyone from employment. Before any adverse decision, the finalist will have an opportunity to provide information to the University regarding disclosable background check information. The University reserves the right to rescind the offer of employment or otherwise decline or terminate employment if the information reported by the background check is deemed incompatible with the position, regardless of when the background check is completed.

Employment Eligibility
The successful candidate must complete employment eligibility verification (on Form I-9) by presenting documents that establish identity and work authorization within the timeframe required by federal immigration law, and where applicable, to demonstrate renewed employment authorization. Failure to complete employment eligibility verification or reverification within the timeframe set forth by law may result in suspension or termination of employment.

EEO Statement
The University of Maryland, College Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment. Please read the University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Statement of Policy.

Applications must be submitted through the UMCP Job Board supported by Workday on the specific job requisition (posting) intended. The application link for the above requisition is located here: https://umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UMCP/details/Post-Doctoral-Associate_JR101795 . Do not submit application materials to any other website or via email.