Research Programmer II

The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is located in the heart of downtown L.A. and is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the “Trojan Family,” which is comprised of the faculty, students and staff that make the university a great place to work.

About CSI-Cancer
The USC Michelson Center Convergent Science Institute in Cancer (CSI-Cancer) brings together engineers, data scientists, biologists and clinicians to tackle fundamental and translational problems in cancer—from mechanistic modeling and physical dynamics of metastasis to high-content single cell data and advanced machine learning. Our vision is to integrate patient, model system and high‐dimensional data to achieve a mechanistic understanding of cancer dynamics across scales. We are studying circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and other analytes in liquid biopsies (blood, bone marrow aspirates, and other liquids) of cancer patients as an approach to complement cancer care. Our data science driven single-cell multi-omic approach allows us to look at the morphology, proteome, and genome of these CTCs individually.

Position Overview
We are seeking a highly motivated Research Programmer II with a strong background in computer science (CS), biomedical engineering (BME), who is comfortable working at the interface of software and hardware with primary emphasis on software and a secondary emphasis on hardware. The successful candidate will join a convergent research team focused on early detection, liquid biopsy, rare-cell detection assays, and the development of novel computational and instrumentation platforms for cancer research. This position is ideal for candidates who want to apply computational science and data engineering expertise to accelerate discoveries in cancer dynamics, trajectory prediction, and treatment response modeling. They will develop and maintain data analysis methods and process pipelines to support the research, data, and analytic infrastructures of the institute (Home - Convergent Science Institute in Cancer).

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and document robust computational workflows, testing procedures, and production pipelines that support CSI-Cancer’s high-content single-cell, liquid biopsy, imaging, and multi-omics research initiatives.
• Supports continuous improvements by maintaining currency with new technologies and leveraging the latest industry knowledge to continually develop skills, knowledge, and abilities.
• Serve as a technical resource to researchers, assessing computational requirements and aligning advanced computing solutions (HPC, cloud, containerized environments) with cancer research objectives in mathematical oncology, disease modeling, and translational science.
• Support collaborative research efforts at institutional, regional, and national levels to advance CSI-Cancer’s strategic priorities in cancer detection, trajectory forecasting, and precision oncology.
• Participate in research projects by contributing to study design, developing prototype computational implementations, and supporting the preparation of technical reports, manuscripts, and grant proposals.
• Design, deliver, and maintain training programs and workshops that enable researchers and academic programs to optimally leverage high-performance and cloud computing for cancer research applications.
• Partner with interdisciplinary teams of engineers, computational scientists, biologists, and clinicians to implement scalable, reproducible, and compliant research computing solutions while continuously improving processes and technical standards.
• Utilize creativity and innovation to solve complex computational challenges arising from cutting-edge cancer research, and identify opportunities to adapt methods and results to novel scientific applications and future research directions.
• Promote a collaborative and inclusive research environment consistent with USC’s Code of Ethics.
• May supervise junior staff and mentor trainees.
• Perform other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep understanding of HPC, high-performance networking, cloud computing, container technologies (e.g., Docker, Singularity), and scalable research infrastructure.

• Experience supporting computational research in a higher education or research institute setting, particularly for data-intensive scientific projects.
• Ability to translate complex scientific research needs — including cancer biology, multi-omics, imaging, and clinical data analysis — into effective computational and analytical solutions.
• Proficiency in database systems, version control (e.g., Git), workflow management, and large-scale application performance engineering and optimization.
• Experience developing and delivering user training, workshops, or educational programs.

Minimum Qualifications

• A Master’s degree in Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Strong software development skills (e.g., Python, C++/C, R, Java, or comparable) and familiarity with data science/machine learning frameworks.
• Experience with large, complex biological or clinical datasets.
• Demonstrated understanding of advanced computational methods such as contrastive deep learning. Knowledge of current data modeling tools and various machine learning techniques and algorithms (e.g., clustering, decision-tree learning, artificial neural networks).
• Proficient use of query languages (e.g., SQL, MDX) and experience working with relational (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) databases. Knowledge of statistical concepts and techniques (e.g., distributions, statistical testing, regression).

• Demonstrated knowledge of the research process, including proposal development, data lifecycle management, reproducible workflows, and compliance with federal and sponsor regulations.
• Advanced expertise in Linux/Unix systems and experience building, deploying, and maintaining open-source software in high-performance computing (HPC) environments.
• Experience with parallel and accelerated computing frameworks (e.g., OpenMP, MPI) and familiarity with GPUs and large-scale storage systems.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to document systems and explain technical concepts clearly to interdisciplinary audiences.
• Proven project management and interpersonal skills, with the ability to prioritize multiple initiatives and collaborate effectively with researchers, engineers, and IT professionals.

Appointment Terms

• Full‐time appointment at USC.
• This position is not eligible for remote work.
• This is a grant-funded position.

Salary range:

The salary range for this position is $108,000 - $124,000 annually. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer alignment, federal, state and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

To support the well-being of our faculty and staff, USC provides benefits-eligible employees with a broad range of perks to help protect their and their dependents’ health, wealth, and future. These benefits are available as part of the overall compensation and total rewards package. You can learn more about USC’s comprehensive benefits here.

Required Documents and Additional Information:

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.

• Job openings are posted for a minimum of (5) five business days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended, so please apply on the same business day if interested.

Minimum Education: Master's degree

Addtional Education Requirements Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
Minimum Experience: 3 years

Minimum Skills: Relevant work experience to provide strong technical knowledge of programming and analysis as well as senior or lead experience. Demonstrated ability to stand in for researchers as circumstances require. Demonstrated creativity and innovation in solving conceptual programming problems.


Preferred Experience: 5 years

USC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or USC policy. USC observes affirmative action obligations consistent with state and federal law. USC will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal records in a manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for employers and the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and with due consideration for patient and student safety. Please refer to the Background Screening Policy Appendix D for specific employment screen implications for the position for which you are applying.

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants with questions about access or requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact USC Human Resources by phone at (213) 821-8100, or by email at [email protected]. Inquiries will be treated as confidential to the extent permitted by law.

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