Postdoctoral Researcher

Position Details

Position Information

Announcement Number STAFF - VA - 27117

For questions regarding this position, please contact:

Ethan Linck

Assistant Professor

[email protected]

Classification Title Postdoctoral Researcher

Working Title Postdoctoral Researcher

Brief Position Overview

The Department of Ecology at Montana State University is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Scholar as part of NSF -funded research on speciation under alternating cycles of gene flow and isolation (funding is currently anticipated for two years). Supported by PI Ethan Linck and external collaborators, the successful candidate will lead the development of a software tool to infer more realistic scenarios of speciation from genomic data. The Postdoctoral Research Scholar will also have the opportunity to contribute to publications on evolutionary theory and the impact of sea level change on divergence in Melanesian birds.

Position Number 4C2677

Department Ecology

Division College of Letters & Science

Appointment Type Research Professional

Contract Term Academic Year

Semester

If other, specify From date

If other, specify End date

FLSA Exempt

Union Affiliation Exempt from Collective Bargaining

FTE 1.0

Benefits Eligible Eligible

Salary $55,000 - $60,000 annually, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications

Contract Type LOA

If other, please specify

Recruitment Type Open

Position Details

General Statement

Working closely with the Principal Investigator and research team, the Postdoctoral Research Scholar will conduct independent and collaborative research at the intersection of evolutionary genomics, population genetics, and machine learning. The successful candidate will contribute to method development, software dissemination, and scholarly publications.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead development of open-source, machine learning–based software for inferring evolutionary history from genomic data.

• Design and run population genetic simulations to generate training data and validate theoretical predictions.

• Collaborate with the PI and graduate students on complimentary empirical and theoretical speciation research.

• Prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication and present findings at national and international conferences.

• Contribute to software documentation and community adoption of the tool.

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a closely related field by start date.

• Experience with scientific programming and computational data analysis.

• Demonstrated research productivity through publications, presentations, related scholarly work, or dissertation research.

Preferred Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Experience with machine learning applications in biology or genomics.

• Knowledge of population genetics theory and simulation methods.

• Experience developing or contributing to open-source software.

The Successful Candidate Will

• Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Have the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary research environment.

• Represent the department, college, and university to others in a professional and courteous manner.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

This position is contingent upon continued grant funding. Funding is currently anticipated through December 31, 2028.

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University’s rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Physical Demands

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

This position has supervisory duties? Yes

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies 1

Desired Start Date Upon completion of a successful search.

Position End Date (if temporary)

Open Date

Close Date

Applications will be:

Screening of applications will begin on October 30, 2026; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.

Special Instructions

As part of your application, please upload the following required documents:

• Curriculum Vitae

• Cover Letter addressing each of the Required and Preferred Qualifications

EEO Statement

Montana State University is an equal opportunity employer. MSU does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class status in violation of any applicable law.

In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran’s preference, please complete the veteran’s preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile.